Life In a Peanut Shell

COME ON OVER!

2010-12-14T21:31:00.004-05:00

Come visit Balaboosta's Bakery at Shecky's Holiday Marketplace this Saturday and Sunday at

The Altman Building on 135 West 18th St. (between 6th & 7th ave). We will be selling an

assortment of our delicious cookies in beautiful packaging--great for holiday gifts! Be sure to stop by!

BALABOOSTA'S BAKERY

2010-09-19T01:05:00.008-04:00

Hi old friends! Please visit my new business website at www.balaboostasbakery.com and place your orders today!! We have 24 unique mini cupcake flavors as well as delicious cookies to choose from! Delivery in NYC available.

MINI CUPCAKE ASSORTMENT

2010-05-13T14:44:00.002-04:00

Hi! Featured here are my mini cupcakes that I sell. Flavors include nutella, vanilla coconut, chocolate coconut, wedding cake, red velvet, peanut butter Oreo, vanilla almond, cinnamon, and original (chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream and chocolate shavings). Flavors not shown include birthday cake, peanut butter & jelly, and carrot cake.

All of the above and pictured flavors come in regular and jumbo sizes as well. Now that I've started my business I'd like to give all my readers some insight as to what I'm selling! In addition to cupcakes, I have other fantastic unique desserts to order. My business website, as mentioned earlier, is under construction and will be up and working soon!

For the time being, if you would like to place an order, please email me for further details. I'm located in Manhattan and deliver locally. Enjoy!

60TH BIRTHDAY CAKE!

2010-05-13T14:34:00.003-04:00

My dear friend asked if I would make her boyfriend's mother's 60th birthday cake! Lets be honest--I cannot turn down any opportunity to bake a cake. I heart cake-making! While this cake was designated to feed 12-15 people, it could have EASILY fed 40+. This guy was huuuuge; consisting of three tall 10inch round layers of devils food cake with silky chocolate buttercream sandwiched between and accompanied by gum paste flowers for garnish.

Believe it or not, I actually had some extra batter to spare so I made a half dozen jumbo cupcakes with the same chocolate buttercream as the cake and pretty pastel fondant flowers. The cake + cupcakes were a huge hit! I'm pretty sure that cake will stick around for a while! There's nothing like busting out a slice of cake from the freezer for a late night snack.

ALL-IN-ONE COOKIE BITES

2010-05-03T18:34:00.002-04:00

Hi y'all. Let me ask you something. Have you ever showed up to a bakery craving cookies but didn't know which kind to get? There are endless appetite pleasing opportunities in the world of cookies. We've got sugar, chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, peanut butter, ginger snaps, black & whites, chocolate chocolate chip, cowboy, kitchen sink, plus hundreds of others.

These all-in-one cookie bites feature my four favorite kinds of cookies united as one. From the bottom layer up we have sugar, chocolate chocolate chip, peanut butter, and lastly chocolate chip. The top chocolate chip layer bakes crunchy while the inside is soft creating the most divine flavor and texture combination.

These cookie bites have officially solved my "over-buying because I don't know which flavor to get" syndrome at the local bake shoppe. Woot. Woot.

On another note, I'm getting some angry emails/comments from my lovely readers about my lack of recipe postings. Readers, you must understand that my blog has changed over the last year because I opened my own bakery business. Therefore, I can no longer post my sacred recipes to the world because, well, that would be silly. I will, however, post recipes I use that are not mine; however few those may be. So, please understand that I'm not displeasing you on purpose! I will continue to post drool-worthy pictures as well as my commentary so feel free to come along for the ride :)

NY CRUMB CAKE

2010-04-22T15:13:00.002-04:00

Dear classic NY crumb cake,

Where have you gone? Why have you chosen to leave me? Why are you no longer a staple in the local bakeries? Write back soon. Love, Melissa.

I am baffled as to why the classic NY crumb cake (a.k.a. "cawfee cake") has been eliminated in the bakery world. Why? This deliciously moist sour cream cake with a cinnamon swirl and heavy-duty crumb topping just might be my number 1 guilty pleasure.

When I graduated college I went on this crazy crumb cake obsession. I would bake a new crumb cake everyday for weeks at a time and critique each recipe appropriately. While I was trying to come up with the perfect NY crumb cake recipe, my mother interfered and offered me her staple, secret crumb cake recipe. Why had she taken so long to give it up? I was agonizing over the perfect crumb cake for years! I quickly baked her recipe and was finally at peace.

The.Most.Amazing.Crumb.Cake. End scene.

Mind you, this was several years ago and as my baking skills grew to new levels, I neglected this fantastic crumb cake---until last night. Oh yes, my most glorified crumb cake had officially entered the building. It was even better than I had remembered with a touch of cinnamon flavor and ample amounts of crumb topping. Oh my dear readers, how I wish I could reveal such a recipe to you but I just can't. Think about all the calories I'm sparing you :)

DOUBLE DARK MOCHA DROP COOKIES

2010-04-22T14:58:00.002-04:00

I received my monthly King Arthur Flour catalogue yesterday; and while flipping through the pages of countless fun baking gadgets, I stumbled upon this recipe for double dark mocha drop cookies. Sounded delicious enough and off to the kitchen I went! I've been baking cupcakes the last couple days and felt a truly good cookie recipe was long overdue.

According to the picture of these cookies in the catalogue, they spread when baked. However, my cookies, as you can see, did not. They maintained pretty much the exact shape as they were before baked. I traced back my steps and didn't make any mistakes so perhaps my oven wasn't calibrated properly. However, when I bit into these chocolate round blobs, they tasted delicious. This cookie has a real brownie like texture and the center is dense and fudgy from all the semi sweet and white chocolate chips. These are a winner and I'll most definitely make them again--flattened or not ;)

Click here for recipe.

RED VELVET CUPCAKES

2010-04-20T22:07:00.002-04:00

Can't you feel the love in these handsome red velvets? Moist, fluffy, super red, and bursting with vanilla buttercream icing. Simply delicious.

I topped each cuppie with a little candy heart and doled them out to my neighbors. Needless to say, everyone was quite appreciative! I can safely say that I spoiled everyone's dinner on the 5th floor. Sorry folks.

As always, enjoy :)

CHOCOLATE OREO CUPCAKES

2010-04-19T23:15:00.002-04:00

It has been slightly over 2 months since I've posted last. If that's not an indication of how busy I am then I'm not quite sure what is. I'm back to my old stomping grounds after spending the winter living in Tennessee and have been so incredibly busy igniting my new bakery business.

My bakery is called Balaboosta's Bakery and the website is currently under construction at www.balaboostasbakery.com. Please check back soon for updates! In the meantime, a very dear friend of mine turned 30 this weekend and I showed up with an abundance of mini and regular sized chocolate Oreo cupcakes. The mini's were beyond adorable and literally tasted like bite sized bursts of vanilla cream with a not-to-overwhelming chocolaty flavor.

I would have preferred to border the cupcakes in all chocolate sprinkles but unfortunately I was out so I went with the colored which added some nice flair. Enjoy.

KIDDIE CUPCAKES

2010-02-02T18:59:00.002-05:00

I made these adorable cupcakes for a dinner party I was invited to on Sunday. The host's have two young children; a 2 year old girl and a 5 year old boy and I knew I wanted to theme my dessert cupcakes around these cuties.

Both sets of cupcakes consisted of cream-filled double chocolate fudge cake topped with either:

pink buttercream, a dusting of pink sanding sugar, and a Valentine colored M&M for garnish (obviously these were appropriately decorated for the little girl)
chocolate fudge icing with a dollop of vanilla buttercream and assorted colored fondant cut out circles for garnish (aimed at appealing a young boy!)

These were SUCH an incredible hit! There was a perfect ratio of cake to cream filling to buttercream for each cupcake! Enjoy.

BLACK 'N WHITE CUTIES

2010-01-25T21:59:00.002-05:00

I've begun the "packing up" stage here in Memphis, TN and part of cleaning out my pantries involves baking everything off that I have bought in the last several months here. I have no room in my car to ship everything back up to NY and besides, my two 80lb dogs deserve all the room they can get. After all, it is a close to 20 hour drive back up North. Therefore, I made it my duty to use up all the ingredients, chocolate, canned items, etc that existed in my kitchen, bake it off, and donate it to charity. One of the many varieties of goodies I donated were these cute black-n-white cuppies.

All of them were mini chocolate cupcakes stuffed with vanilla cream and topped with a variety of fluffy white cream cheese frosting, chocolate frosting, coconut, and a jumbo chocolate chip. In addition, as you can see, the cuppies donned black and white polka dot liners. Cute!

While many of these cupcakes were donated, I had to pull a couple strictly for tasting purposes only ;)...and the verdict?? Outrageous.

SALTED CARAMEL CUPCAKES

2010-01-25T21:40:00.002-05:00

My blogging has clearly slowed in recent months but I plan on picking it up very soon. As most of you know, I've been temporarily living in Memphis, TN since October to complete the last phase of my baking and pastry arts degree (a 210 hour internship at a local Memphis bakery). Well folks, my internship is up and I'm headed back to NY this weekend with tons of new baking tips, business knowledge, and amazing top secret recipes. I'm psyched!

Anyway, on to these cupcakes! I made them a couple weeks ago but because it has been so crazy here, I didn't have much time to post. I've wanted to make Martha's salted caramel cupcakes for quite some time now and I should have never waited this long! These are absolutely delicious; beginning with a one-bowl chocolate cupcake recipe stuffed with ooey gooey homemade caramel, topped with a rich dark chocolate frosting, and some sea salt for good measure. Once the caramel cooled inside the stuffed cupcake, it thickened and made for a perfectly, chewy, candy stuffed chocolate cupcake. Unconditionally delish!

RAINBOW COOKIES!!!!!

2009-12-25T12:14:00.002-05:00

Oh..my...god!! I did it! I did it! Rainbow cookies are something I always wanted to challenge myself with and I finally gathered up the courage to do so...and it took 48 hours! Woo hoo!

Rainbow cookies have been my absolute favorite for as long as I could remember. Seven layer cookies, as they are also called, contain rich almond cake layers sandwiched with apricot or raspberry jam and topped off with a hard chocolate shell. New York is known for these cookies and they are hard to find elsewhere in the country. As most of you know, I have relocated down south to Memphis, TN for the time being and for the life of me, I can't find any rainbow cookies. My problem was solved when I decided to make them from scratch.

I had heard that the act of making rainbow cookies isn't so much difficult as it is time consuming--and I heard correctly. You need a solid 2 days to make these cookies between the chilling, the sandwiching, etc and let me tell you, it is worth every second. The cake layers are super easy to make, requiring almond paste, amongst other basic cake ingredients. The batter is separated into three separate bowls, each being colored red, green, and one left plain white.

In my case, apricot jam is heated and strained and then spread between each layer. A baking pan is used to weight the layers overnight and then the chocolate layer is spread on the top and the bottom to finish off the cookies. After reading many reviews, I froze the completed, unsliced cookies for several hours before slicing them with a chef's knife dipped in hot water. This method worked perfectly and none of the chocolate cracked on top. I cut them into thin slivers which produced several dozen. You can choose to cut them into 1 inch squares as well, however, traditionally these cookies are served in thin rectangles.

I encourage you all to try your hand at this recipe at least once in your lifetime! It's not as difficult as it seems and if you have the time to spare, go for it! Next time I think I will go with raspberry and apricot jam in between the layers.

Check out smitten kitchen's recipe for these cookies found here.

REESES PEANUT BUTTER CUP CHEESECAKE

2009-12-25T11:55:00.004-05:00

Wow, I've been making a ton of cheesecakes lately. There's nothing like digging your fork into a cold, creamy cheesecake with a crunchy crust. It's official, cheesecake is by far my most favorite dessert. I love to make them and I love eating them even more!

My boyfriends brother celebrated a birthday a few weeks ago and rather than baking your traditional classic birthday cake, I went with a Reeses peanut butter birthday cheesecake. This cheesecake was unreal. The peanut butter flavor wasn't overly strong and the Oreo cookie crust made for a perfect cheesecake foundation. The chocolate ganache layer on top really put this cheesecake over the edge as my most favorite cheesecake, to date.

This recipe fills is designed to fill a 10 inch springform pan, however, I only had a 9 inch so I had some extra batter leftover which I used to make mini peanut butter cup cheesecakes. Since my boyfriends family are die-hard Tennessee Volunteer fans, I stuck these cute little Vols picks in each mini. They were a huge hit.

Please note that you should plan a day ahead when making this cheesecake. It requires a lot of chilling time and I always find that leaving a cheesecake to chill in the fridge overnight produces the best results.

For The Crust

4 1/2 cups crushed Oreo cookies
1 cup chopped roasted peanuts
1/2 cup butter, melted

For The Filling

2 lbs cream cheese, softened
5 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup smooth peanut butter (not natural-style)
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 Reese's Peanut Butter cups, broken into small pieces

For The Topping

5 ounces milk chocolate chips

1/4 c. sour cream

Please Note****Plan ahead--cheesecake needs to chill for at least 4 hours.
To Make The Crust:.
Combine crushed Oreo cookies and peanuts that have been ground in a food processor with the melted butter.
Pat the crust mixture onto bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan.
To Make The Filling:.
Beat cream cheese in bowl of electric mixer until smooth.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add sugar, peanut butter and cream; mix until smooth.
Stir in vanilla, then fold in peanut butter cup pieces with a rubber spatula.
Pour filling into prepared crust.
Place springform pan into a larger baking pan.
Pour hot water into the larger pan so that the water comes 1 inch up the sides of the springform pan.
Bake at 275°F 1-1/2 hours, or until firm and lightly browned.'
Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for one hour
you may run a knife along the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan somewhat.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours (overnight is your best bet)
For The Topping:.
In a saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate and sour cream, stirring constantly. Spread over cheesecake and return it to the refrigerator to set up.

CHRISTMAS GIFT GOODIES

2009-12-25T11:31:00.002-05:00

In addition to passing out boatloads of salted cashew chocolate toffee as holiday gifts, I also made Christmas-themed cupcakes and cookies-n-cream fudge to switch it up a bit.

The cupcakes were half carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and half chocolate cake with vanilla cream frosting. The mini cupcakes were decorated with holly's and the regular sized cuppies had decorated candy canes on top. Super cute and incredibly tasty!

Fudge was a major lesson in the first module of my culinary program. While fudge uses very basic ingredients to make, it can be an extremely temperamental process to produce perfect, creamy fudge.

I realized this after it took me 3 times in school to master making delicious fudge. All the temperatures must be exact for cooking and then the cooling process is very precise. Most recipes require the text book step by step instruction to produce a baked good, however, I found a fudge recipe that completely strays from the norm. This cookies-n-cream fudge recipe is most definitely NOT textbook and cuts all the corners to produce perfectly creamy, half the labor, fudge. Where did I find this, you ask? Nestle's Very Best Baking site. Yep, who would have thought! As long as this post never finds its way back to my module 1 chef instructor, I should be alright. This recipe is simplicity at its best. When there's a will, there's a way...

Ingredients:

3 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine
2/3 cup (5 fl.-oz. can) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Premier White Morsels
1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow crème
1/2 cup finely crushed cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
1 cup crumbled cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies

Directions:

LINE 9-inch-square baking pan with foil.

COMBINE sugar, butter and evaporated milk in medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

STIR in morsels, marshmallow crème, finely crushed cookies and vanilla extract. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle crumbled cookies on top. Gently swirl cookies into fudge using a knife without touching bottom of pan. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Lift from pan; remove foil. Cut into 48 pieces. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

CLASSIC CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

2009-12-25T11:09:00.002-05:00

I've been food blogging for several years and I'm always seeing various quests for the "perfect brownie". Of course, this is by personal taste because everyone likes their brownies different. Well, if you are at all like me and seek the ultimate brownie to have a cakey yet fudgy interior with a flawless light and flakey exterior than look no further. I have been making Nick Malgieri's Supernatural brownies for years on end and no one can convince me otherwise to make another variation. These brownies have it all. Compared to most other brownie recipes, Nick's brownies contain much less flour allowing for an ultimate burst of chocolate flavor. They are moist and fudge-like but hold a cake-like structure so they don't fall apart to the bite. They are extremely versatile and I've dressed them up with numerous fix-ins such as peanut butter, Andes mints, chocolate chips, and what have you. Trust me people, these are a winner.

Click here for recipe.

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

2009-12-25T10:52:00.002-05:00

This post is way overdue. Believe it or not, this amazingly delicious pumpkin cheesecake was made for Thanksgiving. That's a clear indication how far behind I am, however, the salted cashew chocolate toffee below was from Thanksgiving as well. So, slowly but surely, I'm getting there.

I make this cheesecake every year for Thanksgiving and it has become a staple dessert for years to come. I go for a slice of this before the pecan pie which says a whole lot about this cheesecake. The crust is crushed up gingersnap cookies followed by a creamy maple pumpkin filling and topped off with a brown sugar glaze. The crust to filling to glaze components are perfectly in sync for a blast of delicious flavors in each bite. This truly is my most favorite cheesecake out there and it can be made all Fall through the Winter---not just for Thanksgiving. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs

3/4 cup ground hazelnuts (feel free to eliminate)

3 tablespoons brown sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese,

softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups canned solid pack pumpkin

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

4 eggs

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch springform pan.
2.	Using a fork, combine gingersnaps, hazelnuts, 3 tablespoons brown sugar and melted butter. Press mixture onto the bottom and two inches up the sides of the pan to form the crust.
3.	With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the pumpkin. Mix in the cream, maple syrup, cinnamon, allspice and vanilla. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing until smooth.
4.	Pour batter into prepared crust. Bake in the preheated oven for 90 minutes, or until center of cheesecake is set. Allow to cool in pan for 30 minutes then refrigerate overnight.

SALTED CASHEW CHOCOLATE TOFFEE

2009-12-14T15:58:00.002-05:00

Homemade heath bar crunch, if you will--with a little twist. I feel truly guilty for this post. Let me just get that out in advance. Now is your chance to "X" my website out and revisit at a later date; preferably when this post is no longer viewable on the home page. Don't say I didn't warn y'all. Why am I so concerned with your well being, you ask?This salted cashew chocolate toffee is addicting, fattening, waist- swelling, crack. It's chocolaty. It's salty. It's nutty. It's crunchy. It's four million calories and it's worth every single bite.

Of course, if you're not a fan of cashews, you could always go down the traditional route of almonds or even peanuts. Any nut works in this instance--trust me, I've tried them all; take my word for it. If you have absolutely no reason to bring this deliciousness into your household; here's one: make a boatload of these as holiday gifts for your family, co-workers, friends, etc. It may not be a great excuse to stuff your face with them but, however, it is an excuse. I'm just trying to help you out. Seriously, proceed with caution :)

Click here for recipe.

CARAMEL APPLE PIE BLISS

2009-12-01T20:52:00.003-05:00

Ok, seriously..this is one of, if not the, best pies I've ever had in my life! A buttery flaky crust meets a cinnamon-spiced apple filling, studded with hunks of gooey, slimy, sweet caramel. Oh my...just the very thought of a slice of this apple goodness is causing a serious build-up of drool! I must stop. This pie is perfect. Ok, I'm done...

Here's the recipe. Make this, ASAP!

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE CAKE

2009-12-01T20:14:00.001-05:00

How cute is this? Chocolate chip cookie cake. Turkey decoration. Need I say more? Well, actually..one more thing: it was "gobbled" up in seconds. True story.

Use your most favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and double it to make a thick 9 inch round cake and if you're reallyyyyyy lucky, you may have some dough left over to sneak in a few cookies. Enjoy!

SUGAR COOKIES

2009-12-01T19:44:00.002-05:00

Welcome back from the seemingly endless holiday of stuffing face! Good news folks, this is only the beginning. Bring on the December holidays as Thanksgiving was merely a warm-up round.

Anyway, on to these cookies. As you can see from my earlier post on the University of Tennessee sugar cookies, I've been on quite a sugar cookie roll. They are super easy to make, fun to decorate, and even more delicious to eat. My boyfriend's company had a big Thanksgiving party so I sent him in with this absolute random selection of cookies; schnauzers, mittens, leaves, and bones. Yep, you know, the usual. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I pulled these 4 cutters from my bag of 1000 but there's nothing wrong with some arbitrary selection from time to time! I wrapped each cookie in a plastic bag with some cute ribbon and got incredible feedback. All 150 cookies were gone within an hour! I also sent him in with about 75 pumpkin spice cake pops but really...haven't y'all had enough of the cake pop posts? I've opted to leave those pictures out and save you from cake pop bombardment. :)

ICE:APPLE

2009-11-21T18:53:00.003-05:00

This month's Iron Cupcake Earth challenge was dedicated to...what else? Apples! Apples are so incredibly versatile in the world of food and can be sweet or tart, cider or vinegar, wine or soda, and butter or jelly. Take your pick, any pick..they are all delish! I went ahead and created an apple ginger spiced cupcake topped off with a spiced cream cheese frosting and garnished with a homemade mini gingerbread man. Too cute; and did I mention finger-lickin' good?

Each cupcake was filled with chunks of sweet spiced apples which made for a perfect Fall treat. The combination of a sweet and spicy cupcake with a creamy cream cheese frosting created the perfect trifecta! I really can't get enough of these cupcakes and neither could my boyfriend's colleagues! Here's a closer look at the anatomy of this cuppie:

With all this said, please vote for me for this month's Iron Cupcake Earth challenge!! Voting takes place on Friday November 27th @ 8pm at No One Puts Cupcake In A Corner and will be open through Thursday December 3rd @ noon. Go on, don't be shy :)

Our Generous IronCupcake:Earth Prize Providers:

GO VOLS!!

2009-11-13T20:59:00.002-05:00

I'm off to the Tennessee vs. Ole Miss football game tomorrow in Oxford, Mississippi! My boyfriend was a player on the U of Tennessee football team several years ago so naturally, he is a die-hard fan! Mississippi is only about an hour from Memphis and we are leaving super early to tailgate. There's nothing like smash mouth SEC football. This rivalry should be great.

Since the tailgate is consisting of over 100 people, I thought it would be a nice touch to bring Tennessee Volunteer decorated cookies including a football, helmet, and "T" logo. I made about 6 dozens of these today using a basic sugar cookie recipe. All of the cookies were dipped in icing and decorated with royal icing. These were super fun to make and tasted so delicious. I individually wrapped each cookie and topped the baggies off with orange and white ribbon. I hope everyone enjoys them tomorrow at the tailgate! GO VOLS!!

TWD: SUGAR-TOPPED MOLASSES SPICE COOKIES

2009-11-10T18:12:00.002-05:00

The month of November was a great time for me to rejoin my beloved Tuesdays With Dorie baking group; and because November is such a crazy time with the holidays, the members can bake any of the 4 recipes selected for November and post on whichever Tuesday they please. With that in mind, I decided to start off with these cookies. I've been inundated with cakes, cupcakes, and pies the last month or so that I really missed the operation that is cookie baking!

Pamela of Cookies with Boys chose these cookies for November 17th, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the recipe that will be posted on her blog. These cookies were tremendous and by tremendous I mean tremendously delectable. They had a sugary crunchy top with a semi-soft center and a spiced molasses flavor that was to die for! All the cookies baked perfectly uniform and were super easy to make. I doled out half of the batch for noshing and the other half to be ground up as a crust for my pumpkin cheesecake that I will be making later this week. Thanks for a great selection, Pamela!

FALL YUMMIES

2009-11-08T18:19:00.003-05:00

Hi there. I know, I know. I keep making promises that I can't keep. I keep disappearing without any notice. I'm neglecting you. It's wrong. Will you forgive me? Give me another chance? I promise to be the blogger you deserve! I've gone MIA once again but with very good reason!! You see, the very last module of my culinary program involves a 210 hour internship to be completed practically anywhere in the country; based on your future food industry aspirations. Practical experience in the food biz is so incredibly important. In my case, a small bake shoppe is what gets my wheels turning, so I chose this fantastic little mom and pop bakery in Memphis, TN. Yes, you heard correctly...Memphis! As random as the home of pulled pork may be, my boyfriend lives there so it was a no-brainer! Needless to say, the past few weeks have been madness between shlepping my dogs on an 18 hr car ride, setting up a new place to live, getting my bearings adjusted, and catching up on much needed sleep. OK, y'all? I'm working on my southern drawl, so bear with me. I've digressed a tad from my original reason for posting and that reason is Fall deliciousness!! Think pies, pumpkin, a world of delicious spices, and...wait for it...BBQ!(I joke, I joke). Over the last few weeks I made some delicious goodies and let me tell you; my boyfriend's co-workers are psyched that I've become a Tennessee resident :) See for yourself...

Ghost Petit Fours- pumpkin spice cake baked on a sheet pan cut into 1 inch circles, piped buttercream, and smothered in a buttery icing glaze. Black decorating gel used for the eyes and mouth. Super cute and super tasty! Recipe and how-to found here.

Mini chocolate cupcakes with orange cream cheese frosting- The "BOO" was made by smearing chocolate icing on the back of 1/2 an Oreo cookie and piping on top. I used Martha's One Bowl chocolate cupcake no-fail recipe. Cream cheese frosting recipe found here.

Pumpkin pie with gingersnap pecan crumble- I got this recipe off the cover of the November Southern Living issue. I can't find the recipe online yet, however, I will post as soon as it becomes available. This pie had a flaky pie crust followed by a gooey gingersnap layer with a spiced up pumpkin pie filling. It was topped off with a gingersnap pecan crumble and homemade whipped cream. Beyond delicious.

001_ICE 2.0-MUSIC

2009-10-19T10:33:00.004-04:00

Welcome back to the 2nd year of Iron Cupcake Earth where the first challenge of the year is music! Iron Cupcake is trying to get onto the Ellen show and since Ellen Degeneres has such a love for music, this first challenge is dedicated to her. Therefore, we were given the opportunity to pick any song and develop a cupcake around the title. In my case, I went with "October" by U2. Fitting? I thought so.

What you see here is a pumpkin muffin bursting with plump raisins and chopped pecans. The muffin was moist and cake-like with just enough hint of cinnamon, all spice, ginger, and nutmeg. The raisins and chopped pecans added more flavor and crunch. I topped each muffin off with a cream cheese glaze and garnished with a pecan half.

This pumpkin muffin recipe came from Dorie Greenspan's: Baking From My Home To Yours bake book. I would most certainly make these again. Bring on the pumpkin season!

Be sure to vote for my "musical" Iron Cupcake submission on Friday October 30th at No One Puts Cupcake In A Corner. Voting will be open through November 5th.

Pumpkin Muffins

From Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Makes 12 regular sized muffins or 6 jumbo muffins

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

pinch allspice

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling!)

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup plump raisins (soak in hot water first if yours seem too dried out) (optional)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

unsalted raw sunflower seeds, for sprinkling on top (optional)

Preheat oven to 400F / 200C. Grease your muffin tin or fill it with paper muffin cups (unless you're using silicone bakeware, which needs no greasing).

In a small bowl combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and spices.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one, beating and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each one, then add the vanilla. Lower the mixer speed and add the pumpkin and buttermilk.

With the mixer on a low speed, add the dry ingredients. To avoid over mixing, I tend to have the mixer on for only a couple of seconds when adding the dry mixture, then to turn it off before everything is completely incorporated and finish mixing by hand. Dorie recommends this too! Stir in the raisins and nuts, if using.

Spoon the batter into the muffin tin and sprinkle a few sunflower seeds over each muffin, if using. Bake in the center of the oven for 20-25 minutes (mine were done in 18 mins), until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean (jumbo muffins will take longer).

Cream Cheese Glaze
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups confectioners sugar

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, at medium speed, beat the cream cheese and sour cream until smooth. With the mixer on low speed, add the confectioners sugar one cup at a time. Mix until incorporated. Yield: 2 cups glaze.

Our Generous IronCupcake:Earth Prize Providers:

PROJECT WEDDING CAKE

2009-10-16T15:50:00.006-04:00

It has been exactly 1 month since I've posted. If that's not reflective of how busy my schedule has been, then I'm not really sure what is! You see, yesterday was graduation day! In case you are a first time reader, I've been enrolled in a baking and pastry arts program at a culinary school in Manhattan dating back to last May. As part of my final exam, an individual wedding cake was to be presented at graduation. Well, folks...here it is!

My chef was pretty lenient as to what style wedding/celebration cake each person was to make. Many of my classmates went super modern when it came to decoration and detail. But me? I went down the traditional avenue of wedding cake decoration. My wedding cake was reminiscent of a classic, elegant cake that was the standard for several years before modern cake decorating became the norm. With that said, here is what you're looking at:

-2 tier yellow cake consisting of a 10 inch round and 6 inch round. The 10 inch cake was split into 3 layers all filled with french vanilla buttercream. The 6 inch round was split into 2 layers.

-Each round was covered in fondant which I colored ivory. I used royal icing to make the uniform white dots.

-The rose bouquet and leaves were made out of gumpaste which I petal dusted to give it a realistic effect.

-Each layer was wrapped with a champagne colored ribbon at the bottom.

I took a ton of pictures, so here you go! Your thoughts?

RED VELVS

2009-09-16T21:08:00.002-04:00

My oh my. I made these puppies for a 30th birthday that I catered last week and let me just say that I doubled the batch on purpose. Yep, these are the best red-velvet-cream-cheese-frosted goodies that you'll ever have in your life! And the best part...? I've finally tweaked my own recipe to be both delicious AND to produce the most magnificent, atheistically appealing red velvet cupcake on planet earth. Now, for the bad news. No recipe postage. I knowwww, I'm sorry. How could I possibly use such enormously descriptive words for a cupcake and then not share love? Well, you see..I've started my own business which means I'll be using all my own recipes that I've been working on perfecting for years. If I were to release such classified information, I might as well get out of this business and become a lawyer..or a kindergarten teacher, or a tennis pro. You understand, right? No grudges, please.

So, with that said; I will still be posting wonderful drool-full pictures as well as recipes..just not my own recipes. I promise there will be plenty to gawk at over at the peanut shell. No worries. Don't hate me :) I got nothin' but love for ya!

BROWNIE CHEESECAKE TEACAKES

2009-09-03T19:48:00.003-04:00

I'm sensing a theme here...hmmm; perhaps a certain little combination pertaining to cheesecake....and, er, brownies? Yep, that's it. I'm addicted. I've been tossing and turning this whole week thinking of ideas for brownie/cheesecake combos. Here's a text message conversation I had with my mother today:

Mom: "Hi! I'm in the city, are you around?"

Me: "Really? I didn't know you were coming in..what are you doing in the brownie?"

Yea? 'Nuff said.

Ever since my much anticipated espresso cheesecake brownie selection; to which I earned real life positive feedback from THE Dorie Greenspan herself, I've been inspired to create interesting and fun cheesecake/brownie collaborations. I'd say these brownie cheesecake teacakes fall under that category quite nicely.

My boyfriend's father's birthday is tomorrow and I thought it would be nice to bring along these teacakes. You see, he has very little to no sweet tooth whatsoever, so I wanted to choose something that, at the very least, would be tasted due to the unique manner in which it's baked; because, who wouldn't want to taste a rich chocolate brownie with a surprise center of vanilla creamy cheesecake with creamy chocolate ganache on top? Yes, please!

These were fantastic. I used the same recipe as I did when I made the actual bar version of this recipe a while back, only these were baked in a teacake pan which I've been dying to utilize. Since the top of a "teacake" has that indentation, the cheesecake was put on the bottoms and baked its way through the cake. The outsides baked crispy while the insides were moist and creamy. I topped each teacake with a rich whipped chocolate ganache aiming for a "flower" look and placed multi-colored candies in the center. I arranged these in a beautiful shoebox that I've been holding on to for a while (it's a great lime green!) and wrapped it with beautiful ribbon. Go on and treat yourself--make these, stat.

BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE CRUMB BARS

2009-09-02T19:35:00.004-04:00

Ain't that a mouthful? Oatmeal raisin cookie crusted vanilla bean blueberry cheesecake crumb bars. Whoa. And that was the exact reaction they received, whoa. I went ahead and made this recipe up, from scratch, consisting of all my most favorite flavors and combining them into one crunchy, creamy, sweet, fruity taste all in one bar. Lets review:

Favorite Cookie? Oatmeal Raisin. Check.

Favorite Cold Dessert? Cheesecake. Check.

Favorite Fruit? Blueberries. Check.

Favorite flavoring? Vanilla Bean. Check.

Favorite topping of all time? Crumble. Check.

Get my point? These were the quintessential most sinful dessert on this planet. Just blogging about them is causing drool on the keyboard. I brought these to a BBQ I attended last weekend where the host requested several desserts, including cheesecake. I wanted something fairly simple that didn't make a mess and something that had less of a chance of getting ruined while transporting. I cut them into perfect 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 squares after trimming down all 4 sides. Because I couldn't bear to throw any part of this cheesecake bliss out, I brought the trimmings across the hall to my neighbors, who, renamed these guys "blueberry magic". Magical would be an understatement.

Unfortunately, I cannot give this recipe out because I truly believe it could be a staple dessert for my business! However, use your imagination and I'm sure you can simulate you're own kind of unique magic. :)

1ST BIRTHDAY CAKE

2009-09-02T19:18:00.003-04:00

This 1st birthday cake was for another one of my clients; super light and springy white cake filled with a vanilla bean buttercream and decorated with multicolored fondant covered sable cookies. Wallah, hopefully a very memorable 1st birthday cake, indeed. I knew I really had to make this cake special and super childish because after all, 1st birthday's are ones that will be cherished forever! The cake is by far the most important part.

This cake was absolutely enormous weighing in at close to 25lbs! It consisted of 3-10 inch layers all smothered with rich swiss meringue buttercream and I sure as heck wasn't worried that it wouldn't feed a total number of 25 people at the birthday party. I baked dozens of chocolate and vanilla sable cookies which were shaped exactly like balloons, so I covered each one in a different color fondant and rolled some fondant into "string-like" structures as the base of each balloon.

Like I stated in the previous post, if you are interested in special occasion cakes, cupcakes, cheesecake, pies, cookies, brownies, and what have you--email me!

My business website is under construction and should be up and running soon. In the meantime, my blog is a great way to display my work until further notice. Thanks :)

BABY SHOWER CUPCAKES

2009-09-02T19:05:00.002-04:00

These cutie blue cuppies were made for one of my clients and, as you can see, were meant for a baby shower. I went with simple golden yellow mini cakes topped with a vanilla swiss meringue buttercream, blue and white non pareils, and a sugared blue rattle. I filled each cupcake with a dollop of homemade cookie dough which I froze the night before so they'd bake gooey and delicious.

These were the perfect favor for a baby shower; simple yet elegant and most importantly, tasty! If you would like to order special occasion cupcakes, feel free to email me!

TWD: ESPRESSO CHEESECAKE BROWNIES

2009-08-31T21:23:00.003-04:00

Wow. It has been well over a year since I first joined the lovely interactive baking group; Tuesdays With Dorie, and my day has finally come...the recipe rotation gods have spoken! It's my week to choose a recipe from Dorie Greenspans, "Baking: From My Home To Yours" and my opportunities of choice seemed endless. There were pies, tarts, cookies, cakes--oh so many I could have selected without batting an eye. However, when my eyes scanned page 104-105; it was love at first site. Espresso? Brownies? Cheesecake? All in one?--I had to plea no contest.

These brownies were absolutely delicious. Each creamy, espresso-spiked, chocolaty, brownie bite got better and better as my consumption continued...and continued...and (we all know how this story ends) resulted in my dinner for the evening that left me with a sugar hangover. And a worthy hangover at that.

Rather than the suggested 9X9 square pan I baked these guys in a 9 inch round pan and sliced them in thin wedges. Chocolate chunks, dark chocolate covered espresso beans, cappuccino chips, cocoa powder, and a chocolate wafer cigar were among many of the toppers. Please please pleaseeee make this if you haven't already. They are a great end-of-the-summer cool treat for season ending BBQ's! Labor Day, anyone? You're welcome.

Espresso Cheesecake Brownies

From Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours

For the brownies:

1/2 cup ap flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 F, with a rack in the center. Butter a 9" square baking pan placed on a baking sheet and set aside.

To make the brownies:

Whisk together the first three ingredients. Put the butter and chocolate over a double boiler with water simmering. Stir until the ingredients melt, but don't overheat so that the butter separates. Remove the top of the double boiler and set aside.

Stir the sugar into the chocolate mixture with a whisk, then add the eggs one at a time. Beat well after each egg, then beat in the vanilla. Next, gently stir in the dry ingredients until they disappear. Set aside.

For the cheesecake:

1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder dissolved in 1 tablespoon boiling water

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon ap flour

Allow the espresso to cool to tepid. With a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the cream cheese on medium until it's completely smooth. Add the sugar and continue to beat for 3 minutes more. Beat in the vanilla and espresso before adding the eggs one at a time. Beat for 1 minute after each egg, then reduce the speed to low and add the sour cream, then the flour. The batter should be smooth.

Pour about 3/4 of the brownie mixture into the prepared pan. Smooth it out, then pour the cheesecake layer over the top, taking care to make it even. Place spoonfuls of the rest of the brownie batter on top, and use a knife to swirl the dark and light batters together. Be careful, however, not to plunge the knife into the base brownie layer. Swirl only as much as necessary.

Bake for around 30 minutes. The brownies should come away from the sides of the pan. The cheesecake will puff and turn lightly browned around the edges. Transfer the pan to a wrack to cool. Once it reaches room temperature, refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until well chilled.

For the topping:

1 1/4 cups sour cream

1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Warm the sour cream and sugar in a small saucepan over very low heat. You need to stir constantly until the sugar is dissolved. Pour over the chilled brownies, then return them to the refrigerator and chill for at least another hour. Cut the brownies into squares and serve.

VANILLA MINIS

2009-08-25T21:28:00.002-04:00

I made these tonight with left over cake batter. They are adorable. They are delicious. They are minuscule. Three adjectives that would highlight any great dessert, in my mind. I experimented with my own recipe for a full-on fluffy, moist, white cake. No no no folks, no egg yolks in these bad boys. Many people get confused with the traditional white cake. I've seen several recipes for "golden vanilla cakes" that have the taste of vanilla but not the appearance; keyword golden. In this case, it's all vanilla from the inside out and it's darn tasty at that.

I topped these minis with a creamy, rich, instant fudge frosting and garnished with blue and white non pareils. I'd love love loveeee to publish this recipe for ya'll because I feel like I'd be doing an injustice to the world of sweet teeth if I didn't, butttttttt I think I need to keep this one to myself because it just may be my next unique go-to white cake recipe. Everyone should feel special, shouldn't they?

CAKE SLICE BAKERS: MARBLED LEMON BLUEBERRY BUTTERCAKE

2009-08-23T12:48:00.002-04:00

OK, I realize I'm SEVERAL months behind in my favorite little baking group, The Cake Slice Bakers. I've been so incredibly overwhelmed that I've completely neglected this interactive monthly baking group for oh so long. However, my mini hiatus has come to an end. What better time to start back up being that I'm in my Advanced Cakes module in culinary school...? Any excuse to bake cakes, consider me in!

Well, I'm back and better than ever and began catching up with July's cake which was posted on the 20th; marbled lemon blueberry buttercake. Luckily I already made August's cake selection; Pistachio Petit Four cake, last year so I'm up to date for September. Wow, I came back just in time because this cake was absolutely fantastic. It was very similar to the base of Dorie's perfect party cake with an added marbled blueberry throughout, a homemade lemon blueberry puree, and a lemon swiss meringue buttercream. Mmmm mmmm delicious!

I went the extra mile and made my own lemon swiss meringue buttercream. The original recipe called for whole eggs and I'm really not a fan of that kind of buttercream. I stuck shaved coconut around the sides of the entire cake and colored a portion of my buttercream purple to pipe across the top. I sprinkled a touch more coconut on the rosettes and stars and dropped a blueberry on each, as well as 3 in the center. I had dinner with my 94 year old grandma last week in the city and brought her this cake. For a woman who weigh 85lbs and doesn't have much of an interest in food, she sure scarfed this cake down faster than you could imagine. She called me the next morning to inform me that she had it for breakfast as well.

Go ahead and check out the cake slice bakers blogroll and become a member today. We'd love to have you!

September's selection features Sky High's triple chocolate fudge cake. Keep your eyes peeled!

Marbled Lemon Blueberry Butter Cake
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1½ tsp lemon extract
7 egg whites
3 cups cake flour
4 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1¼ cups milk
Fresh blueberries, for decoration

Lemon blueberry preserves (below)
Lemon buttercream frosting (below)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of three 8 inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.
In a mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, lemon zest and lemon extract until light and fluffy. Gradually add the egg whites 2 or 3 at a time, beating well between additions and stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt, whisk gently to blend. In 2 or 3 alternating additions, beat the dry ingredients and milk into the butter mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl several times. Beat on medium-high speed for about 1 minute to smooth out any lumps and aerate the batter.
Scoop 1 cup of the batter into a small bowl. Divide the remaining equally among the 3 prepared pans, smoothing the tops with a spatula. This gives you a smooth surface to work with. Add 2½ tbsp of the lemon blueberry preserves to the reserved batter and blend well. Drizzle heaping teaspoons of this blueberry mixture over the batter in the pans. Use a skewer to swirl the blueberry mixture in short strokes to drag it down through the lemon batter without mixing it in.
Bake for about 25 minutes or until a cake tester or skewer stuck in the centre comes out clean and the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. Lat the layers cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack, peeling off the paper and leaving to cool completely.

Lemon Blueberry Preserves
3 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
¾ cup sugar
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1½ tsp grated lemon zest
1 tsp grated fresh ginger

Puree the blueberries with any juices that have exuded in a blender. Pass the puree through a coarse strainer to remove the skins.
In a heavy medium saucepan, combine the blueberry puree with the sugar, lemon juice, zest and ginger. Bring to a gentle boil over a medium heat, stirring often for 20 minutes, or until the preserves have thickened and are reduced to 1 cup. To check the proper thickness place a small amount of a saucer and put in the freezer until cold. Drag your finger through it. If a clear path is made through the preserve then it is ready. Let the preserves cool before using. (Can be made up to 5 days in advance).

Lemon Buttercream Frosting
1 cup sugar
¼ cup water
2 eggs
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Continue to boil without stirring, occasionally washing down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush until the syrup reaches the soft-ball stage, 238 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Immediately remove from the heat.
In a large mixer bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beast the eggs briefly. Slowly add the hot syrup in a thin stream, pouring it down the sides of the bowl; be careful to avoid hitting the beaters or the syrup may splatter. When all the syrup has been added, raise the speed to medium,-high and beat until the mixture is very fluffy and cooled to body temperature. This can take 15-20 minutes.
Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and gradually add the softened butter 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time, beating well between additions. As you’re adding the last few tablespoons of butter, the frosting will appear to break, then suddenly come together like whipped butter. Beat in the lemon juice, and the frosting is ready to use.

To Assemble
To assemble the cake, place a layer, flat side up, on a cake stand. Spread half of the lemon blueberry preserves over the top. Place a second layer on top of the first and spread the remaining preserves over it. Finally place the third layer on top and frost the top and sides with the lemon buttercream.
Decorate with fresh blueberries and serve.
Makes one 8 inch triple layered cake.

ENGAGEMENT CAKE

2009-08-23T12:41:00.003-04:00

This is an engagement cake I made for a friend of a friend's engagement party. The cake consists of 4 layers (it was huge!) of interchanging chocolate and vanilla sponge cakes and each layer was filled with a whipped chocolate ganache. The entire cake was iced with a chocolate swiss meringue buttercream and I used a cornet to pipe the writing using white chocolate. I made chocolate sablee cookies and piped their initials on them which I then stuck around the sides of the cake. I made marzipan white roses in bunches around the 4 corners of the cake and piped pretty borders around the top and bottom perimeters. I heard the cake was a huge hit and I was so happy to share my love of decorative sweets with the bride and groom to be! Enjoy!

CAKES GALORE

2009-08-23T12:17:00.003-04:00

As I mentioned earlier, I've been knee deep in cakes. All day, everyday I'm immersed in the art of cake baking, cake technique, and decorating in school. I still have 2 more weeks of my advanced cakes module so stay tuned. Here's what I've been up to lately in both school and extra curricular projects:

Horseradish Grill's chocolate cake filled with whipped praline chocolate ganache, iced with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream with a rich chocolate ganache glaze across the top and drizzled down the sides. Piped buttercream rosettes garnished with shaved chocolate and toasted hazelnuts

Triple layer chocolate genoise cake soaked with brandy syrup, filled with a mocha swiss meringue buttercream with piped buttercream kisses and "mocha" written across in chocolate using a cornet.

Petit Fours: Almond frangipane cakes sandwiched together with raspberry and apricot jams and topped with poured fondant. Decorated with dried lavender, chocolate, and almond slivers.

LEMON SCENTED WHITE CAKE WITH ORANGE GRAND MARNIER BUTTERCREAM

2009-08-18T16:34:00.002-04:00

Cake, cake, and cake. Yes folks, it's official..I've entered my 3rd module of culinary school and it's all about cakes! I've been looking forward to this module since I first read the curriculum long before I enrolled. Is it everything I thought it would be? Absolutely. I'm so incredibly obsessed with school these days I can hardly wait to wake up at 6:38am everyday. By 8am the baking, assembly, and decoration of cake madness begins. It's fantastic!

With all this said, the next several posts over the coming weeks will be tons of cakes; so suit up, buckle in, and join me down the aisle of cake love.

The first week of class featured a lemon scented white cake which is very similar to Dorie Greenspan's perfect party cake. This wasn't a surprise to me when I found out that Dorie and Nick Malgieri, who wrote the curriculum for my baking and pastry arts program, are very dear friends. Perhaps Dorie emulated Nick's lemon scented white cake for her perfect party cake..? Nonetheless, it tasted exactly the same; delicious.

When our cakes are done baking, each student individually has to select one of several flavor/design combinations offered to us in our books. Once you choose a cake theme you stick with it through the filling, stripping (if applicable), the frostings of the outside and top, glazes, as well as a particular design. In my case, I chose the orange Grand Marnier cake which featured an orange marmalade stripping, Grand Marnier swiss meringue buttercream filling in between layers and around the cake, and then garnished with sugared almonds. I piped 12 rosettes across the top indicating 12 slices and added some criss-crossed candied orange rind.

I've learned the art of cake assembly in the first 2 weeks of 'Advanced Cakes'. My layers are all neat and even, the top and sides of the cake are perfectly flat and straight, and my slices look divine! I have many many more cakes to come so don't be a stranger!

TWD: CLASSIC BANANA BUNDT CAKE

2009-08-05T21:29:00.004-04:00

Well, it's hard to believe I haven't posted a TWD recipe in months. There's been culinary school, recreational baking, and lots of traveling. I apologize to all you TWD'ers out there who have been participating all summer. I promise to get back on the bandwagon stat, beginning with this classic banana bundt cake chosen by Mary of The Food Librarian. Have you ever takin' a peek of Mary's blog? If not, I suggest you mosey on over there immediately! She's absolutely incredible from her recipes to her photographs; she's unbelievably talented.

This hunk of banana deliciousness was the epitome of banana bundts. It was moist, super flavorful, light, and perfect with a cup of joe in the morning or as a midnight snack. I added chopped pecans, coconut, and a touch of rum to the bananas before baking. The coconut and banana combination was excellent and it's a flavor combo that I would definitely use in the future. Oddly enough I had an entire lesson on bundt cakes yesterday in class, so I brought this into school this morning. My classmates loved it and my chef instructor, who's a big banana fan, said it was great!

Hop on over to Mary's blog for the recipe. Stay tuned for next week where I will be participating (2 consecutive weeks, woo hoo!) in brownie buttons. Yum.

BIRTHDAY CUPCAKES

2009-08-03T19:23:00.007-04:00

With birthday cake (shown below), comes birthday cupcakes! What's a party without cupcakes? In addition to the cake featured below, I made cupcakes for all the attendees of Jana's birthday party. After all, the cake was solely intended for Jana's tummy and I didn't want to make her guests envious.

So, I brought these: a bevy of vanilla cupcakes with alternating chocolate buttercreams and vanilla/chocolate swirl buttercreams each topped with a different theme. I used leftover batter from the cake recipe below this post as well as Billy's chocolate buttercream.

Here is what I came up with...

Thin Mint Cupcake: Vanilla cupcake with chocolate buttercream topped with chopped thin mints, mint drizzle, and a whole thin mint cookie

Peanut Butter Brittle Chip Cupcake: Vanilla cupcake with chocolate buttercream topped with mini chocolate chips and a shard of homemade peanut brittle

Chocolate Oreo Cupcake: Vanilla cupcake with chocolate/vanilla swirl buttercream topped with Oreo crumbs and a Chocolate Cream Oreo

M&M Cupcake: Vanilla cupcake with chocolate buttercream topped with mini M&M's and a red sugar icing drizzle

Peanut Butter Coffee Cupcake: Vanilla cupcake with chocolate/vanilla swirl buttercream topped with peanut butter drizzle and a chocolate covered coffee bean

Chocolate Brownie Cupcake: Vanilla cupcake with chocolate buttercream topped with chunks of Dorie Greenspan's Katherine Hepburn brownies and a white chocolate drizzle

BIRTHDAY CAKE

2009-08-03T17:24:00.002-04:00

My best friend Jana turned the big 2-6 last week and I was thrilled to be making her a special birthday cake. I didn't need to ask what kind of cake she required because if a cake has frosting on it, this girl will eat it; be it chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, and what have you. If Sesame Street had a frosting monster character, she would surely get top billing. "Meee...wanttt..frostinggg"

Jana is a simple girl with simple tastes so I went with my favorite vanilla cake recipe with my favorite vanilla frosting and some quintessential birthday confetti sprinkles on top. I used funky black glittery candles and dolloped a chocolate kiss-like-shape of frosting in the center.

Trying this cake would have been at the top of my priority list, however, it was guzzled down in a matter of moments..in the privacy of Jana's home...by herself...where it belonged :)

KING ARTHUR'S CHOCO-NILLA CAKE

2009-08-01T21:56:00.002-04:00

I mentioned in the previous post that I made a 6 inch 4 layer birthday cake with the leftover batter from the Half Baked cuppies. Well, here it is. I've been a King Arthur fan since I've been baking; for both ingredients and recipes. This cake is absolutely delicious. The chocolate cake is fudgy and moist while the vanilla cake adds a firmer more textured cake. Together they make the best of both worlds with the most delicious fudge frosted filling sandwiched in between. I will most definitely be referencing back to this cake for my go-to birthday cakes.

The recipe can be found in the below post or just click here.

HALF-BAKED CUPCAKES

2009-08-01T13:37:00.008-04:00

I did some part time fill in work at my old job last week and Ben & Jerry's flavors happened to be a major topic of discussion. Why, you ask? Because it was 4:00 on a Friday and these are the kind of filler topics that come up when everyone is ready for the weekend! Lucky for me, it was a conversation I could add some serious input to! As I deeply contemplated my favorite flavor, I knew there was no match for Ben & Jerry's Half Baked ice cream. Have you ever had it? If not, you must go try it immediately. They even make it in a Lo-Fat version, so I don't want to hear any excuses out of y'all. Chocolate and vanilla ice creams studded with fudge brownies and gobs of chocolate chip cookie dough. I mean, really??? Wow. Dear Ben & Jerry: you tryin' to kill me? Love, Melissa.

So, in honor of this fabulous flavor, I decided to create a cupcake version of Half Baked. At least with this creation, I could take my time to savor and not worry about the melting factor :) Here's what I came up with: swirled vanilla and chocolate cake studded with chocolate chip cookie dough, topped with a chocolate chip cookie dough whipped cream frosting with a brownie chunk and chocolate ganache drizzle. Yep, this reenactment definitely did the trick.

I used King Arthur's choco-nilla cake recipe for the actual cupcake (so delicious and super easy). I only made a few of these so the rest of the recipe was used to make a 4 layer 6 inch birthday cake which is featured above.

Enjoy!

Half-Baked Cupcakes

For the Vanilla Cake:

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream or plain yogurt (full-fat is best) [I used sour cream]

2 large eggs

1 cup (7 ounces) sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder

1/3 cup (2 3/8 ounces) vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups (8 ½ ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

For the Chocolate Cake:

1 1/3 cups (9 3/8 ounces) sugar

1 1/3 cups (5 3/8 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

2 tablespoons (3/8 ounce) Instant ClearJel® or cornstarch (1/2 ounce)

1/2 cup (1 1/2 ounces) Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-process cocoa

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons espresso powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1/2 cup (3 ½ ounces) vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup (6 ounces) water

Eggless Cookie Dough:

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips [I used mini chocolate chips]

*reserve 1/4 of cookie dough recipe for frosting*

-Use any brownie recipe you prefer and cut up into 1 inch chunks. I used Dorie Greenspan's Katherine Hepburn brownies.

To make the vanilla cake:

1)Whisk together the yogurt or sour cream, eggs, sugar, salt, baking powder, vegetable oil, and vanilla.

2) Stir in the flour, mixing till smooth. Drop in little bits of cookie dough.

3) Pour the batter into one of the prepared pans. [muffin tins-marble in chocolate batter]

4) Bake the cake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the cake is beginning to brown on top. It may crack slightly; that’s OK. [I didn't time these, but keep an eye on them after 12 mins]

5) Remove the cake from the oven, and after 10 minutes turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool.

To make the chocolate cake:

6)Whisk together the dry ingredients.

7) Add the eggs, oil, and vanilla, beating until smooth.

8) Gradually add the water, beating until smooth. Drop in little bits of cookie dough.

9) Pour the batter into the prepared pan. [muffin tin-marble in vanilla batter]

10) Bake the cake for about 35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
11) Remove the cake from the oven, and after 10 minutes turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool.

12) Divide the cooled cakes in half horizontally, to make four round layers. Place one vanilla layer on a serving plate.

To make the cookie dough:

In a bowl beat 1/4 cup butter or margarine with the brown sugar and 1/4 cup of the white sugar. Stir in the water and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla. Beat in the flour and the semisweet chocolate chips. Stir until combined. [Set 1/4 of the recipe aside for frosting]

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Whipped Cream Frosting:

1 ½ cup heavy whipping cream

8 oz cream cheese, softened

¾ cup granulated sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

To make the frosting: in a medium bowl beat the whipping cream until stiff peaks form (do not overbeat); set aside. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes until smooth. Fold in the whipped cream. Fold the remaining cookie dough chunks into the frosting and immediately frost the cooled cupcakes. Drizzle chocolate syrup or ganache on top and use a brownie chunk for garnish.

PUFF PASTRY FUN

2009-08-01T13:10:00.004-04:00

Well, I just finished my second module of culinary school:bread and pastries. I can't believe how quickly the time has passed! I'm so psyched for the next module which begins Monday; Cakes!!!A big chunk of this module was dedicated to classic puff pastry which is totally awesome and very different from what I've ever done. I've never made puffed pastry before this and boy is it a fun dough to work with. It allows for sooooo much creativity and it tastes pretty darn delicious, especially when paired with the right fillings, pastry creams, fruits, etc. However, the one downfall of puffed pastry is the ridiculous amount of time it takes to prepare. It requires double turns (the lamination process), resting periods, more double turns, then the sheeting process all before it is even put in the oven. I now realize why and how puffed pastry is so expensive in bakeries and rightfully so due to the extreme labor and expense that is put into it. Below is a whole bunch of puffed pastry recipes that I made this past module.

Fresh Fruit Strip

Napoleon

Apple Tart

Spanakopita using Phyllo dough filled with feta, ricotta, spinach & dill

CHERRY CHEESECAKE SQUARES

2009-07-20T14:26:00.003-04:00

Ok, these were simply incredible. My parents threw a huge 60+ person BBQ over the weekend and I was designated to do all the desserts. Obviously. One of the several desserts I made were these cherry cheesecake squares. Picture this: chocolate chip cookie crust, cherry cheesecake filling, almond streusel topping. Um, amazing. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take any more pictures of the actual squares because these were gobbled up in about 5.2 seconds; no joke. However, I would HIGHLY advise you to make these and you can interchange any kind of fruit filling; i.e. apple, blueberry, etc. You can even go with a sugar cookie crust if that suits your fancy! The best part about these bars is that the cookie crust comes from a mix. I rarely ever bake anything from a mix but I had so many desserts to make that I thought it would be easier on myself to cheat a bit..Enjoy!

CHERRY CHEESECAKE SQUARES recipe

LINZER TORTE

2009-07-20T14:06:00.002-04:00

Ok, I swear this is my last post on tarts/tortes. My culinary curriculum has officially moved on from tarts and is now entering the world of puff pastry! I'm so excited!

My father loves linzer tarts. Linzers were the first cookie I ever consumed at the very wee age of 3 months! I obviously don't remember this experience but it has been confirmed by my mother and makes a whole lot of sense since linzers are my absolute favorite cookie ever! You could imagine my excitement when my chef told us we were going to make them. However, there is a distinct difference between linzer cookies (like the ones you buy in the bakery with the powdered sugar) and linzer tortes, which are baked in a round cake pan, smothered in jelly, and latticed on top. Regardless, the linzer tortes we made in class were spectacular! Unfortunately my father never got the opportunity to try them...they never made it home!

RAINBOW FRUIT TART

2009-07-20T13:50:00.002-04:00

As stated in my previous post, the past 2 weeks in school have been filled with a plethora of tarts. Tarts. Tarts. Tarts. Over the past few years, I've made a ton of tarts but after these last 2 weeks of tart education, I've finally mastered the proper techniques to avoid dough shrinkage! This rainbow fruit tart consisted of a tart crust; using sucree dough(obviously), vanilla pastry cream, and a variety of colorful fruits. I'm personally not a huge fruit tart fan because I'm not a lover of pastry cream but this happened to be delicious. I went ahead and made a fruit tart on my own (outside of the classroom) which is pictured below. Since I had extra tart dough and pastry cream, I made another tart (in a rectangular tart pan), filled it with the pastry cream, and shaved espresso chocolate on top with a drizzle of chocolate ganache. Yum!

my extracurricular fruit tart

Chocolate Tart

LIME MERINGUE PIE

2009-07-12T19:11:00.003-04:00

This past week in culinary school we learned all about pies and tarts using various different kinds of dough such as pate brisse, pate sucree, and pasta frolla. Above, we have a meringue pie using lime curd. The flaky tart dough, cool refreshing lime filling and sugary meringue topping was PERFECT.

CANNOLIS

2009-07-12T19:01:00.000-04:00

Hi all! I can't believe it has been just about 2 weeks since I've posted last. As I've said earlier, culinary school has been very time consuming. However, I'm here now, and I've got a ton of posts to catch up on. We made cannolis last week in class. Yes, cannolis! I never ever thought I'd tackle the challenge of making cannolis but here I am, 2 months into culinary school, and I've accomplished just that; the art of cannoli-making. The entire process was extremely time consuming and tedious but the results are worth it and very self satisfying. According to my chef instructor, a pasta maker is necessary in order to complete a cannoli recipe so I ordered mine last week! I can't wait! The filling was the most delicious part; containing ricotta cheese, confectioner's sugar, orange rind, and chocolate bits. YUM.

HOLY DONUTS!

2009-07-01T22:37:00.002-04:00

Well, today was donut day in culinary school. Donut day=amazingness. Sure, I've made cake donuts before that were a cinch because no deep fryer and/or yeast were involved. It was a simple recipe baked in my cutesy little donut pan that eliminated the risk of 375 degree hot oil burns. Baah, what was I thinking? Lame. Deep frying, on the other hand, comes from a completely different planet; and that planet is astounding...and fattening-or should I say astoundingly fattening? However, all of this "my skinny jeans don't fit anymore" talk is irrelevant because you become immersed in a deep fry world of hot oil, glazes, sprinkles, ganache, cinnamon, sugar, and what have you. You dig? It owns you. I'm intrigued.

Below is a selection of the donuts I made tonight, post class--because I just couldn't resist making them in my own kitchen. Again, the world of donuts have owned me for the past 15 hours. Yikes.

Cinnamon & Sugar

Vanilla Glazed with nonpareils

Vanilla Glazed with blue/orange/silver/purple sprinkles

Powdered

MILLIE'S MANDEL BREAD

2009-06-30T23:22:00.002-04:00

I, once again, made a batch (or 20) of my great grandmother's mandel bread that could seriously feed a family of 40. The guys who work in my car garage, my boyfriends parents, my parents, my dry cleaner, veterinarians office, and my doctors are a few of the recipients who benefited; and I still have some to spare.

Half of the 1 zillion mandel had chopped Scharfenberger dark chocolate and the other 1 zillion had dried cranberries, dried pineapple chunks, raisins, and almonds.

Sweet.

MORE BREAD BAKING

2009-06-30T23:05:00.005-04:00

A little update of what has been going on in school the past week...Oh, and bread baking seriously rules.

Sour Dough Bread

Challah Bread--which went from this...

....to this....

...to this (Challah French toast for breakfast!)

Challah & Heineken

ICE 11: VANILLA BEAN BLUEBERRY COCONUT CUPCAKES W/ VANILLA BEAN BUTTERCREAM

2009-06-23T23:08:00.004-04:00

Ahhh, at it again! Iron Cupcake Earth: Summer Berries..how fitting! Of all the summer berries out there, I went with blueberries because they truly are my most favorite berry of all. Price club had the most beautiful blueberries this weekend, so I picked myself up a ginormous container of 'em. I made a vanilla bean cupcake studded with plump, juicy blueberries and coconut throughout. The cupcake was then topped with a dollop of vanilla bean buttercream, coconut flakes, and gummy berries.

These were refreshing, light, and super moist. I purposely made a buttercream that was more like a Swiss meringue than an overly sweet crusty child-like buttercream which proved to be the perfect compliment to the cake. Blueberry and coconut are a spectacular flavor combination that I would pretty much add to anything sweet-toothed.

Be sure to vote for me between June 28th and July 6th at No One Puts Cupcake in a Corner.

Vanilla Bean Blueberry Coconut Cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

3/4 cup milk

1 vanilla bean, scraped

1 c. blueberries

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 muffin tins with cupcake papers.

2. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in two parts, alternating with the milk. Add the vanilla. Fold in blueberries.

4. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups until each is about two-thirds full. Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly touched. Let cupcakes cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

5. When cupcakes are thoroughly cool, top with buttercream and coconut.

Vanilla Bean Buttercream (click)

June ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:

A sweet cupcake ID bracelet by INSANEJELLYFISH,http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5021935
A groovy linocut piece from BLOCKHEAD PRESShttp://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6108705
a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery,http://www.acupcakery.com/
PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS,http://www.fiestaproducts.com, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com, JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com; TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com; a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM http://www.upwithcupcakes.com/. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers,http://www.1800flowers.com .

HOMEMADE PEANUT BUTTER TWIX

2009-06-23T22:43:00.005-04:00

Ugh, HOW GOOD ARE TWIX? I swear, I blame Ferris Bueller for my Twix addiction. Sure, he's a fictional character that I idolized growing up who mastered the concept of playing hookie, but this movie shared the same theme song as the Twix commercials back in the late 80's, early 90's. That being said, I must have seen Ferris Bueller's Day Off over 7 million times; and each and every time I've seen it, I've eaten a Twix. Yes, that's a lot of Twix.

Sugar cookie base, peanut butter caramel layer, topped off by a smooth chocolate ganache.

I love you, Ferris.

You can use Betty Crocker's version of this recipe here.

However, I made the sugar cookie base, peanut butter caramel filling, and chocolate ganache from scratch. Feel free to use your favorite recipes for each layer!

COCONUT CREAM CHEESE COOKIES

2009-06-23T22:29:00.003-04:00

Oh man, these were good. Cream cheese is such a fantastic catalyst for flavor in cookies. You can pair cream cheese with just about anything! It's creamy, delicious, and beyond amazing when paired with coconut. I added pecans to half the batch for an extra crunch. Verdict? Score 1 for me.

*spoiler alert* these cookies require 2 days to make

Coconut Cream Cheese Cookies

(recipe from Cooks Illustrated)

2 cups plus 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted & cooled until room temp

5-6 oz. cream cheese softened (I used 8 oz)

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups coconut toasted (I used 2 & 1/2 cups)

Adjust oven racks to upper & lower -middle positions & heat oven to 325. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread coconut evenly on baking sheet. Once oven is preheated place coconut in oven. Bake for 10-20 minutes stirring every 5minutes for even toasting. Remove from oven when light brown. Do NOT burn. Remove from oven. Allow to cool completely before adding to dough. Re-line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk dry ingredients together; set aside. With electric mixer, or by hand mix butter and cream cheese together with a mixer until smooth. Add sugars and beat until thoroughly combined. Beat in vanilla until combined. Add dry ingredients & beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in cooled coconut. Chill dough overnight. When ready to bake cookies preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop dough onto parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 12-14 minutes or until edges are set and bottoms are light brown. Do NOT over bake! Cool cookies on sheets until able to lift without breaking and place on wire rack to cool.

BREAD WINNER

2009-06-23T22:03:00.002-04:00

Well hellooooooo (in my best Seinfeld rendition)! Remember me? I am deeply sorry for being MIA the last-oh, I don't know-month or so. Culinary school has really kept me busy and I just haven't had the time to post what's been going on. My plan is to keep ya'll updated on what I've been doing/learning/baking in school. So I vow, from here on out, to keep you afloat. With that said, I officially completed the first module of the program with flying colors (100% on my final practical, what, what!). Module 2 consists of breads and pastries, yippie! Finally a topic I have zero experience in thus piquing my interest that much more. I began this module yesterday and so far I've made Semolina bread, American black bread, and Fougasse. For all you bread baking virgins, I encourage you to familiarize yourself with the world of CARBOHYDRATES! Bread baking is AWESOME. I find it to be extremely interesting and mind blowing with what a few simple ingredients can do. Here's what I've been up to...

American Black Bread

Fougasse (w/Bacon)

PEANUT BRITTLE

2009-06-15T22:05:00.002-04:00

I LOVE PEANUT BRITTLE.

......that's all for today.

Thank you.

Peanut Brittle from Food Network

Ingredients

1/2 cup water
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup light corn syrup
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (I omitted)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups roasted salted peanuts
1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions

Combine the water, sugar, cream of tartar and corn syrup in a medium-size heavy saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer. Bring to a boil over medium heat. After it boils, stir the mixture occasionally. Boil the mixture until it reaches 340 degrees F. The color should be deep golden brown. Remove from the heat and, working quickly, stir in the cinnamon with a wooden spoon. Stir in the butter until melted, then the peanuts and baking soda.

Pour the mixture onto the oiled cookie sheet with sides and spread it out a bit with the back of a wooden spoon, to about 1/4-inch thickness (it may not fill the whole pan). Let harden, uncovered, in a cool place, 30 to 45 minutes. (To wash the saucepan, soak it overnight.)

Using your hands, and wearing cotton or plastic gloves if desired to keep off any fingerprints, break the brittle into pieces. Store in an airtight container.

TWD:HONEY PEACH CHIP ICE CREAM

2009-06-15T21:26:00.002-04:00

Word Association. Words I like to pair with ice cream: chocolate, peanut butter, peanuts, almonds, raisins, marshmallow, caramel, fudge, coconut, butterfinger, snickers, cookie dough, heath bar, sprinkles, oreos, brownie chunks, butterscotch, chocolate chips. M&M's, chocolate crunchies, granola, white chocolate chips, and whipped cream.

Words I don't like to pair with ice cream: peaches and honey.

Catch my drift?

I know, I know, I sound awfully negative about this whole fruit/ice cream pairing, but come on people! Ice cream is made of heavy cream, whole milk, and egg yolks! Why on Earth would I ever pair that with fruit if I'm going to consume such fattening ingredients anyway! With that said, this recipe was not on my list of favorites. Again, I'm most certainly not a fan of honey. I think it smells weird. As for peaches..? Yea, they are deliciously juicy and tasty when eaten as a solo fruit...but it's not something I want in my creamy frozen dessert. Negative. So, I went ahead and added some chunks of semi sweet chocolate hoping it would appeal to my taste buds. Newsflash, it didn't; HOWEVER, my veterinarians office were quite grateful for their refreshing June afternoon treat. See, I aim to please :)

However, there are some positives to this weeks TWD recipe, chosen by Tommi of Brown Interior. (P.S. Tommi, I ain't mad atcha, big fan of your blog!) At the very least, I've been studying frozen desserts and egg based ice creams in culinary school this past week, so this selection gave me yet another opportunity to meander down the avenues of ice cream town. You can see my other ice cream creations on my most recent post.

Tommi, you still rock.

ICE CREAM SUNDAY

2009-06-14T19:18:00.003-04:00

Well, it's official, I'm in love with my Kitchen Aid ice cream attachment. It rules. This past week in class, we had a whole bunch of lessons on frozen desserts, including egg based french ice cream recipes. I've had this ice cream attachment for over a year now and the last and only time I used it was for a TWD recipe that was selected around this time last year: blueberry sour cream ice cream. Why have I waited this long to explore the world of "frozen custard"? It's creamy, delicious, and especially refreshing during these hot summer months. Heck, my love for ice cream making is so grand that I'll be making ice cream through the winter as well. So take that!

Photographed above is fudge ripple tin roof ice cream from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop. This. Was. Amazing. Picture this: vanilla bean based ice cream studded with chocolate covered peanuts and a fudge ripple burst within each bite. Mmmm. This recipe calls for a "make-your-own" chocolate covered peanuts as well as fudge ripple. I followed the peanut recipe, however, in class last week we homemade every component to an ice cream sundae including chocolate fudge. I brought home a huge tub of it and decided to use that as my fudge ripple rather than making more. It was perfect.

Next up on my Sunday of ice cream obsession came cake batter ice cream. Seriously what's better than cake batter? Nothing! When I was first introduced to cake batter ice cream from cold stone creamery I truly thought the flavor was pure genius. Once I realized I could make it myself, I was in heaven. Photographed above is just that, cake batter ice cream with colored sprinkles. This tasted like a creamy, thicker, more dense-melt in your mouth version of actual cake batter. Again, deeeeelish! If you have an ice cream maker, go ahead and make these scoops of love, you won't regret it!

Tin Roof Ice Cream

Source: The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

¾ cup whole milk

¾ cup sugar

Pinch of salt

1 ½ cups heavy cream

½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise

4 large egg yolks

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup Chocolate-Covered Peanuts

Fudge Ripple

Warm the milk, sugar, salt and 1/2 cup of the cream in a medium saucepan. With a sharp paring knife, scrape the flavorful seeds from the vanilla bean and add them, along with the pod, to the hot milk mixture. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Rewarm the vanilla-infused mixture. Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream to cool. Remove the vanilla bean, wipe it clean of any egg bits, and add it back to the custard. Stir in the vanilla and stir until cool over an ice bath. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.

Then ready to churn the ice cream, remove the vanilla bean (it can be rinsed and reused). Freeze the ice cream in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. While the ice cream is freezing, chop the peanuts into bite-sized pieces. “

Fold the peanut pieces into the frozen ice cream as you remove it from the machine, and layer it with Fudge Ripple.

Chocolate-Covered Peanuts

4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts

Put the pieces of chocolate in an absolutely dry heat proof bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water to melt the chocolate, stirring until smooth. In the meantime, stretch a piece of plastic wrap over a dinner plate.

Once the chocolate is melted, remove it from the heat and stir in the peanuts, coating them with the chocolate. Spread the mixture on the plastic-lined plate and chill.

Fudge Ripple

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup water

6 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk together the sugar, corn syrup, water, and cocoa powder in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to bubble at the edges.

Continue to whisk until it just comes to a low boil. Cook for 1 minute, whisking frequently. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and let cool. Chill in the refrigerator before using.

Cake Batter Ice Cream

1 cup half & half

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup cake mix (I used confetti with the sprinkles)

Directions

Whisk the half & half and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved.

Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla and then stir in cake mix (to avoid lumps sift in).

Pour mixture into the freezer bowl and churn as directed by your machine.

Remove ice cream from freezer bowl and place into a freezer proof container and freeze for 8-10 hours.

TWD: PARISIAN APPLE TARTLET

2009-06-09T00:15:00.000-04:00

Note to self: When puffed pastry makes its way into my baking and pastry arts culinary program curriculum, be sure to pay attention; and a whole lot of it. You see, this was my first time working with puffed pastry. Oy vey. Based on the TWD Q&A section, most members used Pepperidge Farms frozen puffed pastry. Not me. I, on the other hand, decided to make the puffed pastry dough from scratch. Yikes. I used Nick Malgieri's "Quickest Puffed Pastry" recipe. Quick? Yes. Easy? No. I followed the directions to a T and then added the quartered 1/2 apple, brown sugar, and bits of butter. Wallah. Photographed above is my version of a Parisian apple tartlet. While the actual pastry was flaky, buttery, crispy, and delicious; my presentation was disgraceful!

Thanks to Jessica of My Baking Heart who chose this weeks TWD recipe. Because of Jessica, I now officially realize how much I have to learn regarding puffed pastry!

TWD: CINNAMON MINI MUFFINS

2009-06-02T13:43:00.002-04:00

These were my take on this weeks TWD recipe: Cinnamon Squares, chosen by Tracey of Tracey's Culinary Adventures. Rather than making, well..er, squares; I went with mini muffins and topped them off with a dollop of cinnamon cream cheese frosting. The consistency of these little suckers were more like mini cinnamuffins (cinnamon buns in mini muffin form). The sprinkling of mini chocolate chips in the center added the a perfect chocolate touch.

I went baking cup liner-less in the pans to render less of a mini cupcake feel and more of a mini muffin appearance. These were a delicious little bite sized treat. Since this recipe has caused me to clearly rebel against the whole "square" thing, the next time I make these, an 8 inch round pan will be in the mix..

BIRTHDAY CUPCAKES

2009-06-01T12:43:00.003-04:00

Another birthday calls for more cupcakes. I obviously slated myself to provide the goodies and to hone in on my new found culinary skills; so here they are. Vanilla bean buttermilk cupcakes topped with a yellow vanilla bean Swiss meringue buttercream. Ahh, my chef instructor would be so proud.

I made 1 dozen regular sized cuppies followed by 1 dozen mini's. The minis are exact clones of their parents (the regulars). They are so freakin cute. As for the taste of these cuppies..whoa. Who knew vanilla bean buttermilk cupcakes could be so incredibly delicious. The recipe calls for vanilla extract, but I went the extra mile and added an additional vanilla bean (the seeds) for an extra vanilla kick. It definitely did the trick, as these were bursting with vanilla! These cupcakes were very moist and soft and the Swiss meringue buttercream added the perfect compliment.

I put these in a beautiful linen box and wrapped a bow around them. Nothing beats a birthday present quite like cupcakes. This recipe came from the much adored book, Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes. Go buy this book, it's incredible!

Vanilla Buttermilk Cake

from Sky High, Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne

4 whole eggs

2 egg yolks

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

3 cups cake flour

2 cups sugar

4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cake pans or spray to coat with vegetable oil. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and grease the paper.

Put the eggs and yolks in a medium mixing bowl, add the vanilla and 1/4 cup of the buttermilk. Whisk to blend well.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixer bowl; whisk to blend. Add the butter and the remaining 1 cup buttermilk to these dry ingredients and with the mixer on low, blend together. Raise the mixer speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Add the egg mixture in 3 additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl and mixing only until thoroughly incorporated. Divide the batter among the 3 prepared pans.

Bake the cake layers for 28-32 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. Let the layers cool in the pans for 10 minutes; then carefully turn out onto wire racks, peel off the paper liners, and let cool completely.

To assemble the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or serving plate. Spread 3/4 cup of the frosting over the layer, right to the edge. Repeat with the next layer. Place the last layer on top and use all but 3/4 cup of the frosting to cover the top and sides of the cake. With an offset spatula, smooth out the frosting all over. Place the remaining frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a medium star tip and pipe a shell border around the top and bottom edges of the cake.

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

adapted from Martha Stewart

1 c egg whites (from about 6 large eggs)
1 1/2 c sugar
pinch of salt
1 lb 4 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 t vanilla extract (or seeds of 1/2 vanilla bean)
squeeze of lemon juice

1)Combine the egg whites, sugar and pinch of salt in a large metal bowl (I usually do this right in my stand mixer bowl). Put the bowl over a pot of simmering water (double boiler-style), and whisk until the sugar is completely dissolved. The mixture will feel hot to the touch.

2)Transfer the hot mixture to your stand mixer and whip on high speed until it turns white and about doubles in size. This will take about six minutes. Beat in the vanilla and the lemon juice.

3)Add the butter, a few tablespoons at a time, on medium speed, mixing after each addition. Raise the speed and beat until smooth; this may take up to ten minutes. The mixture may appear curdled along the way; this is normal. Just keep beating and the mixture will become smooth again.

-Buttercream will keep, covered air-tight and refrigerated, for up to two weeks. Bring to room temperature, then beat on low speed before using.

CHOCOLATE MERINGUE COOKIE CUPCAKES

2009-05-28T21:53:00.002-04:00

....And the beat goes on. Another day of culinary school means more creative ways to utilize the products we make, daily. Case in point: chocolate cupcakes topped with Swiss meringue buttercream and vanilla meringue cookies. Do we see a theme here? Yes, yesterday's lesson was all about meringue. Swiss meringue buttercream, Italian meringue, original meringue cookies, etc etc. If it involved whipping egg whites, we covered it. I came home with a boatload of freshly baked (by me) meringue cookies and 2 tubs full of Swiss meringue buttercream. So, I baked a batch of Martha's one bowl chocolate cupcakes (my favorite) and topped them with the Swiss meringue buttercream that I seemed to have had an endless amount of. I then took the simple, yet delicious meringue cookies and topped each cupcake followed by a dusting of cocoa powder. My neighbors are sure enjoying the perks of culinary school; a.k.a. leftovers on a daily basis.

Martha Stewart's One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes

Yields 18-24

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons safflower oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.

2. Sift cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until smooth.

3. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to wire racks, and let cool. Cupcakes will keep, covered, for up to 3 days.

TWD: CHIPSTER TOPPED BROWNIES

2009-05-26T13:32:00.002-04:00

This is a recipe that you absolutely cannot go wrong with. You've got your brownie underbelly base with a crackly crispy chocolate chip cookie top to create a double whammy of perfection! I swapped out the chocolate chips for mini M&M's to add some color, however, I did make these with the chocolate chips way back when and they were equally as delicious.

I made these for the guys across the hall who babysat my pups Friday night and nothing says 'thank you' better than an M&M cookie/brownie combo.

I undercooked these slightly to get a gooey brownie bottom because I wanted to pair it with a crunchy top. I froze them whole before cutting them into perfect squares. These were very rich but well worth it! Thanks to Beth of Supplicious for selecting this week's TWD recipe. Check out her blog for details!

ICE 10:SUN DRIED TOMATO HUMMUS AND PITA CUPCAKES

2009-05-21T14:09:00.002-04:00

I've got to make this short and sweet. It has been a very busy holiday weekend and I don't have too much time to divulge into this month's Iron Cupcake Earth; ingredient: SAVORY.

I tried to think of my most favorite food that would convert nicely into a cupcake. For anyone who knows me, hummus and pita are my absolute favorite! I can literally eat hummus plain, all day long. There's nothing like homemade hummus with warm pita pockets nearby. Mmmm.

So, with that said, I've created a cornbread cupcake studded with sun dried tomato chunks, topped with a sun dried tomato hummus buttercream and a mini pita pocket and sun dried tomato chip for garnish. I used this cornbread recipe and made 12 cupcakes. I chopped up sun dried tomatoes from this great gourmet market near me and created my own sun dried tomato hummus buttercream by starting out with your basic buttercream recipe and adding 3/4 c. of hummus.

Voting begins on Saturday May 30th and noon and will continue through Friday June 5th at No One Puts Cupcake In A Corner.

Sun Dried Tomato Hummus and Pita Cupcakes

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

2/3 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray or lightly grease a 9 inch round cake pan.
In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir in egg, milk and vegetable oil until well combined. Put in chopped sun dried tomatoes. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Sun Dried Tomato Hummus Buttercream

1 stick butter, at room temperature

3 c. confectioner's sugar

2-3 tablespoons milk

1/2 c. hummus

chopped sun dried tomatoes

Beat butter until smooth and creamy. Add confectioner's sugar and beat well. Add in milk until desired consistency. Beat in hummus and sun dried tomatoes.

Our May ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:

A sweet cupcake ID bracelet by INSANEJELLYFISH,http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5021935
something sweet and dangly from CHERRYCREEKCHARMS at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6686445.
a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery,http://www.acupcakery.com/
PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

TWD:FRESH MANGO BREAD

2009-05-19T01:00:00.002-04:00

Kelly of Baking With The Boys chose this weeks TWD recipe; fresh mango bread. I've recently become a fan of mangos and the best time to get them is right now; during the month of May. So all you mango lovers out there; head to the store and buy yourselves some juicy, sweet, super flavorful mangos. They are beyond delicious, and so was this bread.

The recipe calls for 1 cut up mango, however I put in 2 because the mangos I bought were too good not to use. After cutting them up a ton of mango juice surfaced which I ended up putting into the bread dough before baking. I think this kept the bread super moist with an extra blast of mango flavor. Raisins were the perfect compliment to this fruit-filled loaf.

Many thanks to Kelly for choosing this recipe and further heightening my mango-loving taste buds. Check out her site for the recipe!

GINGERSNAP SANDWICH COOKIES WITH CINNAMON CREAM CHEESE FILLING

2009-05-18T13:53:00.002-04:00

I made these cookies today in class as part of an assignment!! The cookies themselves were crisp with a fine caramelized taste on top. The spices were rationed out perfectly to create a spicy, sweet, gingery flavor. Everyone in the class brought home their final product and I decided to make sandwiches out of them. I used this basic cream cheese frosting and mixed in cinnamon to create a cinnamon cream cheese filling. Using a plastic pastry bag with a small cut hole, I piped some filling in the middle of one half of the cookies and created very delicious sandwiches by gently pressing the unfrosted cookies on top. Mmm Mmm good.

Unfortunately I can't post the recipes for what we make at culinary school so I hope you enjoy the pictures!

BIRTHDAY CAKE/MAY CAKE SLICE BAKERS

2009-05-17T23:52:00.002-04:00

Hello! Remember me? Well, for someone who usually posts on average about 4 posts per week, I've been pretty MIA this last week. You see, I started culinary school full time (going for my baking and pastry arts degree!) and get my baking fix while at school; a.k.a. less time for recreational baking. Four hours on my feet all morning baking in a professional kitchen leads to extreme exhaustion! However, I'm going to make a valiant effort to keep you all interested by posting a couple times a week. No worries, my posts will be super drool-worthy, I promise :)

Speaking of drool-worthy, check out this birthday cake I made for my dear friend Jenn who turned 27 this weekend! I decided to knock 2 birds out with one stone by using the Cake Slice Baker's May recipe selection: Mile High Devils food cake. Coincidentally, devils food is one of Jenn's favorites, so it all worked out in my favor. Phew!

This cake was easy to make and was a big hit! The chocolate cake is rich and moist and the recipe calls for one of two options for the frosting. Either a brown sugar 7 minute frosting or a brown sugar Swiss meringue buttercream. Since I've made a boatload of recipes involving marshmallow meringue lately, I went with the Swiss meringue frosting instead. Don't get me wrong, marshmallow meringue is still on the top of my list for favorite frosting's, but I felt that the Swiss meringue buttercream would be a better option for decorating as it's smooth and very easy to work with.

I wasn't quite sure how I wanted to decorate this cake but apparently I ended up making it somewhat similar to a crown (or tiara!), which is quite fitting considering Jenn is like a princess! I used chocolate frosting to pipe the lettering, dots, and hearts around the cake. I used these really funky black and white stripe/polka dot candles that meshed with the colors of the cake perfectly!

Jenn really loved her cake which was my main concern at the end of the day! You can check out the other cake slice baker creations here. Enjoy, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENN!

Mile-High Devil’s Food Cake

From: Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes

By Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne

Makes an 8-inch triple layer cake:

1 cup of unsweetened cocoa NOT DUTCHED PROCESSED
1 and ¼ cups of hot water
3 cups of light brown sugar; packed
2 and 2/3 cups cake flour*
1 and ½ teaspoons baking soda
¾ teaspoon of salt
9 ounces of unsalted butter at room temperature [2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons]
3 large eggs
1 and ½ teaspoons of vanilla extract
¾ cup of cold water

{*1 cup of cake flour is equal to ¾ cup of flour plus 2 tablespoons of cornstarch}

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper and grease the paper as well.

Place the cocoa in a medium bowl and add the hot water. Whisk until smooth and let it cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low blend to combine. Add the butter and the dissolved cocoa. Then raise the mixer to medium speed and beat for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.

In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and cold water until combined. Add this liquid to the batter in three additions scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. Divide the batter among the three pans.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a cakes tester inserted into the almost comes out clean. There should be a few crumbs attached still. Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes. Then invert and remove parchment paper and cool completely on a wire rack.

Bakers’ choice of: Brown Sugar 7-Minute Frosting or Brown Sugar Buttercream

Brown Sugar 7-Minute Frosting

6 egg whites
1 and ½ cups of brown sugar
¼ cup light corn syrup*
2 tablespoons of water
½ teaspoon of cream of tartar

{*corn syrup can be substituted with equal parts of treacle OR liquid glucose OR light colored honey}

Do not try to make this frosting on a rainy day or if you live in an extremely humid area. The humidity will make it impossible to work with the egg whites.

Place all the egg whites in a bowl and set them aside while you make the syrup.

In a small heavy saucepan, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, and water. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Continue to boil washing down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush. Boil until the syrup reaches 238 degrees F (softball stage) on a candy thermometer. Immediately remove from heat.

Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites in the bowl and beat just to combine. With the mixer on medium speed gradually add the syrup in a thin stream taking care not to hit the beaters. Beat until fairly stiff peaks form but the frosting is still spreadable. If the frosting is too stiff it will be hard to work with. Use immediately.

Brown Sugar Buttercream

5 egg whites
1 and ¼ cups of packed brown sugar
¼ cup of water
1 pound of unsalted butter (16 ounces) at room temperature

Place all the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer; set aside.

In a heavy medium saucepan combine the sugar and water. Cook over medium heat stirring to dissolve the sugar. Then bring to a boil without stirring and cook until the syrup reaches 238 degrees F on a candy thermometer.

Begin beating the egg whites on medium low speed. Slowly pour in the syrup making sure not to hit the beater. Increase the mixer speed to medium high and beat until the meringue has cooled to body temperature.

With the mixer on med-low add 1-2 tablespoons of butter at a time. When all the butter has been added increase the mixer’s speed to medium and beat until the mixture looks curdled or separated. Continue to beat until the icing comes together again looking like soft smooth whipped butter.

Assembling the cake:

Place one layer flat side down and cover it with 2/3 cup of the frosting. Top with second layer and repeat process. Top with third layer and frost the sides of the cake.

Bakers Notes:

A cake topped with the meringue frosting is the best eaten the day it’s made. It does not do well in the fridge.

If you choose the buttercream frosting you can keep it in the fridge for 3 days. Make sure to allow the cake to come to room temperature for 1 to 1 ½ hours before slicing. Otherwise the frosting will be hard and heavy.

TWD:TARTEST LEMON TART

2009-05-12T01:20:00.003-04:00

Well folks, here it is. My most favorite TWD recipe to date; tartest lemon tart. I made this a few weeks ago as I have been out of town and wanted to keep pace with this lovely Tuesday's With Dorie group which I've been a member of for over a year! The fact that I couldn't post about this earlier has been killing me! I'm dying to gush! So here it goes.

It's lemony, tart, buttery, crumbly, gooey, and sweet. I topped it off with a marshmallow meringue that was then browned with a blow torch for the perfect touch. I've always been a fan of anything lemon related because of the refreshment factor. I love a lemon tart tasting treat..ahhhh, nothing beats it. This should be illegal..it's that good. I have no more words to describe this slice of lemon heaven; only that I send many many thanks to Babette of Babette Feasts (where you can find the recipe) for choosing this week's recipe and that I can hardly wait to make it again...and again..and, ugh, well.. you get the point. I'll shut up now and let my pictures do the talking...kapeesh?

TWD:TIRAMISU CAKE

2009-05-05T16:11:00.002-04:00

Megan of My Baking Adventures chose this weeks TWD recipe: Tiramisu Cake. I made this cake several months ago for an Italian themed dinner party and since I'm out of town it worked out perfectly because I would not have been able to make this. You can see my Tiramisu cake post here. Enjoy!

P.S. I already made next week's TWD selection: Tartest Lemon Tart and it just might be my most favorite Dorie recipe to date. Check back next Tuesday for the posting!

VOTE FOR ME!

2009-05-01T18:45:00.002-04:00

Don't forget to vote for me for this month's Iron Cupcake Earth challenge: SODA POP! Voting is open until May 4th at No One Puts Cupcake In A Corner. Click here to view my entry of CHOCOLATE CHERRY FUDGE SODA POP CUPCAKES! Voting takes place on the right hand side of the page. Scroll down and vote for me!

DARING BAKERS DO CHEESECAKE!

2009-04-28T15:05:00.002-04:00

This month's edition of the Daring Bakers was chosen by Jenny of Jenny Bakes who went with cheesecake! Yay for cheesecake!! For most of my life I was never a huge fan of cheesecake. Growing up, my brother was always the one to order dessert after dinner and 99% of the time it was a New York style cheesecake (1% of the time being an apple crisp.) Since I would never order my own dessert (god forbid!), I would always nibble on the crust of his cheesecake because the idea of the actual cheesecake turned my stomach. However, something happened to me in the last few years. I've become a cheesecake connoisseur. Perhaps it's because I enjoy baking cheesecakes so much. They really are my most favorite dessert to make and eat. The cheesecake pops I made last year really did me in. Clearly.

So here's the deal folks. Unlike most Daring Baker challenges, this cheesecake challenge allowed much room for creativity, uniqueness, and personal touch. The point of this challenge was to create a cheesecake flavor/combination using 'Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake' recipe which acts as your typical "basic cheesecake". I went ahead and created girl scout cookie mini cheesecakes. Yes, you heard right! We've got Thin Mint cookie mini cheesecakes, Samoa cookie mini cheesecakes, and a 6inch round Tagalong cheesecake. These. Were. Awesome.
Pictured above is the Thin Mint mini cheesecake topped with a dark chocolate ganache and garnished with Thin Mint cookie. The crust is made with finely ground thin mint cookie and the cheesecake filling has coarsely chopped Thin Mints throughout.

Here we have a Samoa cookie mini cheesecake prepared the same way as the Thin Mint; Samoa cookie crust with a Samoa cookie chunk filling, topped with a sweet vanilla whipped cream and Samoa cookie crumbles. These were seriously fabulous and such a delightful mini treat! They flew off my desk in a matter of moments at work. Oh, and the actual cheesecake recipe? Fantastic! It was super creamy and rich and so incredibly easy to put together. Since I did the mini's, I didn't use a water bath (they didn't need it) but for the 6 inch cheesecake I did and it baked beautifully.

I had leftover batter after making about 16 minis that I decided to make a 6inch cheesecake using a Tagalong cookie crust, followed by chopped up Tagalongs in the filling. I used the same dark chocolate ganache on top as I did the mini Thin Mints. Fabulous.

This cheesecake recipe is a keeper. It will be laminated and posted on my fridge! To all you cheesecake lovers out there, go ahead and make this recipe, you will not be disappointed!
Check out all the other Daring Baker's cheesecake creations at the Daring Bakers blogroll.

*On a side note, if you're really into baking with Girl Scout cookies check out my Samoa Cookie Cupcakes and Samoa Cheese Tart!*

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake:

CRUST:
2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

CHEESECAKE
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Pan note: The creator of this recipe used to use a springform pan, but no matter how well she wrapped the thing in tin foil, water would always seep in and make the crust soggy. Now she uses one of those 1-use foil "casserole" shaped pans from the grocery store. They're 8 or 9 inches wide and really deep, and best of all, water-tight. When it comes time to serve, just cut the foil away.

Prep notes: While the actual making of this cheesecake is a minimal time commitment, it does need to bake for almost an hour, cool in the oven for an hour, and chill overnight before it is served. Please plan accordingly!

TWD: CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT CREAM TART

2009-04-27T14:29:00.002-04:00

Kim of Scrumptious Photography chose this weeks TWD recipe. Side note: Kim's blog is incredible. The title speaks for itself. Anywayyyyyy, I've had my eye on this chocolate cream tart since I bought the book over a year ago so I was psyched when I saw this weeks selection. I'm not even sure why I've wanted to make this considering I'm not really into tarts that consist of some sort of pastry cream filling, but I enjoy baking and creating tarts immensely. Strange, I know.

First of all, this sweet chocolate tart crust is fantastic. It has a shortbread consistency with a touch of chocolate flavoring. It's crumbly, buttery, and not overly sweet thus allowing the filling to really shine. I used my best Valrhona cocoa powder which really makes the difference here.

As for the filling, I wanted to alter the flavors a tad by adding hazelnut. The chocolate filling was a cinch to make and it was velvety, smooth, and rich. I used Sharffen Berger bittersweet chocolate which was really delicious to eat plain ;) Before spooning the chocolate filling into the baked and cooled tart shell, I spread a thin layer of Nutella, followed by filling, garnished with whipped cream, drizzled with chocolate syrup and a sprinkle of toasted hazelnuts. Whoa, that was a mouthful. Wallah! The most beautiful tasty chocolate hazelnut cream tart I've ever had, hands down! This recipe brought my love for chocolate tarts to surface! For the recipe, visit Kim's blog.

ANGEL FOOD CAKE BITES

2009-04-24T10:08:00.005-04:00

Ahhhhh, I've been doing SO MUCH baking this week..it's serious insanity! Evidence can be seen below this post with brownies, bread pudding, cupcakes, and what have you. Last night I made my TWD recipe due Tuesday; chocolate hazelnut cream tart (whoa, amazing!-will blog about that next week) and between the tarts, cupcakes, and brownies this week I had tons of egg whites left over. I'm going away next week and I didn't want to put all those whites to waste so while the tart was cooling, I thought it would be fun to whip up angel food cake.

I whipped up this recipe from Epicurious in no time and baked these little guys in mini cupcake tins. I figured they would bake as robust as the mini tins allowed but, to my surprise, angel food cake doesn't really rise that much. It's more of a gummy yet light cake. So, here I was with 4 dozen of the littlest, miniest, cutest angel bites that were fat free (pre frosting)! You can pop these suckers in your mouth like popcorn. I spread little dollops of vanilla (canned-so shoot me!) frosting with some white nonpareils. Wallah, angel food cake bites. Enjoy these for a fun, remotely guilt free treat!

BLACK & WHITE CHEESECAKE BROWNIES

2009-04-23T10:04:00.002-04:00

OK, hear me out. By the time this post is done, I expect you all to have your ingredients out, measured, prepared, and ready to go. This recipe is a true winner. Brownies. Cheesecakes. More brownies. Something I'd like to call brownie bliss...

It's unfair how good these are. They should be deemed illegal in all 50 states. The bottom brownie layer is soft and gooey followed by a sufficient but not overwhelming thin creamy cheesecake layer. Crumbles of brownie dough are then added to the top while the edges are crisp and cookie-like. It's a combination of chocolate cookies, chocolate brownies, and cheesecake all in one delicious bar.

The one, and I mean only one drawback is that this recipe requires some legwork and time, which I was unaware of before I started. You see, I went to dinner with a friend last night and needed some time to digest before I went for a run. Baking is the best time-killer. So, I set out to make these brownies thinking I'd whip up the batter in no time and have them baked within the hour and have them cool while I'm at the gym. I skipped a few steps to see the baking time which said "25-30 minutes" so I assumed this would be a quickie! Well, the few paragraphs that I skipped detailed a few processes that required time. There's Refrigeration. Baking. Cooling. Baking again. That kinda thing...

All in all, I don't care that I ended up at the gym at 9pm because these brownies were well worth it and after ingesting so many of them the gym was clearly needed! Make these. Enjoy!

Black & White Cheesecake Brownies-From Martha Stewart

Makes 24

Vegetable oil cooking spray

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

10 ounces (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened (this is a ton of butter, I cut back to 2 sticks)

2 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

21/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Line dish with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on both long sides, then spray parchment.
Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Cream butter and granulated sugar with a mixer until smooth. Add 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla, and beat until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture. Increase speed to medium; beat until incorporated.
Reserve 1 cup of dough; cover, and refrigerate. Press remaining dough into bottom of prepared dish. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Bake until base is set and edges are puffed, about 25 minutes. Let cool in dish on a wire rack.
Mix cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and remaining egg and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in a medium bowl. Spread over cooled base; crumble reserved dough on top. Bake until filling is set, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in dish on wire rack, then lift out using overhang. Cut into 24 squares. Squares will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 3 days.

TWD:FOUR STAR CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING

2009-04-21T22:33:00.002-04:00

I'll make this short and sweet. It's late, I'm tired, and I've posted a lot this week! Give a sista a break!

Thanks to Lauren of the Upper East Side Chronicle for choosing this weeks TWD selection: 4 star chocolate bread pudding. I have to be honest, I've never been a fan of bread pudding. The consistency was always weird to me and I never quite understood the marriage of white bread with pudding. It's just strange.

With that said, I wasn't a huge fan of this recipe. I even doubled the chocolate with the idea that super chocolaty would equal super delicious. Wrong. I'm sorry to be such a Debbie downer but it is what it is...I just didn't like it! OK? Geez.

The other TWD'ers seemed to have really enjoyed this, so don't go by my biased bread pudding feelings. Check out Lauren's blog for the recipe!

CAKE SLICE BAKERS: CHAI CAKE

2009-04-21T11:05:00.002-04:00

I've been M.I.A. from the cake slice bakers group for about a month now. Sorry to all, but I've been swamped and haven't gotten the chance to bake all these cakes! However, I clearly came back at the right time because this Chai cake was unlike any cake I've ever baked. Chai tea bags are steeped in warm milk for about 10 minutes before being used as part of the wet ingredients. Chai tea is a favorite of mine, especially spiced Chai which is what I used. Cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger spices were added to the cake which really gave it a pleasant tasty zing. The honey ginger buttercream was definitely unique. While I'm not a huge fan of honey, this buttercream was very good; consisting of cream cheese, butter, honey, and freshly grated ginger. It paired beautifully with the cake.

I garnished with gold dragees and a pile of diced up crystallized ginger in the center. Check out the other great Chai cakes at the cake slice bakers blogroll.

Chai Cake With Honey Ginger Cream
Makes an 8-inch triple layer cake (I quartered the recipe)

1 and 1/3 cups of milk
6 chai tea bags, without added sweetener, such as Tazo
4 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 and 3/4 cups of cake flour*
2 cups of sugar
4 and 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
3/4 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom**
1/2 teaspoon of salt
8 ounces of unsalted butter at room temp.

[*1 cup of cake flour is equal to 3/4 cup of all purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.]

[**Cardamom substitute is an equal amount of brown cardamom OR equal parts ground nutmeg and cinnamon OR equal parts ground cloves and cinnamon]

Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees F. Grease the bottom ans sides of the pans and line with parchment paper. Grease the paper as well.
In a small saucepan bring the milk to a simmer over low med-low heat. Add the tea bags, careful not to let the paper tag fall into the milk. Remove from heat and allow the tea to steep for 5 minutes. Remove the teabags and squeeze out the milk. Let the chai milk cool completely.
In a medium bowl mix the eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, and 1/3 cup of the chai milk. Whisk together.
Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt in the bowl of a mixer. Beat on low for 30 seconds. Add the butter and the remaining chai milk, on med-low speed. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg mixture in three additions scraping the between additions. Divide the batter evenly among the pans.
Bake the cakes for 26-28 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and peel off parchment paper. Cool completely.
To assemble the cake place one layer flat side down a serving plate and top with 2/3 cup of icing. Spread to the edge and repeat with second layer. Place third layer on top and spread the remaining ginger cream on top allowing it to drizzle down the sides of the cake like icicles.

Honey Ginger Cream

2 and 1/2 cups of confectioners sugar
6 ounces of cream cheese at room temp.
6 tablespoons of unsalted butter at room temp.
1/2 cup of honey (any kind as long as liquid)
1/2 teaspoon of fresh grated ginger

Place all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse to blend together, then scrape the sides of the bowl and pulse until smooth.

ICE-9: CHOCOLATE CHERRY FUDGE SODA POP CUPCAKES

2009-04-20T15:44:00.004-04:00

It's that time of month again... Iron Cupcake Earth style. Secret ingredient: Soda pop!

I'm a soda junkie..diet soda, that is. I've had every single diet soda flavor under the sun; diet Sunkist and diet Root beer to name a few of my favorites. While perusing the soda aisle at my local supermarket for something unique I found Canfield's Cherry Chocolate Fudge soda...and...wait for it....in Diet!

I got so excited I could hardly contain myself. I rushed out of the supermarket; all the while brainstorming what I could come up with, with this fun flavor. Alas, I went with a chocolate cherry fudge soda pop infused cupcake baked in an ice cream cone with a black cherry filling, black cherry fudge buttercream, sprinkles, and a maraschino cherry on top! How could this be bad? Didn't think so.

These were so much fun. They had an authentic old school soda pop feel with rich cherry fudge flavors. I colored 1 cup of the batter red and swirled it within each cupcake. I filled each cone about 1/2 full and baked them using mini muffin tins as holders. Once cooled, I "injected" this fabulous black cherry jam I've been holding on to for months that I got at a country fair a while back.

The batter was made with the aforementioned Canfield's cherry chocolate fudge diet soda which amped up the "cherry" vibe to this cone-cake. Now, the frosting was made on a whim. I wasn't sure how I wanted to handle the best part to a cone-cake (i.e. the frosting) but I kind of just went with my gut. This frosting was a combination of cream cheese, Ghirardelli cocoa powder, butter, confectioner's, milk, and lastly, Green & Black's Organic cherry chocolate bar. This might have been the tastiest frosting I've ever made, to date. The actual cherry chocolate bar has cherry chunks in it which is very prevalent throughout the frosting.

I had some extra batter left over so I made a few regular cupcakes baked in paper liners. These were equally delicious although not as fun to eat! This month's Iron Cupcake was a great challenge which I thoroughly enjoyed.

With that said, don't forget to vote for me! Voting takes place on April 29 and will be open thru May 4th @ 12Noon. Click here to vote!

Chocolate Cherry Fudge Soda Pop Cupcakes
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups sifted self-rising flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup Canfields Chocolate Cherry Fudge soda

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line cupcake tins with paper liners. Using an electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and continue to cream well for 6 to 8 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Put the milk and soda in a liquid measuring cup and stir. Add flour and milk/soda mixture alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Add vanilla and continue to beat until just mixed. Scoop 1 cup of batter and put it aside. Using red food coloring, dye the batter. Divide batter equally among cupcake tins; filling each about 2/3 full by alternating between the yellow and red batter. Level batter in each pan by holding pan 3 or 4 inches above counter, then dropping it flat onto counter. Do this several times to release air bubbles and assure you of a more level cake. Bake for 18-25 (I forgot how long mine took) minutes or until done. Cool in pans 5 to 10 minutes. Once cooled, fill each cupcake with black cherry jam.

Chocolate Cherry Fudge Buttercream (my own recipe)

8oz cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened

4 cups confectioner's sugar (sifted)

1/2 cup cocoa powder

3-4 tablespoons milk

1 bar (3.5oz) Green & Black Organic Cherry Chocolate bar, melted and cooled.

Beat cream cheese and butter in an electric mixer until smooth, about 3 minutes. While beating, add melted chocolate. Combine sifted confectioner's and cocoa powder together. Gradually add, 1 cup at a time, to the cream cheese mixture. Continue beating. Add a few tablespoons of milk until desired consistency. Pipe at your own risk!

Prizes for this months challenge include:

A creation by FRUITFLYPIE, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=16748
a pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6057281.
a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery, http://www.acupcakery.com/
PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com, JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com; TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com; a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM http://www.upwithcupcakes.com/. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com .

PB&J CUPCAKES

2009-04-20T10:50:00.002-04:00

I went to my bosses house on Saturday to spend the day with his wife and kids which included lots of little league games! The weather was perfect and I had such a great time being back on the baseball fields. Of course I would never come empty handed so I brought some peanut butter and jelly cupcakes along. More often than not, kids love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches so I figured I couldn't go wrong with these....plus, there were no peanut allergies present. Score 1 for me.

This cupcake consisted of a yellow based cake with a peanut butter cream cheese frosting and filled with strawberry and/or grape jelly. I drizzled some strawberry/grape syrup on top for an extra fruity burst. I halved the recipe which gave me 7 regular sized cupcakes; one of which I put to the side for my own personal enjoyment. Let me tell you, these were fantastic. The yellow cake meshes perfectly with the jelly and peanut butter. Cream cheese peanut butter frosting has got to be my most favorite frosting on this planet. It's too good to be true.

I baked these cupcakes as is and changed nothing. The only thing I'd change for next time (and there will be a next time) is making a full batch of these rather than half. The kids absolutely loved these!

PBJ Cupcakes From Buttercup Bakes At Home
- makes 12 to 14 cupcakes -
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

3/4 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup grape jelly

Chunky Peanut Butter Frosting (recipe follows)

Coarsely chopped peanuts or crushed peanut butter cups, for garnish

Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 muffin tins with cupcake papers.

2. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.

5. When cupcakes are thoroughly cool, fill a squeeze bottle with jelly, and then invert the tip of the bottle into the center of a cooled cupcake. Carefully squeeze about 1 tablespoon jelly into center of cupcake. Repeat with remaining cupcakes. Frost with Chunky Peanut Butter Frosting, and garnish with roasted salted peanuts or crushed peanut butter cups.

Chunky Peanut Butter Frosting
- makes 2 1/2 cups (enough to frost 14 cupcakes) -

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup chunky peanut butter (I used creamy peanut butter)

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 tablespoon milk (a few drops more if needed)

Procedure
1. In a large bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter, and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.

2. On low speed, slowly add 1 cup sugar, then a few drops milk. Increase mixer speed to medium-high, and mix thoroughly. Add remaining sugar and a few more drops milk if necessary.

3. Increase mixer speed to high, and mix until frosting is fluffy and reaches a good spreading consistency. Use immediately.

S'MORE BROWNIES

2009-04-17T09:44:00.002-04:00

I love s'mores. I love the gooey marshmallow consistency paired with crunchy graham crackers, all bound by milk chocolate. Really, nothing is better than that. Then, throw all those goodies onto a brownie. Heaven. These brownies brought the campfire to the kitchen. These brownies officially give me a valid enough excuse to never have to camp out in the wilderness again, for the sake of s'more ingestion; because really, that was my only incentive to sleep with wildlife.

The marshmallow topping is to die for. So much so, that I ate it for dinner last night. Spoonfuls of homemade marshmallow clouds filled my tummy up until I couldn't take it anymore and it was oh so worth it! Yum. Rather than using honey graham crackers, I went with large chunks of chocolate graham cracker throughout the batter. Once I spread the marshmallow across the top, I then sprinkled with crushed graham cracker, mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, and drizzled white and dark chocolate. I garnished the border with mini mellows and cut this 9X13 pan into 24 very delicious, very rich s'more brownies. I encourage you all to make this immediately. You will NOT regret it, I promise.

S'MORE Brownies:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
5 large eggs
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup graham cracker, roughly crushed with your hands ( I used chocolate graham crackers)
12 big marshmallows (I added mini marshmallows to the batter as well)\

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9×13-inch baking pan with 2-inch-high sides. Combine first 3 ingredients in small bowl. Stir butter and chocolate in a medium sized bowl over a heavy saucepan of simmering water. Stir chocolate and butter in this double boiler until melted and smooth.

Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla in large bowl to blend. Stir in warm chocolate mixture, then dry ingredients. Fold in graham crackers. Pour batter into prepared pan. Dot with 12 large marshmallows. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 30- 40 minutes minutes.

Marshmallows will be browned and puffy but will deflate as the brownies cool. Cool for at least 20 minutes than slice with a sharp knife, cleaning the knife with hot water if it gets too messy and sticky. Serve or wrap individually in wax paper for storing.

Marshmallow Frosting:

2 egg whites
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/3 cup cold water
1 1/2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup miniature marshmallows

Put egg whites, sugar, water and syrup in top of double boiler. Beat until mixed well. Place over rapidly boiling water. Beat constantly with electric beater while it cooks for 7 minutes or until it will stand in peaks when beater is raised. Remove from heat.Stir in marshmallows and vanilla. Beat until they melt.

MARSHMALLOW TWIST CUPCAKES (KOSHER FOR PASSOVER)

2009-04-15T10:36:00.003-04:00

We still have 2 more days of Passover and I wanted to appease all my Jewish friends (including myself) who are keeping passover with these marshmallow twist cuppies! Passover desserts are weak. They are unappealing, boring, and tasteless. The very site of passover "cake" sends me running for the hills. They give me nightmares.

But not these. Oh no. These cupcakes are more like a Passover dream come true. These cupcakes make observing Passover something you want to do for more than just 8 days. These super chocolaty flour less cupcakes have a gooey marshmallow meringue frosting that makes your taste buds do flips. They are all garnished with a chocolate covered marshmallow twist and some chocolate flakes for good measure.

This flour less chocolate cake was a new recipe I tried. Rather than using 1lb of chocolate and mixing it with eggs, sugar, and butter; this recipe calls for 8oz of chocolate and 1 cup of cocoa powder. I used my very best Valrhona bittersweet bar chocolate as well as my Valrhona unsweetened cocoa powder. Needless to say, these were expensive cupcakes that were worth every penny. Passover season or not, these are a keeper all year round.

Flourless Chocolate Cake
{Makes about 16-19 regular sized cupcakes}

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cut into pieces
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (about 1 1/2 cups) (I used Valrhona Bittersweet)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder
6 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 10-inch-diameter spring form pan (or make cupcakes, like I did). Line bottom with waxed paper. Stir butter and chocolate in heavy large saucepan over low heat until melted. Mix sugar and cocoa in large bowl. Add eggs; whisk until well blended. Whisk in chocolate-butter mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool cake completely in pan on rack. Run knife around pan sides to loosen cake. Release pan sides. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Marshmallow Meringue Frosting:
{Makes enough for 24 cupcakes so you will have some leftover. You can use the extra as a filling!}

8 large egg whites
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes.

Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined. Use immediately.

TWD: 15 MINUTE MAGIC CHOCOLATE AMARETTI TORTE

2009-04-14T14:50:00.002-04:00

Holly from PheMOMenom chose this week's TWD recipe. I've been a huge fan of Holly's blog for a long time now and I fully entrusted her with this week's selection; the woman clearly knows her desserts. 15 Minute Magic Chocolate Amaretti Torte is a title that rolls off the tongue. Anything that takes 15 minutes to prepare is right up my alley. This torte requires the use of amaretti cookies which I ended up making from smitten kitchen. The cookies alone were delicious and so easy to make. The almond flavor was so prevalent and they were super chewy. I made these cookies a few days in advance so by the time I ground them up they had a crunch to them.

This torte is a combination of chocolate, ground almonds/amarettis, eggs, sugar and butter. That's it, folks. I baked it in an 8 inch square pan, smothered it in a bittersweet chocolate ganache, then topped it off with a delicious almond whipped cream. I added some small gold dragee's to give these bars a bit of color. As for the taste, these were OK. I mean, they were good; don't get me wrong, but this entire recipe wasn't really my thing. I could have eliminated the chocolate ganache topping and just gone with the almond whipped cream. However, everyone in the office really enjoyed these. If you're interested in testing this quickie out then check out the recipe at Holly's blog.

THE BEST BLONDIES

2009-04-09T10:34:00.003-04:00

I made these blondies from Dorie Greenspan's baking bible a long time ago and felt the need to make them again, despite how many of them I can put in my mouth at once. They are by far the most fantastic blondies I've ever made and are even better than some of my best brownie recipes. They contain coconut, toffee bits, and chocolate chips. I went ahead and added some Butterfinger as well, just for kicks. These blondies have a real gooey caramel-type taste from all the brown sugar. They are super soft and chewy and stay good for DAYS on end. When I cut these up I sliced off the 4 edges and froze them. That, my friends, is what I call my "secret stash" that I hit up from time to time!

You can find the recipe here. Enjoy these, I know you will :)

MINI COOKIE DOUGH CHEESECAKES REVISITED

2009-04-08T00:29:00.003-04:00

THESE.

WERE.

AMAZING.

*****UPDATE*****

I've gotten a ton of requests for this recipe. I didn't realize what a hit these would be! Anyway, I'm here to please so this is what you'll need:

When making my cheesecakes I've developed a recipe that comes from a bunch of other recipes (a.k.a. too difficult to keep track). Therefore, for these cheesecakes, use your most beloved cheesecake/crust combination recipe and add the egg less cookie dough (recipe below) to it before baking. You can top it off with anything. In my case, I used my favorite chocolate ganache recipe. Also, make sure you bake these in a mini cheesecake pan with removable bottoms! Wallah! Enjoy.

EGG LESS COOKIE DOUGH RECIPE:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chip
Using an electric mixer , mix butter, brown sugar, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract at medium speed until smooth. Decrease mixer speed to low and add flour. Mix just until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips. Set aside.

TWD:BANANA CREAM PIE

2009-04-06T15:41:00.003-04:00

Amy of Sing for Your Supper selected this weeks TWD recipe; banana cream pie. I am a huge fan of banana cream pie so naturally I was excited to make this. On my way home from work last week, I stopped off at my corner fruit stand and bought the most gorgeous bananas. 8 bananas for $1.50, what a bargain! I've made banana cream pies before, found here, but Dorie's pie is oh so different. Dorie's pie filling consists of spiced caramel-like flavorings including cinnamon and nutmeg, and lots of brown sugar.

The sliced bananas are spread throughout the filling and the whipped cream topping has a touch of sour cream in it; which I thoroughly enjoyed. I did make one alteration to this pie, and that was the crust. I was really in the mood for a crispy crunchy graham cracker crust rather than good ol' pie crust so I went with that. This pie was seriously fantastic and definitely tasted different than other banana cream pies that I've made. It seemed more classic and authentic and the not-to-sweet whipped topping really enhanced the fillings flavors. This is a pie I most certainly will make again. Check out Amy's blog for the delicious recipe.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CUPCAKES

2009-04-02T15:47:00.004-04:00

I needed to put together a universally-liked cupcake as a 'thank you' gift for my veterinarians office; and I needed to do it quickly. You see, last week I experienced every pet owner's nightmare. My poor Bentley pup got his foot stuck in the elevator. Yep, it was an utter disaster. I had to rush him to the emergency vet @ 6am only to find out he needed surgery with 50+ stitches in order to save his paw. Needless to say, I've been traumatized and have schlepped him back and forth to the vet 100 times in the past week. They have been so incredibly accommodating by staying late and opening up early for me. So, what says 'thank you' better than cupcakes? And chocolate peanut butter cupcakes at that.

I have been reading/hearing about Martha's one-bowl chocolate cupcake recipe for over a year now and I figured it was finally time to test them out. I'm surprised it took me this long considering the rave reviews and incredible convenience of 'one bowl'. I busted out my very best Valrhona chocolate, silky creamy JIF peanut butter, and pretty hunter green cupcake liners. My very best thanks were in order. These cupcakes were deeeeelicious! They were chocolaty and moist and baked so beautifully. Each and every cupcake domed perfectly with brownie-like cracks on top. And the frosting-oh, the frosting. Peanut butter swirls with the utmost salt perfection. From here on out, I will add sea salt to all and everything peanut butter related. It should be a law. Oh, and of course I made a dozen minis for fun.

Above are the cupcakes packed up and ready for delivery! Enjoy!

Martha's One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcake Recipe found here.

Peanut Butter Frosting:
2 sticks butter
8 oz. cream cheese
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup all creamy peanut butter mixed with 1/2 tsp sea salt
2-3 tbsp of Milk or heavy cream (optional)

Cream butter until white and fluffy. Add cream cheese and vanilla and beat until well incorporated. Turn mixer to lowest setting and add 1 cup powdered sugar at a time, waiting until incorporated to add the next cup. Add milk or cream when the frosting looks like it's getting too thick. When all the powdered sugar is combined turn mixer back to high setting and beat for 2 min. Add peanut butter mixture. Enjoy!

VOTE FOR ME!

2009-03-31T15:04:00.004-04:00

Don't forget to vote for my Trail Mix Cupcakes for this month's Iron Cupcake Challenge. Click here to vote! Voting takes place on the right hand side of the page. Voting ends Friday April 3rd @ Noon.

TWD: COCONUT BUTTER THINS

2009-03-31T10:59:00.002-04:00

Many thanks to Jayne of The Barefoot Kitchen Witch for choosing this weeks recipe. These cookies tasted just like a butter cookie with lime, coconut, and almond flavoring! I loved the combination of these flavors although the original recipe calls for lime, coconut, and macadamia nuts which I'd love to try as well. I substituted the vanilla extract for almond and sliced these cookies both circular and rectangularly using round 1 1/2 inch cookie cutters. Some of my cookies were significantly thinner than others thus baking more crisply which I preferred. They are super crunchy and buttery with a zing! I will most definitely be making these again, perhaps with the original instructed ingredients!

Check out Jayne's blog for the recipe. It won't disappoint...