Filed under Foodies and Chefs, Baking by Nicole | 6 comments
- My fruity raspberry mojitos were such a success that I want to try making the drinks with other fruits now, too. There are so many berries that go well with mint a lime! Ravenous Couple made up some Strawberry Mojitos for summer recently. The recipe calls for making a big batch of lightly sweetened strawberry puree, so you’ll have it on hand to make big batches of mojitos. Don’t forget to save some berries for garnish!
- Half Baked Baker’s Oatmeal Caramelitas are indulgent bar cookies that are a fun twist on an oatmeal cookie. Sort of. The base for the bars is made with lots of rolled oats and oat flour, giving them a nice nutty flavor. The filling is made with caramel, cream, chocolate chips and pecans, which lends sweetness, chewiness, crunchiness and chocolatey-ness to the bars. It’s delicious, and there is just enough of a hint of salt that you can’t stop at eating just one. These are a great choice for bake sales, as the flavors are popular with just about everyone.
- The Coffee and Donut Cupcakes made by The Noshery combine two of the best sweets out there: donuts and cupcakes. The recipe makes up a batch of coffee flavored cupcakes and tops them with a coffee-flavored buttercream frosting. They’re topped with store-bought mini donuts (donut holes would be great here), and finished with a little more frosting and some sprinkles. It almost looks like a cupcake on top of a cupcake, but tastes a little like a donut dunked in coffee. Great way to start the day!
- Everyone is always in search of that elusive perfect brownie recipe, but everyone has their own definition of perfect, so it’s hard to narrow things down. If you’re looking for a rich, chocolaty and very moist, Chocolate Mascarpone Brownies might be just the ticket. This batch of these brownies was baked by A Pookie Pantry, who could hardly wait for them to come out of the oven before slicing into them to give them a taste. The brownies have mascarpone cheese, melted chocolate and a lot of cocoa powder for flavor and texture.
- How could you resist a cake with a name like Edna Lewis’ Busy-Day Cake? Ezra Pound Cake couldn’t - after all, what day isn’t a busy day? The cake is a simple butter cake that can be mixed up by hand. Most of its flavor comes from butter, vanilla and nutmeg, which is a simple and satisfying combination. In fact, this cake needs absolutely no frosting, but a little fruit compote, some berries or some ice cream on the side wouldn’t hurt, either.
Filed under Foodies and Chefs, Baking by Nicole | 2 comments
- I have a slight bias towards tall, layered cakes for birthdays, but Dessert First’s Jasmine Chocolate Cakes make for a very elegant birthday cake, too. The cakes have a layer of chocolate cake as their base and are topped with a layer of gelatin-stabilized, jasmine tea-infused cream. In between the two primary layers is a thin one of feuilletine, a very thin and crispy cookie-like layer that adds a very subtle crunch to the cake.
- When you run across someone who still thinks that cupcakes are “kid stuff” you can usually win the over with a cupcake that is made after a boozy cocktail. My margarita cupcakes are always a hit, for instance, and I think that The Baking Beauties‘ Mojito Cupcakes would be, too. These cupcakes are flavored with lime, mint and rum, just like a regular mojito. They’re also gluten free, which means that they are perfect for sharing with friends who may have a gluten intolerance - although i doubt those who eat regular cupcakes would turn them down, either!
- The Chocolate Cupcakes with Pumpkin Buttercream from Lovestoeat is a little bit of an unusual recipe because you don’t see pumpkin buttercream everyday. The frosting has many of the elements of a traditional buttercream - butter and confectioners’ sugar, for instance - but it also has a good amount of pumpkin puree, as well as some pumpkin spices incorporated into it. The resulting mixture does taste a bit like pumpkin pie and is a great twist on regular frosting if you, like me, are a fan of pumpkins and pumpkin pie.
- Brownies tend to be rich on their own, but Craving Chronicles made an even richer-than-usual version by adding both peanut butter and nutella to a basic brownie recipe. The Peanut Butter Nutella Brownies have softened peanut butter and nutella mixed into them, giving them a nutty flavor and quite a bit of richness. CC says that it’s a good idea not to mix the two nut butters in too much, because the ribbons of flavor they leave in the brownies are delicious.
- A fool is a traditional English dessert that is made by folding cooked, pureed fruit into whipped cream, rather like a very light and easy to make type of mousse. The Rhubard Fool from Zoe Bakes includes lots of fresh spring rhubarb that is cooked down with a little bit of sugar and some white wine before being incorporated into the whipped cream. The result is fluffy and not-too-sweet, as there isn’t enough sugar in the rhubarb mixture to completely conceal its natural tang. The pink and white dessert looks lovely when served in a tall wine glass, and is a wonderful way to end a summer meal.
Filed under Foodies and Chefs, Baking by Nicole | 3 comments
- Chocolate bark is easy to make and so versatile, that every time I have it I wonder why I don’t make it more often. Vanilla Kitchen’s White Chocolate Pineapple Coconut Bark is a great variation on the basic idea of a chocoalte bark. The bark is made with a white chocolate base and includes chewy shredded coconut, sweet dried pineapple and crunchy macadamia nuts. As a nice touch to cut the sweetness of the candy, the macadamia nuts are toasted and salted, giving each bite a great combination of flavors and textures.
- Tres leches cake is soaked in three types of milk and, as a result, is usually so moist that it is kept in a single layer. This isn’t to say that it’s not possible to make a layered tres leches cake, however. Sophistimom put together a variation on the classic cake that really goes over-the-top. Her Tres Leches Marble Cake with Strawberries and Chocolate Ganache is ultra-moist and very decadent, with layers of milk-soaked cake, strawberries and chocolate, and is perfect for a special occasion.
- There is no reason that you can’t have cupcakes for breakfast whenever you have them on hand, but the French Toast and Bacon Cupcakes from Life with Cake really are meant to be a part of the most important meal of the day. The fluffy cupcakes are flavored with vanilla and cinnamon, and are then topped with a maple buttercream frosting to encompass the full array of flavors in french toast. A crisp piece of bacon is the garnish on top, just as it might be a side dish at breakfast.
- To make a waffle cone, you need to have a special piece of kitchen equipment that can make ultra-thin waffles: a waffle cone maker (a pizzelle maker works for smaller cones). You also need a cone of some kind to shape the waffles into something that will hold ice cream. The taste of fresh waffle cones with ice cream is well worth the loss of kitchen space to extra equipment, but the cone shape isn’t entirely necessary. You can always make waffle bowls, molding the still-hot waffle into a dish shape. Baking at Midnight experimented with some Almond Mocha Waffle Bowls, which sound like they will bring a whole new level of tastiness to a simple bowl of ice cream.
- Raisins are an ingredient that is often a little bit overlooked. Their deep sweetness pops up in cookies, breads and cakes without as much fanfare as, say, chocolate chips would get. Raisins definitely move up into the spotlight in the Spinach, Raisin and Parmesan Tart posted by The Perfect Pantry. This savory tart has a great mix, but unexpected, mix of flavors. It is pretty easy to prepare and is a great alternative to a quiche for a light main course or a satisfying appetizer.
Filed under Foodies and Chefs, Baking by Nicole | 4 comments
- Vin Santo is an Italian dessert wine made from grapes that are dried, pressed, fermented and aged into a very sweet and distinctive spirit. Noble Pig’s Grape and Vin Santo Cakes is a great way to showcase its unique flavor, as the sweet and buttery cakes include whole grapes, in addition to a generous amount of Vin Santo, that play up the grapey flavors in the wine. The cakes are baked in a jumbo muffin pan, but if you don’t have one, you should be able to make slightly smaller versions by adjusting the baking time a bit.
- Anzac Day is April 25th and in keeping with tradition, Tartelette posted about Anzac biscuits - or actually, a variation on them: an Anzac Tart. The tart has lots of the featured ingredients from standard Anzac biscuits - oats, golden syrup and coconut - in the form of a sticky oatmeal tart topped with a layer of coconut bavarian and a streusel made out of the traditional cookie dough. It’s impressive, and while it won’t ship as well as the usual biscuits, it would definitely perk up anyone sitting down to eat it.
- Jamie Oliver’s Ultimate Gingerbread, posted by Cherrapeno, is more similar to shortbread than to the cake-like gingerbread that is a bit more common over in the US. In fact, it actually uses store bought shortbread in the recipe, ground up into crumb form! The shortbread is mixed with ground ginger, crystallized ginger, treacle and golden syrup, and comes out to be sweet, spicy, soft and crunchy all at the same time.
- A cherry float is similar to a root beer float, but is made with cherry coke and ice cream for a fruitier flavor. The Cherry Float Cupcakes that Coco Bean made this week use regular coke and maraschino cherry syrup to create the same general flavor in a cupcake. The cakes also include some cocoa powder, to bring out the cocoa notes in the soda, and is topped off with a cola-tinged icing and a maraschino cherry.
- If you’re getting a little tired of the same old chocolate and vanilla cakes, you might want to do what Slow Like Honey did and try Alice Medrich’s Toasted Sesame Cake. Generously studded with black sesame seeds, the cake has an unusual look and an unusual flavor due to the generous amount of toasted sesame oil in the batter. It doesn’t need frosting, but a simple scoop of vanilla ice cream pairs well with this.
Filed under Foodies and Chefs, Baking by Nicole | 4 comments
- One of White on Rice Couple’s recent posts doesn’t need much more than an introduction to make your mouth water. Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookies are made with cookie dough that is baked in a dish or ramekin. They should be served warm, with loads of ice cream on top, delivering a gooey, chocolatey, treat that is hot, cold and very decadent.
- As a big artichoke fan, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to mention the Torta di Carciofi from The Wednesday Chef. Translated as artichoke torte, this dish is an open-topped pie with a filling made from artichoke hearts, eggs, ricotta and parmesan. The crust is made with puff pastry, and since you can use frozen artichokes hearts, the whole thing comes together much more easily than you might think.
- Grapes are delicious fruits, but not often appreciated in baked goods as much as some of their other fruity counterparts. I like to see recipes that use them, like my Grape and Raisin Bread, or Tiramisu’s Grape Focaccia. The focaccia is unusual in that it incorporates wine into the dough, nicely complementing the flavor of the grape halves that stud the finished bread. Grape juice would probably be a viable alternative if you are looking for a way to make this alcohol-free and still have all the same flavors in the finished product.
- Cold souffles are a great alternative to hot souffles in the summer. They’re refreshing, can be prepared well in advance, and never seem to elevate the stress levels of novice bakers in the same way that baked souffles do - largely because they’re not actually baked and are quite similar to mousse. One Perfect Bite recently made some Cold Lime Souffles, lovely treats for citrus fans. The light dishes get their flavor from limes and their texture from beaten egg whites and whipped cream. This particular recipe also uses some gelatin to help stabilize the dessert while it chills in the freezer.
- Chai Cake with Honey Ginger Cream is a dessert that should wow tea-lovers with its moist texture, spicy flavor and towering layers. Don’t take the picture too literally, however: Tender Crumb made a 4-inch version - as opposed to the 8-in called for in the recipe - of this lovely cake, so the proportions are a tiny bit off. It’s probably a good sign that the cake recipe can be easily scaled up or down, however. No matter the size, the cake looks amazing and sounds like it tastes that way, too. The frosting in particular sounds delicious, as it is a cream cheese base that is sweetened with honey and spiked with fresh, grated ginger.
Filed under Foodies and Chefs, Baking by Nicole | 5 comments
- Thin, crispy and buttery, Flo Braker’s Pain d’Amande Cookies are simple, yet delicious. She generously shared the recipe with David Lebovitz, along with some great commentary on how the final version of the recipe was developed. The cookies specifically call for using a large crystal sugar, like raw sugar or turbinado sugar - because the sugar crystals add to the overall texture and crunch of the cookies. That said, its the way that the cookie dough is sliced that really allows them to bake up to be super crispy, not just the sugar used.
- Snickerdoodles are sugar cookies that are rolled in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar before baking, giving them a distinctive look and adding a slight crispness to the finished cookies. The Repressed Pastry Chef used the same technique to make Snickerdoodle Muffins, rolling the balls of muffin dough in cinnamon sugar before baking them. The process is a little messier than it is for the cookies alone, but the results are well worth giving it a try.
- Light, sweet pavlova is a great dessert because it is so versatile. The meringue can be topped with almost anything you can think of, although whipped cream and berries tend to be the standard. 17 and Baking put together some Mini Cocoa and Banana Pavlovas for a variation on the original. The chocolate and banana combination goes very well together and makes the naturally light dessert taste a little richer.
- Fans of peanut butter cups everywhere might want to take note of the Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte at Annie’s Eats. It looks like a giant peanut butter cup, with a chocolate cookie crust on the bottom and sides, a peanut-topped chocolate “lid” on the top, and a salty-sweet peanut butter filling in the middle. The recipe comes from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking From My Home To Yours and looks so rich that it should probably be eaten in small slices - but it’s probably got the same addictive quality as peanut butter cups, so you might expect to have to have a second slice, too.
- Michael Ruhlman has got cornbread down. Not only does his recipe for Jalapeno Cornbread use what looks like a foolproof ratio of ingredients, he fried up slices in bacon fat to make a crispy, savory, spicy version that he served for breakfast. The bread is packed with jalapeno peppers, but if you want to tone it back some you can use fewer, or you could experiment with using different types of peppers. You might want to keep the frying in bacon fat part, however. It might not be the very healthiest way to eat cornbread, but I think the flavor will make up for it!
