The Tasty-Ugly Bakery

Daring Bakers Challenge - Cheesecake Pops

2008-04-28T10:24:00.000-07:00

I didn't have much luck with this month's challenge of Cheesecake Pops - the cheesecake came out tasting delicious, but there was no way of making them into pops without them flattening out. I could have left them in the oven for another 20 minutes or perhaps longer.

So I'm not going to post my pictures - they are HORRIBLE looking - and I didn't have any success with decorating, either. So perhaps the May challenge will go off much better. If I make this again, I plan on baking it much, much longer.

March Daring Bakers Challenge - Perfect Party Cake

2008-03-31T07:51:00.000-07:00

(Let's try this again - as predicted, now I'm a day late. Oh well).

I really, really love to bake cakes. I'm good at it, they are always delicious, and they never LOOK like a bakery cake. Then again, I've yet to find a bakery cake that, quite frankly, tastes as good as my cakes.

This cake was a delight to make, a horror to decorate (due to my butter cream curdling from the time it was complete to the time I got it on the cake), and a huge hit all around to eat. It was light, rich tasting without being heavy (due, I think, to the lack of egg yolks in the batter, for which my dogs are very, very appreciative), and fun to think about the possibilities for future combinations.

PERFECT PARTY CAKE
Courtesy of Dorie Greenspan’s Baking from My Home to Yours

For the Cake
2 ½ cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing
2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable - I used Polamer AllFruit Cherry Preserves, and this was a wonderful compliment to the lemon and the coconut.
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready
Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

The Usual Suspects... I used cultured buttermilk, which works just as well as "regular" buttermilk. When it's in a powered form, you mix it with the dry ingredients, mix the eggs with the amount of water you'd use in place of the buttermilk, and away you go.

To Make the Cake
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.
Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.
Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.
Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.
Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.
Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.
Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean
Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.
Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

The lemon zest and sugar. The scent this gave off was unholy good. I wanted to rub it all over my body.

To Make the Buttercream
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes.
The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream.
Remove the bowl from the heat.
Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth.
Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes.
During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.
On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla.
You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.
I should note that I made the buttercream at home and then transported it to my mom's house for dinner that night, and the buttercream curdled in a most horrible way. Luckily, I was covering the frosting with coconut, so you couldn't tell that it was a problem. I would recommend that you NOT travel with the buttercream; make it instead at your destination.

Cake layers and buttercream, ready to go to grandma's for eating.... The buttercream was in good shape when this picture was taken.

To Assemble the Cake
Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half.
Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper.
Spread it with one third of the preserves.
Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream.
Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover).
Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top.
Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

Instead of putting the preserves in with buttercream, I did a layer of preserves, then a cake layer, then a generous layer of buttercream, then another cake layer, followed by the last layer of preserves

Something went horribly wrong with the buttercream. It looked like spackle, and would not spread smoothly. It also did not adhere well to the cake, and kept sliding off. I can assure you, it was cool, and room temperature, as was the cake.

Coconut to the rescue!! The shredded coconut hid a multitude of sins caused by the buttercream, and made this look like a giant coconut snowball. Beautiful!

Serving
The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but I think it’s best to let it sit and set for a couple of hours in a cool room – not the refrigerator. Whether you wait or slice and enjoy it immediately, the cake should be served at room temperature; it loses all its subtlety when it’s cold. Depending on your audience you can serve the cake with just about anything from milk to sweet or bubbly wine.

Storing
The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to two days. Bring it to room temperature before serving. If you want to freeze the cake, slide it into the freezer to set, then wrap it really well – it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer; defrost it, still wrapped overnight in the refrigerator.

Playing Around
Since lemon is such a friendly flavour, feel free to make changes in the preserves: other red preserves – cherry or strawberry – look especially nice, but you can even use plum or blueberry jam.

Fresh Berry Cake
If you will be serving the cake the day it is made, cover each layer of buttercream with fresh berries – use whole raspberries, sliced or halved strawberries or whole blackberries, and match the preserves to the fruit. You can replace the coconut on top of the cake with a crown of berries, or use both coconut and berries. You can also replace the buttercream between the layers with fairly firmly whipped sweetened cream and then either frost the cake with buttercream (the contrast between the lighter whipped cream and the firmer buttercream is nice) or finish it with more whipped cream. If you use whipped cream, you’ll have to store the cake the in the refrigerator – let it sit for about 20 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Jenn's notes: I served this cake at my mom's house on the Friday before Easter to my parents, my brother and his wife, and her parents. It got glowing reviews all around - I was most pleased that the cake was nice and moist, not at all dry (it had been made on the same day, however, so I don't know if making it well ahead of time and frozen would make a difference), flavorful without being overwhelmingly lemony, and overall delicious. It could be made into a sheet cake, easily, for an even smoother transition for travel - perfect for baby showers, bridal showers, mother's day and other springtime celebrations, when the world is waking up. This cake will most assuredly wake up your tastebuds. I plan on making it with blueberry preserves, blackberries, fresh strawberries, and raspberries at some point this summer (not all at the same time - it just lends itself beautifully to all fruits). I would stay away from lemon curd - this would tip the balance of lemon to an overpowering citrus flavor - and chocolate-flavors. I think Nutella would be too heavy for this light, refreshing dessert. And served with Prosecco would be delightful to the extreme!

A great recipe... I really enjoyed it and will be adding it to my recipe collection for a festive, delicious dessert. Thank you for the challenge!

TAGS:
cake, coconut, Daring Baker, dessert, fruit, lemon, light, march, springtime

Sorry

2008-03-25T08:10:00.000-07:00

Between a crazy week, being 7-1/2 months pregnant with a 3-year-old, and working full time, I got all turned around and posted the challenge a week early. Apologies to all - you people are STICKLERS!

Look for the post Sunday. Of course, I'll probably space it and post it Monday, because that's just how I roll.

February Challenge - Julia's French Bread

2008-02-29T12:55:00.001-08:00

(for some reason I can't get the images to resize - apologies)

Heh. Remember what I said about yeast-risen things and how I'm terrified of them, etc, etc? Well, the joke's on me because that's just what the February Daring Baker's challenge was.... great. French bread, no less. The fewest number of ingredients, but the most fiddly. However, since I skipped January's Challenge of Lemon Meringue pie, I had to do this so here I went!

I will say that, while bread is one of my favorite things to eat, it's not really at all my favorite thing to make, unless it's a quick bread like zucchinni or banana or date-nut bread. There's no rising involved, you mix everything together, and throw it in the oven. An hour or so later, it's done, it's delicious. I have always envied those who enjoy making bread - my uncle, and my mom's best friend each take a day each week to make their bread for the coming days. I love the concept.... but I don't love the execution. I haven't ever had success with breads that require rising time. I don't know if my yeasts are old, or if my house is too cold to foster a proper rise, or what. But they usually come out like bricks.

To get the full recipe, you can go here

Here are some pictures and notes of my progress:

The Ingredients, Part I

Salt, yeast, all-purpose, unbleached flour, and water. See my thermometer? It was 100 degrees on the mark.

The Ingredients, Part II

After mixing the yeast with the water and the flour and salt together, right before everything was mixed together.

I Need to Knead

After mixing everything together, here's the kneading for the first pass. I have to say, I do enjoy kneading - it's a great movement that really works the arms and feels fantastic when the ingredients blend and merge.

After the first rise

My little helper got a little piece of dough to beat up so that I could futz with the dough and get it ready to rise again. I did the first 2 rises in the oven, which seemed to work out well, but the 2nd time I put the towel on over the plastic, it kind of fell into the bowl and I think it kept the 2nd rise from true success.

Ready for More

This was post-2nd rise, getting the dough ready for its resting and 3rd rise. Because I am slightly lazy and pregnant, I opted to do 1 large boule-type of loaf.

I think this is where I ran into a little more trouble - my house is cool, and it was a cool, not-sunny day. If the sun had been out, the room that this third rise took place would have been much warmer. It did go to be fairly large, though, with the wrappings and all. And my cats didn't bother the dough, which was unprecidented.

Baker, Baker

Here's the hedgehog loaf (so-called due to how the cuts in the dough came out), after I brushed it with water. I did this, and the crust was lovely.

After coming out of the oven. Nice color, a little flat but still lovely.

I couldn't wait for the bread to cool before eating it - for one thing, it smelled too good, and second, this bread had taken all day to make, and it was dinner-time so we had it with our supper.

Overall, I'll say that this was a fun challenge, but it wasn't fun enough or worthwhile enough to commit to making my own bread. I have a high respect for those who do make their own bread - it takes time and patience, and I don't have much of either of those qualities right now. It was tasty, and it makes some delicious toast with honey in the morning. So, thank you for the challenge! It's certainly a departure from what I would normally bake!

December Challenge - Buche de Noel

2007-12-23T05:05:00.000-08:00

There aren't many things that terrify me in the kitchen when I'm baking. One is pastry flour, the other is yeast-rising type things, and the other three things are: anything involving a pastry bag and frosting; rolling cakes, and buttercream. The Buche de Noel uses these last three things, big-time.

Let's get started, shall we? I woked backwards when I made this cake: decoration, filling, cake, frosting.

The Mushrooms
I opted to make the meringue mushrooms - I'm not a fan of marzipan, so I braved the pastry bag and went for it. I preheated the oven to 225 d F and lined 22 baking sheets with parchment. I got my pastry bag fitted with my tip - I didn't have a #6 so I used a #4. To make the meringues, I combined 3 room temperature egg whites and 1/4 tsp cream of tartar in my mixer's bowl (making sure there was no trace of errant fat in the bowl) and beat them until very foamy. I slowly added 1/2 cup granulated sugar and increased the speed to high and beat until soft peaks formed. I continuted until the whites were very stiff and shiny, then folded in 1/3 cup confectioner's sugar with a rubber spatula.

I scooped the mixture into the pastry bag, and piped as many stems as I could onto one sheet- at first they looked like piles of white spaghetti but as I got more comfortable with the movements, I was able to make some decent stems. On the other sheet, I made caps - once I figured out that I could just squoosh a bunch of meringue into a ball, the caps came out beautifully. I smoothed out any points, and dusted everything with cocoa.

These all baked for 55 minutes, then I removed them, flipped the caps upside down, poked holes in them, took the stems and dipped them in the remaining meringue, and married the two together. They went back into the oven for 15 minutes, then got to spend the night in a tupperware container, until I was ready to garnish.

The Filling
I decided to make something different for the filling, so I went to my favorite chocolate pudding recipe and made that up. It's in the Joy of Cooking, and it is a miracle in a bowl. Lots of cocoa powder, sugar, and milk (I used 1/2 half and half and 1/2 milk to save a few precious calories).

When the pudding had set, I peeled off the skin (the best part, hands-down) and whipped up some cream. I let the pudding come to room temperature, and after the cream had been whipped, I slowly added it in. This made a beautiful, delicious mousse-like filling.

The Cake
The cake was a plain genoiose, and was very easy to make. I had been warned by people at work (I work for a food magazine, not in the kitchen) not to overcook, because this could end up being very dry.

I preheated the overn to 400 d F, prepped my jelly roll pan by buttering it and then putting a parchment sheet down and buttered that, then filled a medium saucepan with water and boiled it. I combined 3 large eggs, 3 egg yolks, a pinch of salt and 3/4 cup sugar in my mixer's bowl and placed the bowl in the hot water on the stove. I wisked until the mixture was 100 d, then put the bowl in the mixer and whipped with the whisk until the mixture had cooled and tripled in volume - this took about 20 minutes on medium-high.

After whisking 1/2 cup of cake flour and 1/4 cup of cornstarch together, I sifted them in three batched over the egg mixture and folded it in. It was tough to make sure i had gotten all the lumps out, because I didn't want to overbeat the batter. Finally it was ready to go in the pan and into the oven.

I baked the cake for only 10 minutes, then removed it from the oven and let it cool just slighly while I got the rolling stuff together. I had also been advised by my friends at work that it's best to roll the cake while it's still warm (which is why I made the filling first. They told me to put a clean kitchen towel down, then another piece of parchement, then dust the parchment with cocoa to keep the cake from sticking.

I quickly transferred the cake to the rolling station, and it was already cool enough to fill with the filling, so on it went, and away I rolled. I filled it with my chocolate mousse and rolled it up as tighly as I could. The cake was so delicate, it did crack a little, and I think I maybe had too much filling in there.

I transferred the cake to the plate, and I thought that that was really the biggest challenge. It was so mooshy, and so delicate, I thought I'd drop it or break it. But I made it, so it got wrapped up tightly and put in the fridge to set up overnight. I made the mushrooms, the cake, and the filling on Friday afternoon.

The Frosting
Yesterday (Saturday) I made the buttercream frosting, and was a little afraid It would separate. It kind of did, but it still tasted delicious. I made only 1/2 the recipe because I had used something else for the filling, and wouldn't need much for the outside.

I took 2 large egg whites and 1/2 cup of sugar and whisked it together in the bowl of my mixer, then put the bowl over more simmering water and whisked until the sugar had dissolved and the egg whites were hot. I put the bowl on the mixer and whipped with the whisk attachment on medium until it was cooled, then switched to the paddle and beat in 12 tbsp of softened unsalted butter. This went ok, but there was not as much of a consistent blend as I would have liked to see. I dissolved 1 tbsp instant espresso powder into 1 tbsp kahlua (I didn't have any brandy or rum, and figured the kahlua would bring out the coffee flavor) and put it into the butter/egg/sugar mixture. The frosting was too soft when I was done so I decided to let it set up in the fridge for a little while. It was quite liquid-y.

About an hour later, I frosted the cake with the buttercream and drew some fork lines in it - the lines were more like a shaggy bark than clean decoration, but I thought it looked good. I applied the mushrooms, and put a little green around the cake.

Then I thought: hey, it's winter, let's put some pow-pow on for snow!
So I did that, and it looked great.

We had a party to go to last night, so this was what I brought. People thought the mushrooms were really real, and were delighted at the taste of the cake, as was my husband. I'm pleased too - I wish the frosting had come out a little better, but all in all this cake reminded me that i have nothing to fear in the kitchen (excepting, perhaps, my inability to really decorate well). It was tasty, though! A little more work-intensive than I care to undertake when I want a cake, but it would be nice for a special occassion, for sure.

Happy Yule and Holiday to you all! Thanks for this challenge!

Cookie, cookie, cookie starts with "C"

2007-12-12T12:24:00.001-08:00

Here are some treats from our baking extravaganza... oh, if only you could taste them all!

The wonderful, damn, addictive Hats:

Boot Tracks (I'm not saying WHAT it looks like you stepped in, but it does taste pretty darn good):

Scottish shortbread: flour, sugar, butter. That's all that needs to be said.

Pecan tartlettes that my mom had to wing the recipe for, but they still turned out quite nicely:

Cranberry, pistachio, almond macaroons. Something went a little funny on the recipe, but that did not - I repeat did NOT - keep me from eating more than my fair share:

This isn't even all of the stuff we made.... All in all we had about 50 dozen cookies, and most of them went away to friends & family. We used about 12 lbs of butter, at least 5 lbs of sugar (brown and white), 3 dozen eggs, and a bunch of flour, vanilla, and nuts. It's all good. Happy holidays! (if you'd like any of these recipes, please let me know and I'll post them).

Hats! Hats! Everywhere!

2007-12-03T05:09:00.000-08:00

Oh my god.
The hats have arrived.

Next weekend my friend M and my mom and P and I will be doing our annual holiday cookie baking - I have to make something in the area of 36 dozen cookies to send to family and friends - and yesterday I thought I'd get a jump on some of the cookies so I made Peanut Butter Kiss cookies. These are the simplest cookie to make, ever. 4 ingredients. That's all. But for some reason I only make them around Christmas.

They are so simple that one time I gave the recipe to a friend who thought it was incorrect because there wasn't a ton of ingredients and measuring. So she found some other recipe that had flour and cinnamon and a ton of unnecessary things and made them, and they really tasted like crap. Follow this recipe. Trust me. And I see that Hershey is trying to capitolize on the popularity of this by selling kits. This is easier and cheaper and probably better than their package of preservatives.

I don't know if they're better right out of the oven (all mooshy and melty) or better after they've been in the garage, wrapped up against critters, frozen and a little crunchy. Either way, they're awesome. The cheaper the peanut butter, the better. The toughest thing about these cookies is YOU NEED TO WAIT. You can't take them off the cookie sheet too soon or else they turn to little trainwrecks of mush. They still taste delicious, but they look horrible.

So here you go. And I think I'll be making more, to "get a further jump on my baking for next weekend" (ahem!) and I'll also try to take some pictures. Enjoy!

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix peanut butter, sugar and egg together well. Let sit for about 5 minutes while you unwrap Hershey Kisses.
Roll into balls about 1/2" in diameter, place onto cookie sheet - they can go close together.
Take a kiss, push it into the ball of dough gently, until the ball is slightly flattened out.
Bake for 12 minutes
Remove from oven, let sit on cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes. Remove, cool, enjoy.

These can be frozen or refrigerated. They are delicious!!!!

Sorry I didn't get around to posting the November Challenge

2007-11-28T10:48:00.000-08:00

I was too exhausted to cook potatoes then make them into bread!!! Thanksgiving dinner preparations kind of did me in. Next time, I promise, there will be a post with lovely pictures!

Daring Bakers October 2007 Challenge - Bostini Cream Pie

2007-10-29T13:01:00.000-07:00

As almost a foresight to the Sox taking the World Series last night, Mary of Alpineberry's challenge for October 2007 was "Bostini Cream Pie" (from Donna Scala & Kurtis Baguley of Bistro Don Giovanni & Scala's Bakery).... This was not your normal BCP (which I LOVE), something a little different, with a couple of twists: one was the addition of a significant amount of fresh orange juice and orange zest to the cake, and the serving was done in individual ramekins, as little mini BCPs. I think my adaptation of this recipe was pretty spot-on, with the exception being that I didn't have enough ramekins to bake the cakes as individual cakes. You'll see my solution, below....

I'll list the ingredients first, so that you can read them, have your saturated-fat induced heart-attack, then while you're recouperating in the hospital you can see my pictures and notes on this challenge.

CUSTARD:
3/4 cup whole milk
2-3/4 tbsp cornstarch
1 whole egg, beaten
9 egg yolks, beaten
3-3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean (I used 1 tsp real vanilla extract)
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp sugar

CHIFFON CAKE:
1-1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup superfine sugar (I used regular sugar and pulsed it in my mini-food processor for a few seconds)
1/3 tsp salt
1/3 cup canola oil (good fats!!)
1/3 cup beaten egg yolks (3 to 4 yolks)
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
1-1/2 tbsp grated orange zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup egg whites (about 8 large)
1 tsp cream of tartar

CHOCOLOATE GLAZE
8 oz semi or bittersweet chocolate (I used semisweet chips)
8 oz unsalted butter

METHOD:
To prepare the custard:
Combine the milk and cornstarch in a bowl, blend until smooth.

Whisk in the whole egg and yolks, beating until smooth. Combine the cream, vanilla and sugar in a saucepan and carefully bring to a boil. When the mixture just boils, whisk a ladleful into the egg mixture to temper it, then whisk egg mixture back into the cream. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Strain the custard and pour into 8 large custard cups (I used ramekins). Refrigerate to chill.

To prepare the chiffon cakes:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray 8 molds with a non-stick cooking spray (use ramekins, or something that will fit over the custard tightly. Or, do what I did and bake them in a 9" x 12" and 8" x 8" baking pan, lined with parchment and sprayed, and then cut the cakes out because you don't have enough ramekins - see below for photos)

Sift the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and sale into large bowl. Add the oil, egg yolks, orange juice
, zest and vanilla. Stir until smooth, but do not overbeat.

Beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until still peaks form. Gently fold the beaten whites into the orange batter. Fill the molds (or pans) nearly to the top with batter.

Bake approximately 25 minutes, until the cakes bounce back when lightly pressed with a fingertip. Do not overback. Remove from over and let cool on wire rack, when completely cool, remove from molds, cover to keep moist.

To prepare the gaze:
Chop chocolate into small pieces, place butter in a saucepan and melt over low heat until it's about to bubble. Remove from heat, add chocolate, stir to melt. Strain and keep warm until assembly.

To assemble cake
Cut a thin slice from the top of each cake to create a flat surgace. Place a cake flat-side down on top of custart, cover tops with warm chocolate glaze. Serve immediately.
Or, you can do what I did and take your cake from the 8" x 8" pan, cut out round pieces, and fit them over the top:

I think this was a good solution to not having enough ramekins to go around.

Here's the finished product, plated, gooey with chocolate, dusted with "pow-pow" (thanks, DeeDee, for the tip!) with a floral accoutrement:

I have to say that when I heard that this was an orange-flavored cake, I wasn't very thrilled. I'm not a big fan of citrus and chocolate, so I was kind of apathetic when it was making this. I enjoyed the challenge, and when we sat down to eat (we had some friends over to try this out), they were all very enthusiastic.

However, I have to say that the combination of the chocolate, custard, and cake was VERY pleasing, and the flavors all complimented each other very well. It was the first citrus dessert I've enjoyed in a while!!

My one criticism for this recipe was the custard, which was by far my favorite single element of the recipe. The instruction to "cook until it coats the back of a spoon" is slightly misleading. I've made other custards before, and puddings, and there are usually more detailed instructions about temperature. I took the custard off when it coated the back of the spoon and seemed thick enough, but when I strained it, the liquid that was left never firmed up so the custard was very runny. The cakes did a nice job of soaking it up, but it wasn't like a real Boston Cream Pie in that way.

Thanks for the challenge, Daring Bakers! I can't wait to see what November's challenge is!
(it's 4:30 and I'm just getting this in under the gun!)

New post coming soon... I PROMISE

2007-10-24T10:48:00.000-07:00

I've gone & joined the Daring Bakers, and the first challenge that I'm participating in needs to be posted on Monday, 10/29. So rev up your taste-buds... I've got something yummy cruising down the pike for yous all.

Frozen Crack

2007-07-24T11:08:00.001-07:00

No, I'm not talking about when it's too cold and when your waistline starts to fail you... I just wanted to leave a note about the ice cream that I posted on a few weeks (months?) ago... I made the Coconut Custard Ice Cream the other day for a dinner party that had a Thai theme to it. Upon taking a bite of the frozen, coconut-y, creamy deliciousness that was topped with toasted almonds and cocoa nibs, my friend A looked at me and said "Oh my god, my nipples just got hard. This shit is GOOD!!!"

So, you should make it, and then go cut some glass or something.

I'll post one of my grandmother's only tasty recipes - butterscotch brownies - in the near future. She couldn't cook worth a damn, except for her coleslaw (which took her all day in the kitchen because she was totally a mess in there) and her butterscotch brownies and butterscotch pudding. I don't know what it was about her and butterscotch, but she could sure make delicious things with it!

Back to work!

Molteny Chocolatey Goodness

2007-07-02T07:18:00.000-07:00

Hi there!
Remember me?
I let my life get in the way of my blogging & baking, so many apologies.... there is just no excuse for that!

To get back into your good graces, here's a recipe that I've made several times for recent birthdays and anniversaries - it's easy, it's elegant, and it tastes damn good too. I got this recipe from Epicurious and it appeared originally in the January 2001 issue of Bon Appétit.

Cakes
5 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
10 tablespoons (1-1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
Vanilla ice cream

Preparation

For cakes: Preheat oven to 450°F. Butter six 3/4-cup soufflé dishes or custard cups. Stir chocolate and butter in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until melted. Cool slightly. Whisk eggs and egg yolks in large bowl to blend. Whisk in sugar, then chocolate mixture and flour. Pour batter into dishes, dividing equally. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.)
Bake cakes until sides are set but center remains soft and runny, about 11 minutes or up to 14 minutes for batter that was refrigerated. Run small knife around cakes to loosen. Immediately turn cakes out onto plates. Serve with ice cream.

Let me know what you think of this.... enjoy!

A little Southern somethin'-somethin'

2007-05-04T15:07:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, for my Ladies' weekend, my aunt requested that I make "that Pecan Praline cake" that I had made several years ago, for our first Ladies' weekend. We left the dish out with the cake on it, with a knife astride, and by the end of the weekend, that thing was GONE. Everyone had chipped away at it by taking a sliver here and a chunk there. It was a fairly huge hit.

Since then, this has made an excellent birthday cake, a traditional holiday dessert, and a delicious treat, winter or summer. I got this recipe from the November 2000 issue of Bon Appetit (must give credit where credit is due: I'm not interested in getting sued, I already have one of those irons in the fire - not for this website). The pralines are also delicious in salad, cookies, as a snack, you name it. Last Christmas my mom made up a bunch of these and gave them away as gifts in pretty containers. This is a delightful cake, so have a try:

Cake
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar

Pecan Praline Topping
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 1/2 cups pecan halves

Preparation for cake: Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Line bottoms of pans with waxed paper; butter paper. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until well blended after each addition. Mix in vanilla. Beat in dry ingredients in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Stir in chopped pecans. Divide batter between pans.
Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean and cakes begin to pull away from sides of pans, about 35 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 10 minutes. If necessary, run small knife around pan sides to loosen cakes. Turn cakes out onto racks; peel off waxed paper. Cool cakes completely. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Wrap in foil and store at room temperature.)

Using 9-inch-diameter tart pan bottom as aid, transfer 1 cake layer, flat side up, to platter. Spread 1 cup cream cheese frosting over top. Top with second cake layer, flat side up. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Arrange Pecan Praline Topping all over top of cake, mounding slightly in center. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving.)

Preparation for Frosting
Using electric mixer, beat 12 ounces cream cheese, 1/2 cup butter and vanilla extract in large bowl until smooth. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until smooth after each addition.

Preparation for Pecan Pralines:
Preheat oven to 300°F. Butter rimmed baking sheet. Using fork, beat egg white and 1 tablespoon water in medium bowl until foamy. Add brown sugar and stir until sugar dissolves. Add pecan halves and toss to coat. Spread pecan mixture on prepared baking sheet (some egg white-sugar mixture will flow out onto baking sheet). Bake until nuts are deep brown and crisp, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven; stir to loosen nuts from baking sheet. Cool nuts completely on sheet. (Can be prepared 3 days ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.)

Bon Appétit, November 2000

Summertime = Ice Cream

2007-04-25T12:05:00.000-07:00

There is nothing like a great dish or cone of ice cream in the summer. Yes, it's still spring here, but this weekend we had some amazing weather, and it felt like summer. It's even better when the ice cream is homemade. It takes a while to do, but when you wrap your lips around that spoon, it's all worth it. I'm from Vermont, and remember when Ben & Jerry's was just a couple of hippies selling ice cream out of an old gas station. I remember having chocolate chip... and it was real vanilla with real chocolate morsels in it. Not like the gloppy messy flavors they're selling now. This was the real thing: creamy, rich, refreshing, and filled with empty calories.

A couple of years ago I made some vanilla ice cream for a friend of mine, in honor of her birthday. It was my first time making ice cream, and it pretty delicious. Since then I've made it for special occasions - from start to finish, it takes about 24 hours to properly have everything done. Recently, I was reading Amy Sedaris's Cookbook and a recipe caught my eye: Coconut Custard Ice Cream. I'm not a huge fan of coconut, but I thought I would give it a try. I'm so very glad I did. You can try it too - and buy her fantastic, over-the-top production values book. It's pretty hilarious.

Take your chilling unit from your ice cream maker and place it in the freezer. I use the Cuisineart 1-1/2 quart ice cream maker. It's easy to use, and easy to clean. If you have one of those hand-cranked things that you have to pack with ice and salt, you're on your own here. Follow manufacturers directions for preparation.

Take 2 cups heavy cream, 3/4 cup sugar, and 3/4 cup of cream of coconut (Pepe Lopez works - and tastes - great). Whisk together over low heat in a double boiler or a heavy saucepan. Do not allow this mixture to boil - it will curdle the cream and you'll have to start over. Stir occassionally and heat until it's 175'. While you're waiting for it to come up to temp, take 4 eggs and whisk together. Add 3/4 cup milk (you can use any kind of milk - I use the 1% to save on calories. Yeah, right), mix well. When the cream mixture is up to 175', remove from heat. Take about 1/2 cup of the cream mixture and, while constantly stirring, slowly add it to the egg mixture. This is called "tempering" and it keeps your eggs from cooking (if you were to plop them into the hot mixture you would end up with a very expensive, creamy batch of sweet scrambled eggs) by slowly bringing their temperature up. Amy says to use a couple of tablespoons, but I add about 1 cup total, continually stirring. Then slowly add the egg mixture - which has now been tempered - to the cream mixture

and put it back on the heat. Heat until it is smooth and slightly thickened, to 160'. Stir this mixture constantly. When it comes up to heat, add 1/3rd cup sweeted grated coconut. Stir everything together, place in a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.

Make sure the plastic wrap is touching the top of the ice cream base; it doesn't need to be stretched across the top. If you don't cover the mixture itself, it's going to form a skin on top of the mixture.

This mixture needs to chill for at least 3 hours, and I recommend chilling it overnight.

The next day, take your chilling unit from the freezer, assemble the ice cream maker, start 'er up, and slowly pour the ice cream mixture into the mixer. It takes anywhere from 30-45 minutes to freeze. I like to test it periodically to see if it's ready (and, yes, to taste it). When it seems set - similar to a good soft-serve ice cream - place the ice cream into a reclosable container (like tupperware) and freeze for another 3-4 hours, until solid.

Dish it up, garnish with some toasted sliced almonds and some cocoa nibs, and enjoy!

This is a treat well worth the wait. It's absolutely scrumptious. Not a low-calorie dessert, but a nice treat for special occasions. A note: these pictures, particularly of the prep, were for a batch that was 3 times what the original recipe calls for. I had to make ice cream for a bunch of people this weekend.

Enjoy!

Coming soon!

2007-04-18T10:19:00.000-07:00

I don't often bake during the week... there are too many other things to deal with... BUT this weekend the women from my mom's side of the family are coming for a wine-food-gab-laugh fest, so I will have a couple of recipes to post next week: Praline Pecan Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (my aunt's favorite cake) and Coconut Cream Ice Cream. The Bakery, she loves you so much, she'll make you ice cream any time.

So please stay tuned!

These are fun

2007-04-16T07:58:00.000-07:00

I got this from Mellbury Observer. Love these things. And, since it's kitchen/household-related, it belongs on this site.

Housekeeping A to Z

aprons - y/n?
Yes. I have some from many different periods in my life. I don't always remember to wear them, though.

baking - y/n?
As much as I can! And now I can say that I need material for my blog. Heh heh,

clothesline - y/n?
Not really. I have something that I lay sweaters out on. I'd like to get a clothesline for this summer, though.

donuts - ever made them?
No, but I remember my great-aunt making them

everyday - one homemaking thing you do everyday?
Cook. Or clean.

freezer - do you have a separate deep freezer?
No. We had a party-fridge, but had to unplug it to save $$. We had a deep freeze that someone gave us but it never worked, so it got hauled away last summer.

garbage disposal - y/n
No, but I have a compost bin. Or, as G calls it, a "controlled rot pile".

handbook - y/n?
What exactly are you asking here? I have a ton of cookbooks and magazines... do those qualify as a handbook?

ironing - love it or hate it?
Hate it. Avoid it whenever I can.

junk drawer - where is it?
Next to the fridge. That thing is out of control.

kitchen - design and decorating?
There is stuff there and I keep it under control. There is no decorating. The design is one of a glorified galley kitchen - it's a U-shape. It's efficient, though. I have no major complaints. I hope to have a gas stove and new counters before the end of 2007.

love - what is your favorite part of homemaking?
Making a delicious meal or baking something that calls everyone to the kitchen to taste.

mop - y/n?
I should do it once a week. If I get to it once a month that's good. It's hard to do, especially with 2 dogs. Very hard to keep clean.

nylons - wash them by hand or in the washer?
How about "avoid wearing them as much as possible"?

oven - do you use the window or open it to check?
Open. The window is tiny and dark.

pizza - what do you put on yours?
Cheese, or garlic & chicken, or onions and meatballs. Mmmmm.... pizza.....

quiet - what do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment?
Sleep, knit or read. Since I work outside of the home, I don't get much of a chance for down time.

recipe card box?
Yes, and magazines, and cookbooks, and binders....

style of house?
Cape

tablecloths and napkins - y/n?
When it's a special occassion, yes. Otherwise, G and I get linen napkins (not ironed) and P gets a paper one.

under the kitchen sink
Dishwasher stuff. A gallon of water.

vacuum - how many times a week?
Once or twice a week. I should do it more. Again, I work outside of the home, and have a 2 hour commute, so 2 times a week is as good as it's going to get.

wash - how many loads do you do a week?
Between 2 and 4, depending on if we have guests over the weekend.

x’es - do you keep a list of things to do and cross them off?
It's one of my most favorite things to do.

yard - who does what?
G mows, I complain about everything being overgrown. I have a kitchen garden that I hope to keep reined in this summer. We're also planting wild flowers, not vegetables, in our garden. Sometimes I go out and have a mad clipping frenzy on the shrubs.

zzz’s - what is your last homemaking task for the day?
Tidying everything up, putting things (toys, books, remote controls) away. "Resetting the room".

Schwartzwalderkirschetorte (say that 10 times fast)

2007-04-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

We were invited to dine last night at the home of some friends, and, when I asked what we could contribute to the meal, I was told that the cuisine would be German-themed, and to go from there. I hearkened to my German classes from college, and could remember "nicht" so I decided to make a schwartzwalderkirschetorte or, literally, Black Woods Cherry Cake - Black Forest Cake. I don't know much about the history of this cake; only that I remember my mother made it for a brief period of time when I was a child. Opening the refrigerator and seeing this bohemouth shuddering there as it chilled was a close form of torture, because it was usually for a party they were having or going to, so it was hands off for me.

I got out my ingredients, and got to work yesterday morning:

In a heavy saucepan I combined 12 oz of semi-sweet chocolate morsels, 1/2 cup of milk, and 2 tbsp sugar.

Over low heat, melt the chocolate with the milk and sugar, stirring constantly. Once the chocolate has almost all melted, remove from the heat and stir until it has all melted. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp salt. Set aside.

In a standing mixer or, in a bowl with a hand mixer, combine 1/4 cup butter (not rock hard, but not melted either) and 2/3 cup sugar. Cream together until well mixed. Add 3 eggs, one at a time, until the eggs have been blended into the mixture. Add 1 tsp vanilla, blend.

Take 1/3rd of the flour mixture and combine with the butter & sugar mixture, mix well. Slowly add in 1/3 cup milk, mix well. Add another 1/3rd of the flour mixture, mix; then another 1/3 cup milk, mix. End with the final 1/3rd of the flour mixture (when making a cake, you always want to start with the dry ingredients, add wet ingredients, and end with the dry. In all recipes that I am familiar with, it's best to do the dry in 3rds and the wets in halves).

You may want to stop the mixture periodically and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula, to make sure that all ingredients are combined. When this mixture looks pretty uniform, slowly add in the chocolate and mix well.

Take 2 9" cake pans (round, square, what have you) and butter and flour well. I've read that for chocolate cakes you can use cocoa powder to dust, and I tried that this time:

I found that the cake did not release well from the pans this time, and I think it's the cocoa because this has never happened before. It's an esthetic thing, I think: god forbid you have little bits of flour on the sides and bottom of your cake! For shame! So, I recommend that you stick with the flour - it's tried and true. My opinion.

Divide the batter into the 2 cake pans, and place in a pre-heated 350 degree oven. The recipe that I have says to bake for 25-30 minutes, but I found that the cakes were almost overdone, so I would say to try it for 20-22 minutes and then check for doneness.

While the cakes are cooling, take 2 cups of whipping cream and mix in a mixer until stiff. Add 1/3 cup sifted confectioners sugar and mix together. You can also add 3 tbsp brandy if that's your bag (I don't care for liquor in things other than cups, so I leave it out).

Once the cakes have cooled, remove from the pan. Take one layer and place on your cake plate.

Slice the layer carefully in half (I have a hard time with this "carefully" business: it's hard to slice them evenly)

and put 1 cup of whipped cream on the divided layer. Take 1/3rd of a can of canned cherry pie filling and spread it over the whipped cream, and try to keep everything about an inch from the edge.

Continue until all layers are completed

Finish off the top of the cake with the rest of the whipped cream. Take a bar of dark chocolate and make curls (with a vegetable peeler), and sprinkle the curls on top of the cake.

If you're not planning on eating this immediately, refrigerate to allow it to set up. You wouldn't want to keep it in the fridge for too long, though, unless you have it covered - and not with plastic wrap, because it will squash the whipped cream.

I hope you enjoy this! It has the potential to be really lovely, and it's an interesting mixture of chocolate, cream, and cherries. Let me know what you think.

The best thing to happen to Cheerios in a while

2007-04-13T17:02:00.002-07:00

Cheerios have been around for about eternity and, since I have a small child, they are ubiquitous - in the car seat, in between the couch cushions, on the floor, etc. However, this is a fun little snack that one of my co-workers turned me on to. I will warn you: these are not esthically pleasing to look at. In fact, they are somewhat offensive. But they taste delicious and, I dare say, aside from an apple or another fruit or some carrot sticks, they are not too terribly bad for you either. And the recipe is rather interpretive, so feel free to make these your own.

I call them Those Cheerios Things and here's what they look like (prepare yourself: they are hideous):

Take a quantity of high-quality dark chocolate (rule of thumb here: the higher the cacao content, the better the chocolate for you in terms of anti-oxidents) - I think this time around I used about 8 oz - and melt in a heavy saucepan over very low heat. When you notice it has started to melt, start to stir and keep stirring until it's almost all melted. To facilitate and expedite the melting process, you can chop it up into small pieces. I didn't want to get my cutting board and knife dirty, so I didn't do that this time. When it looks like almost all the chocolate has melted, take it off the heat and keep stirring until it has all melted. Stir a couple more times for good measure.

While the chocolate is still hot, stir in a bunch of Cheerios or other toasted oat cereal (I sure hope General Mills doesn't come after me for not putting a TM or R after that word up there). I think I used about 4 cups. Stir until all the toasted oat cereal has been uniformly coated with the chocolate. You might want to add a little more, depending on how drippy the mixture is. Stir in your choice of other things: I used sliced almonds and dried cranberries this time around. You could use any other kind of dried fruit, or nut, whatever sounds good. I like the dark chocolate combined with the almonds and the cranberries because you're getting all kinds of antioxidents and fiber, along with the toasted oat cereal. G asked me to put some cayenne pepper on some of them, so I did - lightly -, and he seems to be happy. This adds a fabulous heat kick at the finish of the mouthful, it's fantastic. Chocolate and pepper go wonderfully together.

Drop them in rounded, generous tablespoons onto parchment, silpat or waxed paper that is on a cookie pan, and put them in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to get firmed up.

These are not only scrumptious, they satisfy all kinds of taste cravings, and they are also filling so you can't eat a ton of them.

Let me know what you think of these recipes.... I welcome your feedback! And G says: "Don't forget a cup of coffee".

Make me a believer - An Easy Pie-Crust!

2007-04-09T13:16:00.000-07:00

Not only was Jesus rumored to rise from the dead over the weekend, but my mom has taught me how to make an easy pie crust that I could beat up and not be afraid of. Miracles do happen!

We took a very simple pie crust recipe and made 2 pies... well, a pie and a "free form" tart. This isn't the most healthy recipe, but really we all know that the best pie crusts are actually made with lard, and crisco isn't as bad as that even. This recipe makes enough for 6 crusts (enough for 6 single-crust [like chocolate-cream pie] or 3 double-crust [like an apple pie]), and it is very easy to "halve" in case you only want one or two pies. The rest of the crust will keep, tightly covered, in the fridge for up to 6 weeks - perfect for summer berry pies or winter apple, pecan, or pumpkin pies.

Here's what to do:

Take 2 sticks of butter, 2 sticks (or the equivalent cup measurement) of crisco, 4-1/2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar (optional), 1 tablespoon white vinegar, 1 egg, and enough water to fill up a 1-cup measurement after the egg and vinegar have been put into that 1 cup.

To measure out the liquid:

Whisk the egg and vinegar together in a larger bowl and place them in a 1-cup measuring cup. Add enough water to fill the cup. Stir. And, if you are only doing half of the recipe, fill a 1/2 cup measuring cup with this liquid, and pour the rest off. Easy.

Mix all dry ingredients and butter and crisco with a pastry blender until crumbly.

Pour the liquid into the dry mixture, and knead until the dough is soft. Sprinkle the dough with flour if it is too sticky, to make it easier to roll out.

You can chill this dough for 1/2 hour in the fridge, or it can be used at once.

Roll out your crusts one at a time on a lightly floured surface - we used a linen towel. It's a good idea to have your pie plate at the ready, so that you can gauge how large you need to roll the dough.

This is the tart, and we baked it on a pizza pan. After rolling out the crust, we filled it with 6 sliced apples that had been tossed with sugar, cinnamon, and tapioca (which absorbs the juice and keeps the pie from being too soggy).

Ta-Da! Beautiful, easy rustic apple tart. This is also beautiful with berries.

This is the pie shell - we pricked the bottom and the sides and baked it for about 10 minutes before putting in the lemon curd.

And the after-shot (by after I mean After Dinner):

If you want a shiny crust, you can brush it with a beaten egg. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then lower heat to 350 until pie is done (check your pie filling recipes for specifics on this).

My first recipe post - Chocolate Chip Cookies!

2007-04-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

So last night I baked up some cookie batter that I had made on Sunday for my book club. You should know that when I bake, I do try and keep the ingredients "natural" - I don't use a lot of food coloring, or any false ingredients such as margarine or bisquick. I use King Arthur All-Purpose flour (when the recipe calls for regular flour... when it needs pastry or cake flour, I use that), which is a white flour that is not bleached. I also use Cabot butter - a local-ish business around here, and real sugar and local eggs when I can get them. Things taste differently, becuase the elements that combine to make the whole are of a high quality. It makes a significant difference. I like to keep the butter cold and sometimes I add a little extra flour - it bulks up the recipe and makes the cookies more chewy and round. They don't flatten out as they bake (and then burn).

So, back to the batter. I made some cookies the other day, and didn't bake everything up, because if it's all made and baked then I will eat them, and I am trying to watch my girlish figure.

The larger lumps that you see here are milk chocolate chunks - I ran out of semi-sweet and, I have to say, I like the cookies a lot better - they have a variable taste: some semi-sweet bits here, some milk chocolate bits there.

I scooped everything out using a great spring-loaded cookie scoop - I think I got it from Pampered Chef, and it's a great tool for cookie or muffin batter, or ice cream.

The pan in that photo is also from Pampered Chef - I've found that it is virtually impossible to burn cookies when I'm using a stoneware pan - the stoneware is heavy as hell, but it heats slowly and consistantly, allowing for a slow and consistant bake on the cookie. I no longer use my metal pans, because they will heat up too fast and burn. The only time I've ever burned cookies on the stoneware is when I forgot to set the timer and left the cookies in the over for about a half hour. What a mess. I can't reccommend these pans enough, though. I have some tart pans that I haven't used quite yet, but perhaps soon. And I have an 8" x 8" bar pan, too, that is wonderful - again, no burning, and consistant baking.

A little more background: I have a 29 year-old Jenn-Air electric stove that I hate. It came with the house, and I am really hoping this summer, when we do our remodeling (new roof & dormer), that I can squeek out a couple more bucks from the bank and get a new gas stove, as well as new countertops. The yellow just really has to go. The stove is ok, I just miss cooking and baking with gas. Also: it tends to overcook things at the back of the oven, and undercook those at the front. I suppose I could just stop being lazy and turn the pans halfway through cooking, but I am a little lazy.

After 12-15 minutes in the oven (the first batch always takes a little longer to cook, due to the pans needing a little bit more time to heat up) at 350 degrees, this is what happens:

These cookies were lovely and delicious, with a perfect mouth texture, melting chocolate, and warmth. They are perfect for any time, for comfort food or an after school (or work) treat. They can be modified, with the chocolate being changed to white chocolate, dark chocolate, what have you. Chopped up candy bars (like a Hershey's with Almonds or a Snickers bar) are also excellent. Nuts, or no nuts. It's whatever you want for them to be.

And here's how to do it yourself:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. If you don't want to clean your pans, line them with silpat or parchement paper.

Take 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, 3/4 cup packed brown sugar and 3/4 cup white sugar and combine in a standing mixer or bowl. Using a hand mixer or the paddle attachment of the standing mixer, blend until well combined and creamy.

Add 2 large eggs and 1 tsp vanilla, mix until well blended.

Add 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 cups flour and 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp salt (I only add salt if I'm using unsalted/sweet butter) gradually, and mix well.

Add 2 cups of semi-sweet chips, or 1 cup of semi-sweet and 1 cup milk chocolate chips, or whatever you want - just make sure there's 2 cups of it. Also: if you want to add 1 cup roughly chopped nuts, this is the time to do it. Mix well, until all ingredients are well combined.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto pans. I find that you can fit about 15 cookies per pan - 3 up along the short side and 4 to 5 along the long side.

Bake for 12 minutes (15 if you are using stoneware, or if you like your cookies "well done"). Allow to cool for a few minutes so you don't burn the hell out of your mouth, then remove to a cooling rack, and dig in. These are sublime with the stereotypical glass of milk, if that's your bag. Or just standing at the sink, watching the early snowfall cover your yard.

Oh, because I love you so...

2007-04-04T13:23:00.000-07:00

Here's what you will not see at the Tasty-Ugly Bakery. At least, it won't be made by my fingers.

Or you can find it here, I AM NOT STEALING THIS AND GOING TO JAIL.
Martha Stewart's Marzipan Cake recipe and video

Isn't this redonkulous?

This happens to be the "Secret Garden Cake"... the one from years ago was a Vegetable Garden, but same-same.

But mine will taste better. And be far less futzy.

Welcome to the Tasty-Ugly Bakery!

2007-04-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

I love to bake, and I hate my job.... well, hate is a strong word, but the prospect of working my job doesn't power me out of bed in the morning. So I have little fantasies about what my dream job would be, and the other day I came up with my latest dream: to bake delicious cakes, cookies, cupcakes and brownies. I have also recently added cheesecake to my oeuvre. I can't make pie-crust worth a damn, and other flaky things like croissants, while tasty, also terrify me. There is also no way - in the near future, at least - to have enough coin to get this bakery actually manifested and, most importantly, profitable. So I figured I could have a virtual bakery... I'll post some of my favorite recipes here, with photos, and make you all drool hard enough that you will all simultaneously wish this bakery into being. Then I can mail you the deliciousness!

About the name: I realize there could be some unsavory connotations about the phrase "tasty ugly". So it's important to keep that third word BAKERY firmly attached, like with royal icing, to Tasty-Ugly. I am not a talented cake decorator - those cupcakes in Martha Stewart and Cooks Country and all of those fine cooking magazines give me nightmares to try and recreate. Does anyone remember the garden cake that Martha had one time on her cover? With the precious marzipan vegetables and cookie-crumb dirt and fencing and piped grass? Yeah, you won't be finding that at the Tasty-Ugly Bakery. My real garden doesn't look like that. Besides, beautiful cakes - wedding cakes, bakery cakes, etc - rarely taste good. And if you're going to blow your calories on something, please make sure it's made with such delicious things as butter, white flour, sugar, and real eggs. This is a "sometimes" snack-blog, not an all-the-time snack-blog. I'm going to make cakes that might sag a little, or look a bit roughed-up, but I can damn-well guarantee you they will taste SCRUMPTIOUS.

Besides, someday if this thing ever does become real, telling your friends you'll "meet them at the Tasty-Ugly" sounds pretty cool. And if I can get enough recipes on here, maybe it could become a cookbook or something. I'll have to tweak recipes to make them my own, but that's not a problem, I love to bake and share my treats, and I welcome you!

So please close your eyes, push the virtual bakery door open, and let the smells of freshly baked cakes and cookies assault your senses. There are twinges of vanilla and ribbons of chocolate scenting the air, it's comfortable and warm inside, there's always a fresh pot of coffee on, so help yourself. Find a table in the window, with the strenghtening springtime sun warming it up, and leave your bags there. Come up to the counter, and choose from a wide selection of cupcakes, brownies and cookies to treat yourself now, or pick a cake for dessert tonight after your dinner party. It's not low fat, it's not low calorie, but you will enjoy every bite.

I look forward to seeing you again soon. I'll be posting a recipe per week or so, along with pictures and commentary on what worked and what didn't. Thanks for coming by!