Sweet 16

This Sweet 16 cake was rather simple. 

You start with a sketch for the client's approval. 

Top tier:

Banana Caramel Cheesecake...Banana cake with cheesecake & fresh caramel filling.

Middle tier:

Bananarama...Banana cake filled with caramel, banana crème and chocolate ganache.

Bottom tier:

Banana Split... Layers of banana, cherry, & chocolate cakes filled with chocolate fudge & banana crème.

Earl Grey Shortbread Cookie Sandwiches

Bring on morning tea!! Earl Grey Shortbread cookie sandwiches filled with tart lemon curd & topped with a little white chocolate drizzle. Loving!

I start with making my lemon curd click here for the recipe.

It's so good you could seriously eat it by the spoonful right out of the jar.

Shortbread recipe below:

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter

1/2 cup Confectioners Sugar

2 cups All-Purpose Flour

1/2 tsp Salt

1 bag Earl Grey Tea Leaves, 2 bags can be used for a stronger flavor

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350­°.

2. Cream butter and confectioners sugar in a large bowl or stand mixer.

3. Add in flour, salt, and tea leaves. continue to mix until a soft dough forms, mix will be dry and crumbly at first but will come together.

4. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface until it's 1/4 inch thick.

5. Cut out cookies using a 2 in round cookie cutter.

6. Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 20-22 minutes or until edges are a golden brown.

After the cookies have cooled add the lemon curd.

So simple and delicious!

Pomegranate and Orange Scones

I don't make scones often but when I do they are great with a nice glass of hot tea.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup almond meal/flour

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ cup granulated sugar (you can reduce to 3 tablespoons if you prefer)

2½ teaspoons baking powder

½ cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

½ cup pomegranate seeds

1 egg

¾ cup heavy cream, cold

2 tablespoons orange juice

zest of one orange (~2 teaspoons)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:

1 tablespoon milk for brushing

Generous amount of turbinado sugar

DIRECTIONS

1.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, almond meal, salt, sugar and baking powder. Using a pastry cutter, mix in the butter into the dry ingredients until pea-sized. Do not over mix as you want pockets of butter in your dough for a flaky scone. Mix in the pomegranate seeds

3.  In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg, heavy cream, orange juice, zest and vanilla extract.

4.  Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into it. Gently mix until a dough starts to form.

5.  Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and work it gently into a circle. Pat into an 8-inch circle, about 1-inch high. Use more flour if the dough is sticky to work with.

6.  Using a sharp knife, slice the dough into 8 equal triangles. Transfer each to the prepared sheet. Chill the triangles for 15 minutes in the freezer.

7.  Meanwhile, Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

8.  Brush triangles lightly with milk. Generously sprinkle turbinado sugar over the scones.

9.  Bake scones until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.

10.  Remove from oven and let cool. Enjoy scones immediately, while warm.

Granola Bars

These bars are sweet, tart, salty, crunchy, healthy, yummy, and easy to make… what else can you ask for in a snack.

INGREDIENTS 

1 cup chopped raw cashews

½ cup chopped raw almonds

½ cup dried tart cherries

½ cup puffed rice cereal

¼ cup pistachios

¼ cup raisins

⅛ teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon whole golden flaxseeds

¼ cup brown rice syrup

1 tablespoon almond butter

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 8X8 inch baking pan with plastic wrap.

2. Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl.

3. In small bowl, stir together syrup and almond butter until combined and gently fold into nut mixture until complete incorporated.

4. Transfer bar mixture to prepared baking dish.

5. Using an extra sheet of plastic wrap, press down on the mixture to form it to the pan and ensuring there are no spaces in the mix.

6. Bake for 15 minutes; allow bars to cool completely in pan on a wire drying rack. Place in fridge or freezer for faster cooling.

7. Remove parchment paper with cooled bars from the pan and using a serrated knife, slice into 10 even bars. Remove parchment paper from bottom of each bar.

8. Wrap each bar individually with plastic wrap to store for snack time. Place wrapped bars in air-tight container and store on counter for up to 5 days or in fridge for up to 2 weeks.

White and Chocolate Cake with a Mixed Berry filling and Topping

This delicious creation is layers of chocolate cake. The recipe can be found here. A white chocolate whipped frosting and topped with  mixed berries.

Hazelnut Artisan Bread

This is bread goes well with coffee or tea. Just spread a bit of butter on it and enjoy. The original recipe for my artisan bread is here. Just add 1 teaspoon of allspice, 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts.

Mary Elizabeth's Challah Bread

Challah is a special Jewish braided bread eaten on Sabbath and Jewish holidays.  A surprisingly sweet, yet light, challah that makes any night special. Feel free to knead some raisins into the dough if you like, or top with sesame seeds even.

Allowing the dough the hour to sit and rise is so important.

I always try to get each rope the same size so as to have my bread look better in appearance and it bakes more evenly. You see a perfect braid pattern below.

Ingredients

2 cups water

1/2 cup margarine

7 cups bread flour, divided

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons ofactive dry yeast

1 tablespoon salt

4 eggs

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon sesame seeds or 3 of raisins (optional) 

Directions

1.  In a small saucepan, combine water and margarine in a small saucepan. Heat until margarine is melted and very warm, but not boiling.

2.  In a large bowl, mix together 3 cups flour, white sugar, brown sugar, yeast and salt. Add water and margarine mixture; beat well. Add 4 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

3.  Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

4.  Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into six equal pieces and form into long 'ropes'. Braid the pieces together to form two large loaves. Place the loaves on two lightly greased cookie sheets, cover the loaves with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.

5.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

6.  Brush the risen loaves with the beaten egg and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, until loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

Homemade Dog Treats

Let's try something different. How about we make treats for our dogs.  Most dogs will gobble up any dog treat set out in front of them. The problem is that many treats purchased in stores are harmful to your dog's health. They can contain harmful additives and substitutes that harm your dog's digestive tract. But dogs aren't picky eaters, and they're motivated by taste more than health. That leaves it to a dog's owner to make sure the food they eat is safe for consumption.

A few  of my favorite things to use when baking for my dog are peanut butter, mashed bananas and homemade apple sauce.

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup creamy peanut butter
¼ cup unsweetened apple sauce or mashed banana
¼ cup vegetable, chicken or beef stock
bone shaped cookie cutter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Combine flour, peanut butter and apple sauce in a large mixing bowl. Add stock and stir until well-combined. The dough will be thick. Once combined use your hands to press the dough into a ball. Place dough ball on a flat service (with a sprinkle of flour if needed) and roll out evenly with a rolling pin. Dough should be about ¼ inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut the dough into desired shape and place on ungreased baking sheet.

3.  Bake for 18 minutes or until golden brown. Store in an airtight container.

Raspberry Pie

There's nothing like a piping hot pie, especially when you've made it yourself and the aroma overtakes your home.

Mixed Berry Tart

A tart is another way to use berries during the Spring and Summer months. I love picking up fresh berries at the local farmers market myself. 

You can find the crust recipe here.

 Berry Filling

Ingredients 

8 oz. (2 cups) fresh raspberries
5 oz. (1 cup) fresh blueberries
5 oz. (1 cup) fresh blackberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar; more to taste
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp. table salt
1 large egg, beaten
1 Tbs. granulated sugar


Directions

1. In a large bowl, toss the raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries with the sugar. Taste the fruit; if it’s more tart than you like, add up to 2 Tbs. more sugar. Toss in the lemon zest, flour and salt until evenly mixed.

2. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes to keep it from cracking when you assemble the tart. Heap the fruit in the center of the dough round, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold the edges of the dough over the edges of the fruit to create a rim. Work your way all around, pleating the dough as you go.

3. Brush the dough evenly with the egg and sprinkle the sanding sugar directly on the dough and fruit.

4. Bake until the dough is completely golden brown, 40 to 55 minutes. (Some of the juices will escape from the tart.) Transfer the baking sheet to a rack to cool.

5. When cool enough to handle, use a spatula to transfer the tart to a serving plate or cutting board. Slice it and serve it warm or at room temperature.


*Note*
The dough can be made (but not rolled out) up to four days before baking. Keep the disk of dough refrigerated, tightly wrapped in plastic.

The tart may be baked up to six hours ahead of serving.

Giant Springtime Cupcake

With Easter tomorrow and living in Southern California it feels like Springtime 75% of the time, so why not make a Springtime themed giant cupcake for Easter dessert.  

The details for this cupcake are really simple.

I hope you enjoyed.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

I love bread pudding so much. This chocolate version is simply divine. Although  I'm not including the recipe her but a dark chocolate rum sauces is delicious as a topping.

Ingredients

1 (12-inch) piece day-old baguette, cut into 1/3-inch slices, then slices halved crosswise (4 cups)

3 cups half-and-half

1/2 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

10 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped

6 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits

Directions

1. Generously butter a 2 1/2- to 3-quart soufflé dish. Put bread in dish.

2. Heat half-and-half, sugar, and salt in a 2-quart saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is hot but not boiling. Remove from heat and add chocolate, then let stand 2 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Lightly beat eggs together in a large bowl and slowly add chocolate mixture, whisking until combined. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over bread and let soak at room temperature, pressing bread down occasionally, 1 hour.

3. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325°F.

4. Dot top of pudding with butter bits. Bake in a hot water bath until edge is set but center still trembles slightly, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cool pudding to warm in dish on a rack. (Pudding will continue to set as it cools.)

STRAWBERRY FRENCH MACARONS

Macaroons

1 1/2 cups ground almonds

1 cup icing sugar

3 egg whites

Red liquid food coloring (not gel), 8 drops for pale pink macaroons or 24 for dark

1/2 cup sugar


Directions

(Macaroons)

1. With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a food processor, process the almonds and icing sugar into fine powder, about 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside.

3. In a bowl, beat the egg whites with the food coloring until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, beating constantly until stiff peaks form. With a spatula, firmly combine with the ground almonds mixture and mix until the meringue fall and soften slightly.

4. With a pastry bag fitted with a 7-mm (1/2-inch) in diameter plain tip, shape 2.5-cm (1-inch) in diameter macarons, spacing them about 5-cm (2-inch) apart. (The batter should fall slightly. Otherwise, it is not quite soft enough. Remove from the bag and mix again). Hit the baking sheet flat on a work surface two or three times to slightly spread the batter.

5. Bake, one sheet at a time, for about 12 minutes, leaving the oven door ajar with a wooden spoon. The macarons should not brown. Cool completely on the baking sheet. (For smaller macarons, bake from 8 to 10 minutes. They should therefore be baked on two different baking sheets.)

(Basic Macaron Buttercream Filling)

Ingredients

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 egg yolks

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3 1/2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Cut butter into pieces, and mash with a spatula until the consistency resembles mayonnaise.

2. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks, then add the granulated sugar, and whisk until the mixture lightens to an off-white [3] and you can no longer see the granules of sugar. Add the milk, and whisk to combine.

3. Pour the egg mixture into a small saucepan, and heat over low heat, whisking frequently to ensure that the mixture does not curdle or scorch. Cook until the mixture becomes thick and custardy, like pudding.

4. Pour the egg mixture back into its bowl, and whisk constantly until it returns to room temperature. Whisk in the butter in three batches, add the vanilla, and stir until smooth and all ingredients are fully combined. Pipe or spread onto one macaron half and sandwich between the other.

Moist Chocolate Cake

I came across this recipe for a super moist chocolate cake. It's simply to die for.

Make sure your eggs and unsalted butter are room temperature .

Mix your water (warmed) and cocoa powder together.

I had to pour my batter into a extra large bowl and use a hand mixer to complete combing everything after creaming my butter, sugar and eggs together in my stand mixer.

Make sure if you're using a deeper baking pan to but a heat core in the pan before pouring your batter in so that the cake bakes evenly. I simply use baking strips on the pans not so deep.

Always give your cakes ample amount of time to cool.

After it's cooled enough to remove from the pan, I sit the cake on a baking rack to continue to cool.

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter

2 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 cup cocoa

2 cups water

2 3/4 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Directions

Sift your flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and whisk together. Set aside.

Boil some water. Pour your hot water onto your cocoa and whisk until your cocoa dissolves completely. Set aside to cool slightly.

Cream your butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 8-10 minutes.

Add your eggs to your sugar mixture, two at a time, and blend until incorporated. Scrape down the sides as needed.

Add your dry ingredients alternatively with your warm cocoa mixture. Begin by adding dry, then alternate with wet. Add dry in four parts, and the wet in three.

Pour your batter into your desired parchment lined pans. Always bake at 350 degrees for 40 - 50 minutes. Use a cake tester to see if your cake is done, because depending on your oven it may need a 5 - 15 minutes longer.