fancy a cuppa?

In my 5-6 years as a baking enthusiast, and more importantly in my 5 years at a tech school, I’ve decided there are two types of bakers: the technical, and the home grown kind.

The technical bakers, like one of my former roommates, are awesome at cake decorating, complicated recipes that involve zero tolerance for error, and anything involving yeast or a candy thermometer. The home grown kind are sloppy, rarely if ever measure things, don’t level off cups of flour, and experiment with recipes.

I’m definitely the second kind, mainly because of my God-given natural laziness. I can’t help it – I hate washing dishes, I despise following recipes too closely, and I rarely if ever have all of the ingredients necessary for a recipe on hand at any given time (this is another result of my laziness. I never plan ahead for baking!).

Luckily, most of the things I like to bake don’t require precision or specific ingredients that can’t be substituted! Brownies, cookies, muffins, and some types of cakes are all great for that kind of style. Bread pudding is also one of those great slop-it-all-together kinds of recipes – it takes well with almost any ingredients as long as you have the basics of bread, custard-type dipping stuff, and any extras/spices.

I found this great Earl Grey Bread Pudding recipe on a blog while I was wandering the internet looking for some new recipes to try. I didn’t make many modifications, only adding in coconut to the layers with almonds and chocolate. For that reason I’m not posting the recipe here, but please click the link to see the recipe! Yum.

Goodbye, Italy! Take 2

It’s my second last night in Italy within the past month. I am too freaking lucky. Look at all this great food!

 

Caffe Latte and Pastry at a Cafe at the corner of Via Nazionale and Via Faenza in Florence.

 

Pastries from Il Forno, by the Mercato Centrale.

 

Firenza salad, Mostodolce pizza (tomato, mozzarella, truffle, mushrooms – AMAZING), and the Martellina beer – this restaurant/pizzeria brews their own beer. I tried the honey brew, and WOW. It was so good! I haven’t have house-brewed beer since I left the States, so this was a real treat – very sweet with spicy notes and a just-bitter-enough finish. Perfection!! All from Mostodolce, Via Nazionale in Florence.

Sadly, I didn’t get ANY pictures of our pasta courses we ate out our first night. Extremely disappointing. It was amazing and I forgot my camera. More later.

I am super sad to be leaving Italy.

Goodbye, all you lovely Italian pastries and caffe lattes :(.

I will be back.

soooo off topic

Guys, I totally freaking suck for not updating so much. BUT COME ON. I'M STUDYING IN SPAIN.

It seems like a good excuse to me, at least ;).

Anyway, I saw this post on LiveJournal (ahh I know) and I really want to make them when I get back. Can't wait to get into a kitchen again!!

Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuit Recipe

to do list for tomorrow (sunday)

...and the near future!

• Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake via bakebakebake LJ community
• Moist Vanilla Cake with Marshmallow Fondant via Boho Kitchen
• Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies via Allrecipes (I want to make these with M&Ms)
• Ginger Almond Cashew Granola via Chef Yum Yum
• Sweet Potato Soup with Fried Pancetta via Epicurious (Going to make this with bacon that I have right now instead of pancetta)
• Baked Sweet Potato Fries via Our Best Chefs.....yum!

mmmm sprinkle cookies

 

I went over to my roommate Heather's house right before we went home for Christmas break, and we baked a double batch of Italian Sprinkle Cookies with Heather's mom.  It was so fun!  The recipe was called "Aunt Lena's Italian Sprinkle Cookies", but I remember my grandma making these for many many years when I was little, calling them her Ukrainian cookies. :-P Heather's mom got the recipe online, and it made me really happy to know these cookies I used to love were so easy to make!

These colorful cookies make a great gift no matter what season it is.  We bagged them up and gave them out in groups of 6's, 8's and 12's to friends, family, co-workers, and bosses.  The cookies were delicious!  The key to this recipe is to use pure almond and lemon extract - the quality really makes a difference when the cookie relies on the extracts for flavor.  You also want to make sure to use fresh sprinkles!  In the past, I've accidentally used stale sprinkles on birthday cakes and it really brings down the taste.  Oops!

The original instructions said to mix melted shortening into the flour mix, but that ended up creating tons of lumps (not that that affected the taste at all!).  We ended up going through the dough piece by piece, trying to smooth out all of the lumps and bumps.  We guessed that adding the flour to the shortening instead would've avoided this, and Heather made the recipe again a little late, she told me it did!  The glaze was also much too thin at first, running right off the cookies and not really holding sprinkles.  So, I'm posting the edited version below.  Enjoy!

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Aunt Lena's Italian Sprinkle Cookies

makes about 7 dozen

Ingredients:
6 eggs
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons PLUS 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup shortening, melted
1 tablespoon almond extract
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract

Glaze

1/2 cup warms milk
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 lb confectioners’ sugar
Round colored sprinkles

Using a heavy-duty electric mixer on high speed, beat eggs until light and foamy, about 5 minutes. Set aside. In another mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar and baking powder.  Pour the melted shortening and extracts into a large mixing bowl.  Gradually add the flour mixture to the melted shortening and extracts until a bead-like texture is formed. Gradually add beaten eggs (dough will be stiff). Roll dough into 1-in, balls. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. The tops of the cookies will not brown, but the bottoms should brown slightly.

For glaze, combine milk and extracts in a large bowl. Add sugar; whisk until all lumps are dissolved and the glaze is smooth. As soon as cookies are removed from the oven, quickly immerse two or three at a time into the glaze. Remove with a slotted spoon or fingers. Place cookies on wire racks to drain. Quickly top with sprinkles. Let dry 24 hours before storing in airtight containers.

vacation!

I made it out alive - all of my papers and presentations are in, and I'm home for winter break, woo!  Expect many cookie recipes to follow :).  In the meantime, I will be sleeping and leaving you with two things: 

First, an excellent all-purpose holiday cake recipe that's extremely versatile, lasts for quite awhile (useful for making ahead of time!), and is absolutely delicious.

Second, my boyfriend Chris just started a Beer of the Week blog - go check it out!  He'll be reviewing beers, posting about food (we make such a great pair :D), and beer/food combinations.  Sweet!

By the way, I got this amazing Bundt pan from Goodwill for $1.  How awesome is that??

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All-Purpose Holiday Cake

adapted from Joy the Baker

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup apple sauce

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon rum

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 apples, cut into chunks

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup chocolate chips (a mix of chocolate and white chocolate chips would also be yummy!)

Put a rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a Bundt pan.

Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.

Whisk together apple sauce, pumpkin, eggs, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, rum and vanilla in a large bowl until just combined. Fold in flour mixture until just combined, then fold in apples, cranberries, and chocolate chips. Spoon the batter into the Bundt pan.

Bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack for 30 minutes, then turn out onto rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

happy birthday mom!

 

I recently went home for my mom's birthday, to spend time with her and, most importantly, to make her a cake!  Ever since I can remember, my mom would make my sister and I any kind of cake we wanted for our birthdays, and we always reciprocated.  When I first met my boyfriend, I was shocked that his family didn't do the same...I just assumed that's how the world worked :-P.

 

My mom's only request this year was for a cake with lemon in it, and my chocolate frosting (I use Peabody's recipe here, with an addition of 1 tsp instant espresso powder).  I decided to make her my own variation on Magnolia Bakery's yellow cake recipe: Lemon Cake with Raspberry Cream Cheese Swirl.  Yum!

 

Frosting making - well, bowl licking.  Yum!

 

The cake was pretty simple to make, but time consuming in its separate components.  In hindsight, next time I will actually "swirl" in the raspberry cream cheese layer instead of letting it sit on top (I thought maybe it would sink in).  Other than that, I thought the flavors were well balanced and not too overpowering!

Now I have to decide what I'm going to want for my birthday ;).  (P.S. Chris - you still owe me a cake from last year!)

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Lemon Cake with Raspberry Cream Cheese Swirl

cake recipe adapted from the Magnolia Vanilla Cupcakes recipe

2  3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoons salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

zest of one lemon

juice from half of a lemon

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

____

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease three 8" cake pans.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the lemon zest and juice, mixing well to incorporate.  Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Spoon the batter into the cake pans.  Add in Raspberry Cream Cheese Swirl (recipe below) and swirl with a butter knife in each pan.  Be careful not to mix too much.  Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean.

Place cake tins on wire racks and cool the cakes completely. Remove the cakes carefully when cool, and frost!  (I used the chocolate frosting recipe, above).

 

Raspberry Cream Cheese Swirl

12 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

2 large egg whites, room temperature

4 tbsp sour cream, room temperature

1/3 cup raspberry preserves

In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth.  Add in sour cream, beating well.  Add in sugar and salt, beating well to incorporate.

Beat in egg whites and raspberry preserves until incorporated.

to try: marshmallow recipes

I think these could make great Christmas gifts...I'm going to have some free time (ha, "free time") this week and after classes, so I'm earmarking some recipes:

• Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows
• Chocolate Marshmallows
• Strawberry Marshmallows
• Basic Vanilla Marshmallows

sanity, please?

In the midst of all this.....

 

This is how I cope...

on the topic of pumpkins

Oh, this stuff is SO. GOOD.  We don't have any Trader Joe's in my area (so sad!), but my sister is going to college in Boston so every time we've visited her I load up while I have the chance.  I love fall!

 

I've been trying to find pumpkins to make some toasted pumpkin seeds, but I can't find any at the local grocery store!  I'll make a trip out to an orchard or something at some point before Thanksgiving, but I was hoping I wouldn't have to make a special trip out...sucks!

 

On my fall to-try recipe list:

• Pepita Granola from smitten kitchen
• Mom's Apple Cake from smitten kitchen
• Caramel Apples from 101 Cookbooks
• Pumpkin Spice Scones from Pinch My Salt
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chips from the Post Punk Kitchen
• Pumpkin Raisin Bread Pudding from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody
• Sweet Potato and Sausage Soup from smitten kitchen
• Roasted Autumn Vegetable Chowder from Pinch My Salt

a black tie affair

Last weekend one of my roommates (not the apple picking one :P) and I hosted a very classy party, in honor of the opening of a new performing arts center at our (engineering) school.

The opening of this performing arts center has been the topic of a lot of controversy lately, over many issues that generally center around the need for other improvements on campus, and the sheer amount of money being spent on this new building.

While I have my own opinions about this, I won't go into them in too much detail on this blog.  However, as a club officer, I was invited to the invite-only Gala Opening Event last Friday night.  I definitely wanted to go check it out, mainly because I was sure there would be good food there (and I was right!).

It was black-tie only - so sophisticated!  I've never been to such a "grown up" event, so I was pretty excited to get to wear my black prom dress again ;).  Unfortunately, I forgot my camera and didn't get any pictures of the night!  I have some bad-quality cell phone pictures, but it doesn't do anything justice.  The pictures you see now are from re-visiting the building the next morning, with my mom.

So, anyway, I spent most of the day on Friday preparing for our unofficial after-Gala event - the anti-event!  Julie (my date for the evening!) and I really enjoyed the irony in the party hopping we did.  I present to you our menu for the evening:

• Vegetables with Roasted Red Pepper Humus
• Strawberry, Grape, and Mandarin Orange Fruit Skewers
• Parmesan Rosemary Walnut Shortbreads
• Grape and Rosemary Focaccia
• Warm Cheese Artichoke Spinach Dip
• Cayenne-Paprika Spiced Popcorn
• Raspberry-Lime Petit Fours

The petit fours took the longest to make - about 2 days.  I deviated a bit from the original recipe listed above, starting with the Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Cupcake recipe, baked as a sheet cake, as the base.  From the birthday cake mentioned in a previous post, I found layers were extremely easy to cut when using this recipe, so I didn't want to risk anything new!  Especially trying to balance making all of this between classes and meetings.

The focaccia recipe's already made a debut at the Apartment Warming party, made by Chris both times!  It's a huge crowd pleaser every time - everyone's usually surprised that it tastes so good, since the idea of grapes on pizza dough is a bit strange at first.  I LOVE this stuff, and it was definitely a hit at the party.

(Can't have a classy party without champagne!)

apples apples everywhere

A few weekends ago, my roommate and I went apple picking ($5 a bag...what a bargain!).  We have wayyyy too many apples to know what to do with so we've both been baking like crazy.  My favorite snack lately has been Baked Apples, which is super easy and makes the apartment smell absolutely amazing.  I like to bake it in a toaster oven, since it's faster and uses less electricity (woo bills!..):

Baked Apples

1-2 apples

cinnamon sugar

nutmeg

pumpkin pie spice

few dabs of butter

 

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 350 F.

Slice the apple(s) in half and cut out the core, leaving the rest of the apple intact. Cut slits in the flesh of the apple so that all of the spices and butter can melt into the apple.  Sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar, pumpkin spice, then nutmeg.  Cut the butter into small pieces and dot it onto the apple halves.  Bake for 30 minutes or until the apples are soft and bubbling.

 

 

I also made a pie the other day, I'm not actually sure if there's any left but it was very good.  I usually use this Brown Butter Creamy Apple Pie recipe, but I wanted to try something different this time, so I found this Caramel Apple Pie recipe instead.  It's definitely worth a try if you're looking for an apple pie recipe!

Other bloggers talking about apples right now:

Posie Gets Cozy (Sour Cream Apple Pie - definitely trying this one next time!)

Smitten Kitchen (Mom's Apple Cake)

Sweet Potatoe (Vegan Apple Pie, yum)

Simply Recipes (Applesauce)

recent deliciousness!

 

These were just so good I couldn't resist blogging about them!  Sometime in August, I made Cheddar Scallion Biscuits with Garlic Butter, blogged about at Cheap Cooking.  The garlic butter was definitely an excellent addition, as the biscuits were pretty mild in flavor.  I think next time I make them I might try adding in some bacon.

I have ALWAYS dreamed about making tiramisu.  Back before I was in college, I was an absolutely hopeless baker.  I loved it so much, but even mixes wouldn't come out for me.  It was actually pretty sad, thinking back on it, how many times I attempted to bake a cake or pretty much anything and how often it failed.

I tried making tiramisu exactly once.  I was so disappointed!  The filling was horribly lumpy, not sweet at all, and the ladyfinger cookies were nothing but a soggy mush.  Not to mention I felt pretty bad that my dad had bought me the (expensive) mascarpone cheese and I had clearly butchered the recipe.

When I saw a bag of real Italian ladyfingers at the local Italian deli, I decided to try again...and I have to say I was quite the opposite of disappointed!  I used Pioneer Woman's Tiramisu recipe, and I CAN make Tiramisu, I can!

 

Mmmmm, look at that. :D

And of course, I have to post my go-to recipes for yellow cake and chocolate frosting (a birthday cake classic!).  Culinary Concoctions by Peabody's Yellow Cake and Fudgy Chocolate Frosting are my standards.  I refuse to try another recipe most of the time because these are just so perfect!  This cake is moist, flavorful, and has the perfect crumb.  And the frosting is super easy to make, spreads well, and is delicious!

For this cake, I actually (gasp!) used another recipe - the Magnolia Vanilla Cupcake recipe - substituting the self-rising flour (didn't have any), and baking it in a cake pan.  The yellow cake recipe I use is a little too crumby to decorate that way I wanted to for this cake, so I tried the Magnolia recipe instead....wow!  My roommate is the cake decorator in the house (she's great!) and she was very impressed by how flat the cake baked, and how evenly the layers cut.  I have to say, I much prefer the taste of Peabody's yellow cake to this vanilla cake, but opinions on that have varied, I've found.

And last, but absolutely-certainly not least, we have....Fudgy Brownies from John Scharffenberger.  Oh. My. God.  You must make these!  The recipe takes a whole lot of chocolate, so quality really matters here.  I used half Ghiradelli's Baking Bar chocolate, half Lindt chocolate.  Holy moly. The whole key to this recipe, other than quality of chocolate, is to really mix the batter until it's glossy and pulls away from the bowl.  That's what creates the perfectly crackled/chewy crust on the brownie.  So good!