Category Archives: Sweets

Perfect Blueberry Pie

Posted on July 11, 2010 by Veronica

This must be the longest I’ve ever gone without posting a recipe! Did you miss me? I missed you! I don’t really have an excuse, other than life getting hectic.

I have a treat for you since you’ve waited for so long with bated breath for my next recipe. ;) Well, ever since I’ve known my husband, he has sworn that his favorite pie is blueberry, but he’s never had one he liked. How you could think something is your favorite when you’ve never liked it is beyond me, but it has always been my goal to make a blueberry pie that he could finally say, “Yes, this is the way I’ve always imagined a blueberry pie should taste!”

After handing him a slice of this pie, I indiscreetly watched him with bated breath for his reaction and was rewarded with a big, blue smile. He finished the entire slice (in just a few seconds) before he said, “It’s perfect.”

This is a simple combination of berries, sugar, and a bit of lemon juice to offset the sweetness, in a flaky & buttery crust. With something as naturally delicious as blueberries, you don’t need a lot of complexity to get a great taste. Simplicity is key–you want the blueberry flavor to shine and it really does here.

Perfect Blueberry Pie
Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

1 recipe Perfect Pie Crust
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
6 cups frozen blueberries
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Butter for dotting pie and brushing bottom crust
Milk for brushing pie and granulated sugar for sprinkling top

Make the crust at least an hour in advance so it is chilled beforehand. Roll out half the dough 1/8″ thick on a floured surface and line a pie plate, trimming the edges. Brush softened butter over the bottom and place the dish in the fridge. Place the oven rack on the lower 3rd of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees.

Mix together sugar and cornstarch. Don’t skip this step, as it gets the lumps out of the cornstarch & helps the pie consistency. In a large bowl, toss together the blueberries, sugar mixture, and lemon juice. Pour mixture into the crust-lined pie plate and spread out evenly. Dot the mixture with little bits of butter here and there. Roll out the top crust on a floured surface and cover the pie with it. Seal & flute the edges. Brush the pie with milk, sprinkle with a little granulated sugar, and either poke holes or cut a design for venting.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until the filling is bubbling. Remove the pie from the oven and set on a cooling rack to set up overnight before serving. Place in a box or paper sack if you wish, but do not put in an airtight container or cover with plastic wrap or the crust will absorb moisture from the filling and lose its flakiness. You want your pie to be able to breathe a little. Serve with cool whip or vanilla ice cream.

Recipe source: adapted from The Cooking Photographer

48 Comments

Posted in Pie and tagged perfect blueberry pie recipe. Bookmark the permalink.

Clandestine Chocolate Fudge Cake

Posted on June 8, 2010 by Veronica

I’ve been making this cake for almost a year and since it was recently requested again for a bridal shower, I had the opportunity to take some pictures so that I could finally post the recipe.

This cake is intense. We’re talking over a pound of chocolate and 2 cups of heavy cream. And that’s just in the frosting. The cake itself is dense and fudgy, almost like a brownie but definitely recognizable as cake. It is a thing of beauty to a chocolate lover. Chocolate cake nirvana.

If you’re wondering about the “clandestine” part, I put that in the title because this cake has a secret. Folded into the luxurious batter…are beets. (!) Trust me, you would NEVER guess that the cake had beets in it. I always let people finish their slice before revealing the secret ingredient and they are astounded. The beets increase the chocolate flavor & keeps it nice and moist.

Another thing about this cake. It is sad. A sad cake is one that sinks in the middle and this one does. Don’t try to fight it. Sad cakes are some of the happiest cakes I’ve ever eaten because they are so moist. I read in BakeWise that sad cakes usually have too much fat to flour ratio, but I think in this case it also has something to do with all the brown sugar as well. But having a dip in the middle is totally worth the flavor. I wouldn’t dare to change a thing.

Clandestine Chocolate Fudge Cake
Printable recipe

Cake
3 squares (3 oz) unsweetened chocolate
1 can (8 ¼ oz) julienne beets*
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 ½ cups brown sugar, firmly packed
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup buttermilk, room temperature

Fudge Frosting
2 cups whipping cream
1 pound semisweet chocolate chips
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Prepare Cake:
Don’t be alarmed if your cakes dip in the middle—this is due to the high ratio of butter and sugar and is normal. To ensure an attractive presentation, you can either fill in the dips with frosting or level the cakes (I slightly level mine and fill in the remaining dip with frosting so as to not take too much height off) to make them stack nicely.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom of two 8”** round cake pans, then smooth a parchment paper round onto the bottom of each. Grease and flour the bottom and sides of both pans and set aside.

Place the chocolate in a small microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 50 seconds, then stir well. The chocolate will nearly be melted. Microwave for another 20 seconds. After stirring a second time, the chocolate should be smooth and completely melted. If not, microwave for another 20 seconds and stir. Once smooth, set aside.

Drain beet juice into a small bowl. Place beets on a cutting board and chop into very small pieces. Add to the beet juice and set aside.

Beat butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until very fluffy, about five minutes, scraping sides occasionally. Reduce speed to low and beat in melted chocolate.

Stir together flour, baking soda and salt in a medium-size bowl. With mixer on low speed, alternately beat flour in fourths and buttermilk in thirds into chocolate mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Mix until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add beets with juice and mix on medium speed until blended, about 1 minute more.

Divide the batter equally between the 2 prepared pans. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cake will feel very moist to the touch, but if the tester is clean, it’s done. Do not overbake or cake will be dry. Cool cakes in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes and then invert onto racks. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting
You can start the frosting as soon as the cakes are in the oven. If you time it right, your cakes will be cooled by the time the frosting is ready.

Heat cream in a medium-size saucepan just until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and add chocolate and vanilla, stirring until mixture is smooth and chocolate is melted. Transfer mixture to a plastic or glass bowl (metal causes the sides to get too cold and set up too quickly). Refrigerate, stirring every 10 minutes until mixture is as thick as pudding, about 50-60 minutes. At this point the frosting will begin to set up very quickly. Leave in refrigerator and stir every 5 minutes until frosting is as thick as fudge, about 15 more minutes. Alternatively, the frosting may be placed over ice water and stirred constantly until spreading consistency. If it begins to get too thick, immediately remove it from the water.

To assemble the cake, place one cake layer bottom side down on serving platter. Spread a third of the frosting over the top and place the second cake layer bottom side up over that. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides. Let stand at room temperature for frosting to set. The frosted cake may be held at room temperature, uncovered, overnight or refrigerated up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

*If you are unable to find a can of beets in the size specified, buy the regular 15 oz. size. Use 1/4 cup of the juice and ½ cup beets for this recipe.

**If you use 9” pans, the cakes will bake faster so check them at 30-35 minutes to see if they are done.

Recipe source: originally titled “Absolutely Divine Devil’s Food Cake” in The Dessert Lover’s Cookbook by Marlene Sorosky.

I made this one last August for the planning committee meeting for our family reunion. Yes, our family reunion is so big it requires a planning committee!

This is the first one I made last July.

We made quick work of it.

25 Comments

Lemon Squares

Posted on April 16, 2010 by Veronica

I found this recipe on Carolyn’s Food Gal blog through Foodgawker and couldn’t resist the beautiful picture & write-up so I made them for Easter. The filling was different from what I am used to–very silky and velvety and while I would have loved it in a pie, for some reason I missed the firmer texture of the lemon bars I’ve had in the past. That being said, everyone else absolutely loved them so who cares what I think?! I probably won’t make them again, but I think I will try to make a tart with the filling recipe–it’s really fabulous both taste and texture-wise.

Lemon Squares
Printable Recipe

Makes 24 squares

For crust:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
6 ounces (12 tablespoons) cold unsalted, butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

For filling:
6 large eggs
3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

For garnishing:
About 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

To make the crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine flour and confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on low speed until mixed. Add butter and continue to mix until butter is the size of small peas, about 30 seconds. The mixture will be very dry. Gently press mixture evenly onto the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.

Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.

To make filling: In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and granulated sugar until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and then the flour. Pour filling on top of crust.

Bake until lemon filling is set, about 40 minutes. (Mine took 50 minutes.) Let cool to room temperature and then put in the refrigerator for 1 hour or keep at room temperature for 3 hours before cutting. Cut into squares measuring about 2 1/4 inches and dust the tops with confectioners’ sugar.

Planning Ahead: The squares may be made a day in advance, covered, and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before serving. (I actually liked them better cold.)

Recipe Source: Classic Stars Desserts by Emily Luchetti

18 Comments

Posted in Brownies & Bars and tagged Classic Stars Desserts, Emily Luchetti, lemon bars, lemon squares. Bookmark the permalink.

Rolo Pretzel Turtles

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Veronica

You can find this recipe all over the internet, but I got mine from Laura, The Cooking Photographer. Since she posted the recipe last May, I’ve made them at least a dozen times because I give a lot of food gifts and these are so easy to make that they’re perfect when I forget a birthday and have to make something at the last minute. They are also one of the most well-received food gifts I make. And of everything I’ve ever made in my life, I think these little beauties have caused me the most overall weight gain. So I’m really not sure whether or not to thank Laura or whether or not I’m doing you a favor by sharing the recipe with you.

These are heavily addicting and I’ve finally learned to make only as many as I want to give, and NOT use the whole bag of Rolos because then I will inevitably eat half the batch. (And in the case of the second to last batch I made….I ate the entire batch. Every single one. Yes, that was about fifty Rolo Turtles!) I love the salty pretzel flavor combined with the sweet chocolate and sticky caramel and the contrasting nutty crunch from the pecans. They are really easy to make but oh-so-delicious.

Laura gives many ideas for toppings (including any variety of M&Ms, peanuts & chocolate covered coffee beans) and after trying them all (plus almonds, cashews & brazil nuts), I have to say I still prefer the toasted pecans. If you’re making these for children, I’m sure they would love the splash of color from M&Ms and you could also use holiday M&Ms to make these for Independence Day, Halloween, Christmas, Valentines Day, Saint Patrick’s Day, Easter, or any other holiday party.

If you decide to try them, don’t try to say I didn’t warn you. You will gain at least one pant size.

Rolo Pretzel Turtles
Printable Recipe
Printable recipe with picture

Rolos
Mini pretzels (regular or square)
Toasted pecans

Preheat oven to 220 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil. Place the pretzels on the cookie sheet and top with one Rolo each. Bake for three minutes. Remove from the oven and press on topping of choice. Then slide the foil onto the counter and let the chocolate set up. For faster set up, you can move the pan with the candy to the freezer, and chill for about 20 minutes or until firm.

Notes: To toast pecans, spread them out on a plate and microwave for 30 seconds at a time. Stir the pecans around with your hand in between cooking times until toasted.

Veronica’s Notes: To package these for gifts, I wrap them in foil candy wrappers (can be found at hobby stores, cake supply stores and Wal-Mart) or pieces of waxed paper and put in cello bags, tying the tops with raffia or curling ribbon. They could also be given in tins.

Recipe source: slightly adapted from The Cooking Photographer

34 Comments

Posted in Candy, My Favorites and tagged pretzels, rolo pretzel turtles, rolos, turtles. Bookmark the permalink.

Cookie Mondays Gets the Axe

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Veronica

Remember that “genius plan” I had to bake cookies for Dennis’ co-workers once a week so that I could get my bake on while losing weight since I wouldn’t be as tempted to eat something meant for others? Yeah, that didn’t work out so well. Almost four months into the year and I’m actually a few pounds heavier than I was on January 1st. And cookie Mondays was definitely a factor that played into the weight gain.

Despite the fact that I was making cookies for others, one batch of cookies usually makes plenty so that they’d never miss a few. And in the case of the brown butter chocolate chip cookies, I ate more than two dozen. I kid you not.

So when Dennis got a new supervisor and was switched to a different team of all-new co-workers that had no idea about Cookie Mondays, I took advantage of the situation and decided to stop the madness. If you were wondering why I hadn’t posted any cookie recipes in a while, now you know. Cookies seriously are my favorite of all sweets and I must have been insane to think I could keep my paws off of them. I now realize why, despite loving them so much, I rarely make them. I just can not resist homemade cookies, so it’s better not to make them at all!

All told, I made 11 batches of cookies:

Jan 4 – Easy Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Jan 11 – Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Jan 18 – Millionaire Bars (Twix Bars)

Jan 25 – Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Feb 1 – Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies

Feb 8 – Cherry Tea Cookies

Feb 15 – Peanut Butter Blossoms

Feb 22 – Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies

Mar 1 – Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats

Mar 8 – Black Gold Cookies

Mar 15 – Loaded Oatmeal Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

The co-workers voted on their favorite cookies for the months of January and February. January’s favorite was the Brown Butter Chocolate Chip (no surprise there!) and the Peanut Butter Blossoms and Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies tied for February’s favorite. No votes were cast for March’s cookie since Dennis left his team, but one co-worker, upon gobbling a Black Gold cookie, proclaimed “I know which cookie I’ll be voting for this month!”

The Loaded Oatmeal Cookies never made it to the co-workers because the switch was sudden, so most of them went in my belly, some to friends, and the rest remain in the freezer because the recipe makes a very large batch. I’ve posted the recipe before, but I’ll include it here as well since I now have prettier pictures than the first time I made them.

They are my favorite oatmeal raisin cookie because they really are loaded with all the good stuff and I really think the brown butter icing puts them over the top (brown butter makes everything better!).

Loaded Oatmeal Cookies with Brown Butter Icing
recipe from Paula Deen

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
1 cup raisins
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Brown Butter Icing, recipe follows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease 1 or more cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. Using an electric mixer, cream together butter, shortening, and sugar in a bowl until fluffy. Add eggs and beat until mixture is light in color. Add buttermilk. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice; stir into creamed mixture. Fold in oatmeal, raisins, walnuts, and vanilla, blending well. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Drizzle with Brown Butter Icing.

Brown Butter Icing:
1/2 cup butter
3 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 4 tablespoons water

In a small saucepan heat the butter over medium heat, stirring often, until golden brown and the milk solids have separated and turned chocolate in color. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in 3 cups sifted powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in enough water (3 to 4 tablespoons) to make an icing of drizzling consistency. Drizzle on warm cookies. (I left mine fairly thick and used a pastry bag with the end snipped to drizzle. Ideally you’d want a thinner icing that you could drizzle with a spoon or fork.)

7 Comments

Posted in Announcements & Awards, Cookies and tagged brown buttter icing, loaded oatmeal cookies. Bookmark the permalink.

Sunflower Peeps Cake & Fudge Frosting Recipe

Posted on March 28, 2010 by Veronica

I got this idea from Cathy from The Noble Pig, who got it from Taste of Home. Since a recipe for the cake and frosting wasn’t included in Cathy’s post, I figured I’d make my own masterpiece and submit it to All Through The Year Cheer’s Easter Recipe Roundup. I’ve been participating in each holiday recipe roundup with them since I found out about it last fall and even won the last one for Valentine’s Day with my cherry cordials recipe. It’s been a lot of fun and I was looking forward to submitting a really great idea & recipe for Easter.

Well, all I have is a really great idea. Because the recipe failed. And that really great idea isn’t even my own! :(

After reading Cathy’s post, I decided I’d make an orange cake because I really like the combination of orange and chocolate and felt that using a citrus cake made it more spring-appropriate. I imagined a light and fluffy cake with a sweet orange flavor that would perfectly balance the intense fudge frosting. I decided upon the Orange Sour Cream Cake from Eating Out Loud. I love how the sour cream in my favorite chocolate cake makes the crumb so incredibly moist and was hoping for a similar result with this recipe. While the cake was very moist, it obviously was not meant for a layer cake–it’s almost more of a coffee cake–a dense cake, almost like pound cake, with a glaze on top instead of frosting. Mistake number 1.

I cut each cake layer in half and before spreading frosting over each layer, I doused them with a couple tablespoons of orange juice that I’d cooked with sugar to intensify the orange flavor and increase the moisture. Mistake number 2. The cake was already moist enough and adding so much liquid made it even more dense and basically saturated it. Mistake number 3 was letting my fudge frosting get too cold and instead of warming it to soften it, I just smashed it on top of the cake and pressed down really hard as I frosted the cake, thus compacting the poor, dense cake even further.

By the time I was done with it, the cake looked more like the center of a cake truffle than the light and fluffy cake I’d imagined.

However, the flavor was very good. I would highly recommend trying this cake, but in a single layer as the recipe indicates and with the orange glaze instead of frosting. This cake was not meant to be frosted.

OK, all is not a total loss. I mean, look at this cake. It’s adorable. Such a great idea for an Easter cake! And the frosting recipe, one of my favorites, is certainly not a failure–it was a success as usual and I’ll include that here with the directions on the cake.

Sunflower Peeps Cake

adapted from The Noble Pig

*Your favorite yellow cake recipe or 1 box mix (I’d recommend orange if you can find it, b/c it’s more spring-timey. Oh, if only they sold orange cake mix in Wichita!)
*Fudge Frosting (recipe follows)
*2 packages yellow chick Peeps candies

Prepare and bake cakes using two 8-inch round baking pans.

After cakes have cooled, make sure to level the tops so the cakes sit evenly on top of each other. If you would like a four-layer cake, cut each layer in half. Spread a thin layer of frosting, about 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup, between the four layers. If you are just using two layers, spread about a cup of frosting between them. Reserving 1/2 cup frosting, spread the remaining over the top and sides of the cake. Without pulling the Peeps apart, arrange them around the edge of the cake, curving to fit. Put the remaining frosting in a Ziploc or pastry bag, massaging if it has become too firm. Snip the corner or tip and pipe “sunflower seeds” in the middle of the cake. Alternately, you can use chocolate chips for the sunflower seeds as Cathy did, but I prefer using the frosting because it’s easier to cut through.

Fudge Frosting

2 cups (1 pint) heavy whipping cream
1 pound semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 1/3 12-oz bags)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Heat the whipping cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat just until it begins to simmer. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate until smooth and shiny, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the vanilla and pour mixture into a glass or plastic bowl (metal makes the edges set up too quickly). Place in refrigerator and stir every ten minutes for about 50 minutes or until the consistency of thick pudding. The frosting will begin to set up quickly at this point, so begin stirring every five minutes for 5-15 minutes, or until the consistency of fudge. Remove from fridge and use immediately. If the frosting gets too firm, warm for a few seconds in the microwave and stir, repeating as many times as necessary (once or twice should suffice–you don’t want it liquified). Let cake sit at room temperature for a few hours for the frosting to set up. Serve at room temperature.

Dennis disagrees that there's anything wrong with the cake and had no problem polishing off a slice.

If you have an Easter recipe you’d like to submit to All Through The Year Cheer, hurry because the deadline is April 1st (no foolin’! :) ). You don’t have to have a blog to submit a recipe–click here for all the details.

21 Comments

Posted in Cake & Frosting and tagged fudge frosting, sunflower peeps cake. Bookmark the permalink.

Best Made Plans & 10 Dozen Cupcakes

Posted on March 21, 2010 by Veronica

After twenty-nine years of living with myself, I have come to realize that I’m a girl who likes a plan. I make plans and I keep them, if possible, and I get upset if anyone messes with my plans. For example, if my Mom invites us to dinner at 5, I, rather foolishly at this point, plan to be eating dinner at 5. Usually we eat 1-2 hours later than the appointed time because Mom is only halfway through her five-hour bath and my sisters and I have to do the cooking. Thus, I’m often upset when attending a dinner at my parents’ house.

Well, a couple weeks ago I learned that an old friend from high-school was coming to town for spring break and I invited her to come over to dinner on the 15th. She agreed and also put in an order for a chocolate peanut butter cake for her brother-in-law’s birthday. So I planned to get the house clean over the next couple weeks (including things like dusting and cleaning the mirrors, which gets done less than monthly if I’m being honest), make our dinner the night before so that I could pop it in the oven right after I got off work on Monday and it would be ready exactly when she showed up. I had a plan, and it was good.

Then another friend asked me if I could keep her dog over the same weekend that I had planned to be cleaning, making a cake and making a dinner. This messed with my plan but it wasn’t a big deal so I readily agreed.

Then my little sister asked me if I could keep my 4-year-old nephew, Owen, on Saturday because she had to work and her husband would be busy moving their stuff into their new house. OK, this was a bigger deal but if I got the grocery shopping done on Friday night after work and managed to get the house clean by the weekend, I could probably get the cake & dinner made on Sunday before the morning and evening Church services, which would leave my Saturday free to frolic with my nephew. I could handle it but was starting to get edgy.

Then, on Thursday, another friend asked if she could leave her dog with me on Saturday since she was unexpectedly scheduled for overtime. This dog is a digger and our house would be harder to keep clean with him and his muddy paws around, but she always keeps our dog when we need her to so I couldn’t refuse. Besides, I was already keeping one dog, so why not two?

Then things got serious. And bad. One of my dearest friends called me to let me know she was coming to town because her mother was brain-dead, on life-support, and they were going to have to pull the plug. She was coming home to say good-bye to her Mother. This made all my stress over getting the house clean seem petty and my heart just broke for her. But still, the part of me that likes plans was unnerved. I wanted to see my friend and comfort her but how could I fit it all in?

I found out through an update on her sister’s Facebook page that they were in need of food and immediately responded, letting her know I could make at least one meal for them. I would just double the enchilada recipe I was going to make for the other friend. Then Jaci called me and made a tearful request for me to supply the desserts for the dinner after her mother’s funeral. I said yes, of course. I would have done anything I could to help and if cupcakes eased her burden or lifted her spirits in the slightest, I was willing to make enough of them for all the guests, which she estimated wouldn’t be more than 100.

Just one problem. Due to the timing of everything, I would have to make the cupcakes Saturday. And Saturday was the day I would have two dogs (three, counting my own) and a small boy running through the house, commanding most of my attention.

Like I said, I like a plan, and changing my plan five times over the course of several days very close to the span of time it was going to play out…stressed me out. I hate to admit that since it makes me sound small and petty & ridiculous in light of the enormity of my friend’s trauma and grief, but it’s the truth, even if I don’t like it. I also really don’t like cramming that many things into a weekend but it couldn’t be helped so I sucked it up and asked my husband to help because I knew I wouldn’t be able to do everything by myself. And, Godsend that he is, he did.

On Saturday, I took my nephew shopping for a few baking supplies (we also somehow ended up with a puzzle and some plastic chicks filled with Play-Doh) and he “helped” me with the first batch of cupcakes. Helped as in poured batter all over the floor.

Owen with his cupcake creation: banana with cream cheese frosting and FOUR WHOLE STRAWBERRIES on top! I was so tickled watching him cram all those strawberries on there. If you look closely, you can see the back of my Jessie's head looking out the window--probably at her two friends who just flew out the doggie door!

Although he was absolutely delightful and adorable, I couldn’t take the pressure of trying to bake and watch/entertain him at the same time. Dennis swooped in like an angel and played games with him indoors and out and then took him to a McDonald’s PlayPlace for TWO WHOLE HOURS and I not only got 120+ cupcakes made, I also had time to bake and freeze the cake layers for the chocolate peanut butter cake.

Phew.

I was able to get the cake & copious amounts of enchiladas made on Sunday afternoon, almost in time to meet Jaci for dinner at 7:00. Yes, I was late, which usually would have upset me, but I let myself get away with it this time. It was so good to see her, even under the circumstances, and I think the hugs and chatting face-to-face did us both some good since we’ve only seen each other twice since her family moved several years ago. There were wet eyes but no shed tears–we were too happy to be with our friends. Since the bulk of my to-do list was checked off and I could enjoy my time there with her, it turned out to be a therapeutic evening for both of us.

Dennis, me, Jaci, Everett & Danielle at Il Vicino 3-14-10

Needless to say, I didn’t get to the dusting or window-washing like I had planned,but by the time Heather came over for dinner on Monday, I was too relieved and happy to see her, too happy to eat my favorite enchiladas with green rice, to care. I love it when a plan comes together.

True story--I took like 20 pictures of my food during dinner and forgot to take any with Heather so after she left, I called her up with the bribe of cookies to come back just for this photo! Who takes pictures of their food and not their friends?!

OK, so how about those recipes for the the cupcakes? If you made it this far into the blog, I’m sure you’ve worked up an appetite and you deserve a treat!

For starters, feast your eyes on this:

The first two dozen were banana cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, sprinkled with black walnuts. I’ve posted that recipe before and you can find it here.

The third dozen was Turtle Brownie Cups, which I pretty much made up on the spot out of desperation. Come to think of it, these are all my own recipes (some inspired by forgotten recipes found online & in mags during the past several years) except for the Brownie Cakes. I hardly ever post any of my own recipes, and never so many at once. I hope you like them!

TURTLE BROWNIE CUPS

1 fudge brownie mix
1 stick melted butter
2 eggs
1/4 cup water
1 cup dulce de leche
heavy cream, as needed
24 pecan halves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and put paper liners in a 12-cup muffin pan. Now this part is important: Spray lightly with oil. I forgot to, maybe I was distracted (you think?), and the brownies got really stuck to the liners. Yup, for future reference, brownie batter sticks to paper liners if you don’t lightly spray them with cooking spray first. I knew this but my brain was operating on a reduced number of brain cells at that point (I think some of them were rocking back and forth in straight jackets inside the padded cell of my skull).

OK, whip up the brownie mix with the melted butter and water until well mixed. Scoop the batter into the muffin cups, filling them about half full. Put a teaspoon or two of cold or room temp dulce de leche on top of each brownie cup. Bake for 20 minutes or until they’re as done as you like ’em. I like ’em fudgy but my brain cells weren’t working right, as we’ve already established, and I baked them for half an hour so they were little overdone. Dang it, I hate it when I do that!

Take them out and let them cool completely, then use some dulce de leche to glue on two pecan halves to each top. You can either warm the remaining dulce de leche and drizzle it on over the tops of the brownie cups, or mix in a little cream to keep it from drying out if you won’t be serving them for over 24 hours. I did some crazy concoction with dulce de leche, a little caramel frosting, and a little cream.

*Veronica’s notes: You could also make these using wrapped caramels (but you’d want to unwrap them of course), placing one on top of the batter before baking and then melting some more to drizzle over the top. I just happened to have dulce de leche and used that.

The next dozen is a recipe I adapted from my friend, Kim D., and it’s a glorious combination of brownie and cheesecake in a cupcake liner. I did forget to spray these liners with oil as well, and I also overbaked them. But I have made them properly before and can attest that they are stupendous. I always use dark chocolate brownie mix with this recipe.

BROWNIE CAKES

Brownie layer:
1 box brownie mix
1/4 cup water
1 stick (1/2 cup) melted butter
1 egg

Cheesecake layer:
1 cup (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

ganache (optional–see note)

Preheat oven to 350 and line 16 muffin cups with liners. Spray them lightly with oil (!). In medium bowl, stir together brownie mix, water, oil and egg until well mixed. Spoon batter into cups, filling 1/2 – 2/3 full. Using mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla on medium for 1 minute. For each cupcake, place rounded tablespoon of mixture on top of brownie batter on one side (don’t spread or you will get an earthquake surface where the brownie makes the cheesecake layer crack when it rises). Bake 28-32 minutes. Makes 16 cupcakes.

*Veronica’s notes: If you want, you can make a ganache to drizzle over the tops. It isn’t necessary since the brownies add enough chocolate flavor, but it makes them pretty. Just follow the recipe for ganache in the “Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes” below.

The next two dozen I decided to use up the leftover whipped caramel ganache I had used on a birthday cake (frosting freezes well in an airtight container–I’ve kept it this way up to a year with no bad effects). That birthday cake, ironically enough, was for Jaci’s sister, so although Jaci couldn’t be here for Liz’s birthday to enjoy the cake she ordered for her, she was able to taste the frosting on cupcakes at her Mom’s funeral dinner. It sounds very bittersweet, but I hope that the cupcakes brought her a moment of small happiness on such a grief-stricken day in her life. I know just looking at a cupcake makes me happy–doesn’t it make you happy?

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH WHIPPED CARAMEL GANACHE

Easy Sour Cream Chocolate Cake:
1 dark chocolate fudge cake mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup water
3 eggs

1/2 recipe Whipped Caramel Ganache
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 and line 24 muffin cups with paper liners. Mix the cake ingredients on medium for two minutes, scraping sides of bowl. Fill muffin cups 1/2 – 2/3 full (I prefer half full so that the tops just barely dome above the liner but fill fuller for bigger cupcakes. If you have extra batter, you can just set it aside and use it to make more cupcakes once the first batch comes out. It works–I promise–I did it with two of my cupcake batters that day). Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of largest cupcake comes out clean. Let cool in pans for five minutes, then remove to cooling racks. Cool completely, then pipe or spread the whipped ganache over the tops and sprinkle some mini chocolate chips over the ganache, if desired.

Next I made my favorite cupcakes in terms of prettiness. My favorite as far as taste goes is the lemon one that will come last, but only because I have a fondness for this particular lemon frosting and because I’ve been yearning for spring and those seem to herald it. These cupcakes are based on my dark chocolate raspberry cake, but the recipe for the cake part is new–I just kind of threw it together and it I’m really proud of the result. These muffins weren’t just dark, they were BLACK but weren’t bitter in the slightest and hand a crumb so moist and tender, I couldn’t believe I was responsible for creating it. Forgive me my moment of self-pride, but I don’t often come up with my own recipes and when I do and they are this good, I get excited!

DARK CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY CUPCAKES

Cake:
1 dark chocolate fudge cake mix
½ c dutch process cocoa powder (Hershey’s Special Dark works)
¼ c granulated sugar
½ c oil
1 c sour cream
1 c water
3 eggs

Frosting:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
2 lbs powdered sugar
¼ c seedless raspberry preserves
2 T raspberry liqueur OR 3 t raspberry extract

Ganache:
¼ c heavy cream
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate

30-40 fresh raspberries (a half-pint will suffice)

Preheat oven to 350. Put paper liners in two 12-cup muffin tins & set aside.

Beat cake ingredients on low until moistened, then on medium speed for two minutes, scraping sides of bowl. Fill lined muffin tins almost to the top, or 2/3 full and save extra batter to make 3-4 more cupcakes once the first batch comes out of the oven. If you want smaller cupcakes and more of them, fill them 1/2 full and you can get 6-10 more cupcakes out of the second baking cycle. There will be enough frosting for all. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of largest cupcake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

Remove from oven and cool in tins for 5 minutes, then remove onto cooling rack to cool completely. If you have extra batter, put liners in another pan, fill, and bake them while the first batch is cooling.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. Cream the butter and cream cheese, then beat in the remaining ingredients. Pipe or spread over COOLED cupcakes.

Prepare the ganache: place the cream and chocolate in a double boiler over medium heat and stir until melted, shiny & smooth. Allow to cool to room temperature, I think it only took a few minutes b/c it won’t be very hot to begin with, then drizzle over cupcakes with a pastry bag or a spoon or fork. Place a fresh raspberry on top and refrigerate until ready to serve.

OK, now for my favorite! I actually prefer to put this frosting on white cupcakes but this time I put it on lemon cupcakes since I had a lemon cake mix in the cupboard. Just bake up your choice of cupcakes and top them with this frosting. If you want to get a little fancy, you can pipe a teaspoon or two of raspberry or strawberry preserves (or even lemon curd if you don’t mind a double or triple lemon shot-depending on what kind of cupcake you used) into the tops of the cooled cupcakes so they are filled!

ZESTY LEMON FROSTING

2 lemons
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 lb powdered sugar
milk as needed
Yellow food coloring (optional)

From lemons, grate the peel and squeeze ¼ cup juice. Cream the butter until smooth, then add the grated peel, lemon juice, sugar, and 2 tablespoons of milk. Beat until smooth & creamy, adding additional milk as necessary to reach your desired consistency. Increase speed to medium-high; beat until light and fluffy. If desired, beat in enough yellow food coloring or icing paste color to tint a pale yellow. As you can see from the picture, I didn’t tint the frosting b/c I wanted a contrast between the color of the cupcakes and the color of the frosting. When I use white cupcakes, I tint the frosting. I guess I think all one color is boring.

OK, that’s it, folks! Let me know if you try any of the cupcakes–I love feeback.

20 Comments

Posted in Cake & Frosting and tagged banana cupcakes, brownie cakes, chocolate cupcakes, dark chocolate raspberry cupcakes, turtle brownie cups, whipped caramel ganache, zesty lemon frosting. Bookmark the permalink.

Tres Leches Cake

Posted on March 16, 2010 by Veronica

See these three milks (tres leches)? Imagine them stirred up together and poured over a hot sponge cake that soaks up every drop until it is bursting with sweet milk, and then slathered with a light & fluffy white topping after being chilled. That’s this cake. And it’s fabulous.

My first and only Tres Leches Cake experience prior to making this one was taking a bite of one that was brought to a Church potluck dinner a decade ago. I believe it was made from a mix and there is no comparison between it and this one. The texture was too fine and the cake too moist to properly absorb all the liquid and flavor of the milks and it was almost a pile of mush on my plate. Not very appetizing.

If it wasn’t for my friend, Marina, who provides me with so many wonderful recipes, I never would have tried another. But she mentioned that she had a fabulous recipe for one and since I can’t resist a fabulous recipe, particularly one that comes from her, I asked if she would share it and happily for us, she did!

I made the cake for my husband to take to a Mexican-themed potluck at work, along with Chicken Enchilada Chili. They gobbled it up and Dennis came home with rave reviews. The story that tickled me most was about a co-worker who has been on a diet but decided to take a small piece. He was still standing next to the cake when he took his first bite and immediately cut himself a larger second piece before he even finished the first. I don’t blame him!

Just look at this milk-laden goodness. If you stare at it long enough, you can almost hear it whisper, “Eat me. You know you want to.”

I did nab a piece myself before sending it off with Dennis. What, don’t you take a piece for yourself before bringing cake to potlucks? You should–just tell anyone that asks that you did it for quality control purposes. Works for me. Anyway, see that piece below with the cherries on top, à la Pioneer Woman? I ate that sucker in a minute flat. Then I licked the plate.

I’m sending this recipe to Creative Sanyukta, the host for this week’s BSI–milk!

TRES LECHE CAKE

Cake:
6 large eggs, separated
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Topping:
1 14-ounce can evaporated milk
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy cream

Icing:
3 tablespoons water
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large egg whites

To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour a 13 x 9-inch baking dish and set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat the egg whites on low speed until soft peaks form. (I’m impatient so I beat them on high speed.) Add the sugar gradually with the mixer running and beat to stiff peaks. Add the egg yolks 1 at a time, beating well after the addition of each.

Sift together the flour and baking powder and add to the egg mixture, alternating with the milk. (Do this quickly so the batter does not lose volume.) Add the vanilla. Bake until golden & a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 35-40 minutes.

To make the cream topping:
Whisk together the evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream in a medium bowl. Remove the cake from the oven and while still warm, pour the cream mixture over it. Let sit and cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.

To make the icing:
Once the cake is completely chilled, in a saucepan combine the water and sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Cook until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage, 235 to 240 degrees F. Remove from the heat. In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. While beating, add the hot syrup in a stream. Beat until all the syrup has been added, the mixture cools, and a glossy icing forms.

To assemble: Remove the cake from the refrigerator and spread the icing evenly across the top. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

recipe courtesy of Marina C.

*Veronica’s Note: This recipe is similar to Pioneer Woman’s recipe, but makes a larger cake (compare the ingredients, there’s larger quantities of most everything) and the method is easier–you don’t have to use more than one bowl. Also, instead of whipped cream on top, Marina’s calls for a light egg white frosting (you may have heard it called 7-minute frosting, but the method here is a little different) that is fat-free, and since the cake already contains three highly caloric milks, I thought it was heavy enough without adding any additional fat. It wasn’t a hard decision choosing Marina’s recipe over Ree’s (although I am a faithful PW fan), despite those drool-worthy pictures, and I don’t regret it.

40 Comments

Posted in Cake & Frosting, Mexican and tagged tres leche cake, tres leches cake. Bookmark the permalink.

Black Gold Cookies

Posted on March 8, 2010 by Veronica

These cookies don’t need a long introduction. They are uber-chocolatey and sort of like a truffle in cookie form. My husband describes them like this, “Chocolate-chocolate chip with chocolate and added chocolate.” Yeah, that pretty much sums it up! They are so moist, soft, and melty on the inside, unlike any cookie I’ve ever had before. Definitely will win over any chocolate-lover!

Black Gold Cookies
From Death By Chocolate Cookies by Marcel Desaulniers

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces, divided
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat the oven to 325°F and line 3 baking sheets with parchment.

In a sifter combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Sift onto a large piece of wax paper and set aside until needed.

Heat 1 inch of water in the bottom half of a double boiler over medium heat. With the heat on, place 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, the unsweetened chocolate, and butter in the top half of the double boiler. Use a rubber spatula to stir the chocolate and butter until completely melted and smooth, about 6 minutes. Transfer the melted chocolate mixture to a 1-quart bowl and set aside until needed.

Place the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle. Beat on medium 4 minutes until soft. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl, then continue to beat on medium for 2 more minutes. Stop the mixer, then add the melted chocolate and beat on medium for 1 minute until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl. Add the sifted dry ingredients and the remaining 4 ounces semisweet chocolate and mix on low speed until just incorporated, about 30 seconds. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatula to finish mixing the dough until thoroughly combined.

Using a heaping tablespoon of dough for each cookie (approximately 3/4 oz.), portion 12 cookies, evenly spaced, onto each of the prepared baking sheets. Place the baking sheets on the top and center racks of the preheated oven and bake for 9 to 10 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to center about halfway through the baking time (at this time also turn each sheet 180°F.).

Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature on the baking sheets, about 30 minutes. Store the cooled cookies in a tightly sealed plastic container until ready to serve.

Makes 36 2 3/4-inch cookies.

Veronica’s Notes: I chose to melt 6 oz (half a bag) of semi-sweet chocolate chips with the unsweetened chocolate and then stirred in 4 oz of mini-chocolate chips into the batter at the end, b/c I found it easier than chopping chocolate.

36 Comments

Posted in Cookies and tagged black gold cookies, Marcel Desaulniers. Bookmark the permalink.

Vegan Gluten-Free Mounds Cake

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Veronica

I made this cake the same day I made the chocolate peanut butter cake because the latter was for a friend’s birthday and I wanted to bring something that her son with food allergies could enjoy as well. It was so good, however, that we all had some (yes, on top of the chocolate peanut butter cake!) and she served the leftovers to her entire family later on. They all loved it, which makes me so proud because producing a palatable vegan and gluten-free cake was a challenge.

Dennis and I took a single piece home with us, which we regretted the next day when we split it and it was gone all too quickly. We both love Mounds candy bars and this cake really does capture that flavor. I would make this cake for any one, not just those with food allergies.

I’m submitting this cake to Sophia’s “You are What You Cook” challenge because I feel the recipe really defines me. I do not personally have food allergies, but I love the challenge of creating a palatable dish when there are obstacles to overcome (in this case, no dairy and strange flours!). I do commiserate with those who are vegan because they love animals, and I’m enthusiastic about recipes that are meat & dairy-free for that reason. This recipe is the love I have for baking, the heartache I feel for those who can’t enjoy the treats most of us do, my determination not to sacrifice flavor & texture due to the restrictions, and my triumph in creating something that made a ten-year-old boy give a huge grin after his first bite and declare, “This is awesome!”

If you do not have an allergy to gluten, you can substitute all-purpose flour and omit the xanthan gum, but there’s no need to change anything else, even if you aren’t vegan. The recipe is perfect the way it is!

Vegan Gluten-Free Mounds Cake

Really Wacky Cake
Wacky Cake was popular during the depression when eggs and butter were rationed and harder to come by. Taking this dairy and egg-free cake and making it gluten-free makes it really wacky!

3 c gluten-free all-purpose baking flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
1 t Xanthan Gum
2 c granulated sugar
1 t salt
2 t baking soda
½ c cocoa powder (I used Dutch processed for a deeper color & chocolate flavor)
¾ c vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
2 t vanilla extract
2 T distilled white vinegar
2 c cold water

Coconut Filling
2 T coconut oil
¾ c coconut milk
1 c granulated sugar
20 large vegan marshmallows
10 oz unsweetened coconut

Coconut Ganache
½ c coconut milk (not light)
8 oz Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray and set aside. Sift all dry ingredients together into a large bowl. Make three wells and put the oil in one, the vanilla in another and the vinegar in the last. Pour water over it all and mix until well blended. Pour into prepared pan and bake 30-40 minutes (mine took 40) until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Once the cake is cool or mostly cool, prepare the filling. Heat the coconut oil in a saucepan over medium heat until it melts, then add the coconut milk and sugar. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the marshmallows until dissolved. Stir in the coconut and spread over the cake. Allow to cool before preparing the ganache.

Place the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl and set aside. Heat the coconut milk until it bubbles around the edges and steam rises off the surface. Pour over the chocolate and allow to sit for several minutes. Stir until smooth and shiny—this will probably take two minutes. If necessary, place bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water & stir constantly to melt the chocolate completely.

Pour the ganache over the cake and spread to the edges. Allow to set for at least an hour before serving.