Happy Valentine's Day

*Photo from SteamyKitchen*
I know it's been a while since my last post. The truth is, I have plenty to write about, but the photos are sitting on my memory card in my camera. I'm in the middle of backing up my hard drive to two different sources so I hesitate putting any new data on my laptop. No worries, I'm almost done. I just need to fill two more discs and recheck that everything was transferred. This whole process will take a few more days. Until then, please excuse me while I borrow material from another source for Valentine's Day.

I found a great tutorial from one of the blogs I follow everyday - SteamyKitchen. She has a little slide show video with narration for making cupcake pops that I found to be very helpful (originally adapted from bakerella). She also notes a very helpful time saving technique! I love the video and the photos of her little boys. It's all so very cute. What are you waiting for? Check it out! Happy Valentine's Day.

In My Opinon, the Best Chocolate Cake

I have been having cravings for chocolate cake lately. Instead of driving to any bakery or market to pick up some dry or over frosted cake, I have had a hankering for making my own. All I wanted to do was make chocolate cake for the past few weeks. I just had to find the time to do so. One day, I was so motivated, I did it! I was exhausted after I was finished and forgot to cover it after cooling. I came downstairs in the morning to a visually perfect cake, but very dry. Making the cut through the first few centimeters was like cutting cardboard. Penetration in the cake was a little softer, but I could tell that this was not the cake I wanted to make. I microwaved it for a few seconds, which helped, but it did not satisfy my desire. First attempt - FAIL

A couple days later, I tried again, this time with a different recipe. The flavor of the first cake was fine, but I wanted something a tad richer. This time, the cake was absolutely perfect! It was so incredibly moist and had just the right amount of chocolatey goodness. I paired it with a new frosting recipe - brown sugar buttercream. All my taste testers said the buttercream resembled just plain ol' butter, but I beg to differ. Once it reached room temperature, I was able to taste a hint of caramel in a very creamy texture. That's just my palate, though. I might add a little more sugar next time.

Anyone who loves chocolate must try this cake recipe and pair it with any kind of frosting you like. It is even delicious alone. With my left over batter, I made little bundt frost-less chocolate cakes that were perfect for my morning breakfast.

Mile-High Devil's Food Cake adapted from Sky High Irresistable Triple -Layer Cakes

This is the recipe exactly from the book. I made just a square one layer cake and used the left over batter for mini bundts. This recipe would be great in cupcake pans or round pans and used in a layer cake.

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, not Dutch process
1 1/4 cup hot water
3 cups packed light brown sugar
2 2/3 cups cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons (9 oz.) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup cold water

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and grease the paper.

2. Place the cocoa powder in a medium bowl. Add the hot water and whisk until smooth. Let cool to room temperature.

3. In a large mixer bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, blend to mix. Add the butter and dissolved cocoa and beat briefly to blend. Then raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the vanilla and cold water until blended. Add this liquid to the batter in 3 additions, scraping down the sides well and mixing only to incorporate between additions. Divide the batter among the 3 prepared cake pans.

5. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean, with just a few crumbs sticking to the pick. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liner, and let cool completely.

6. Assemble cake as desired.

Brown Sugar Buttercream adapted from Sky High Irresistable Triple -Layer Cakes

5 egg whites
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1 pound (16 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1. Place the egg whites in a large mixer bowl and set aside.

2. In a heavy medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Then bring to a boil and cook without stirring until the syrup reaches the soft-ball stage, 238 degrees F on a candy thermometer.

3. Begin beating the egg whites with the electric mixer set on medium-low speed. Gradually pour in the sugar syrup in a slow, steady stream, taking care not to hit the beaters. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat until the meringue cools to body temperature.

4. With the mixer on medium-low, add the butter 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time. When all the butter has been added, raise the speed to medium and beat until the frosting almost appears to separate. Continue beating, and it will suddenly come together, looking like smooth whipped butter.

New Toys

I have been so blessed this season by friends, family and my sig-o! Their gifts to me this Christmas all coordinated and provided me with an entirely new kitchen! For the longest time my kitchen has been stocked with plastic cups and measuring spoons and teflon coated pots and pans. I can never bring myself to buy everything at once to upgrade my kitchen as it deserves, so I like to buy things one piece at a time and slowly upgrade, one piece at a time. Thanks to all of the people in my life, though, I have been able to upgrade all at once!

It started with a friend at a secret santa party. She got me stainless steel measuring cups and spoons! Yay, no more plastic. Say bye bye to paint peeling off and hello to ENGRAVED labels!

Then, on my way to my annual trip to Las Vegas, we stopped by the Williams-Sonoma Outlet and my mother surprised me with a Lagostina set, an Emeril Legasse pot, a pasta cooker/vegetable steamer and a Le Creuset! I've been wanting a Le Creuset for such a long time. Every time I believe I'm ready to purchase one, I get to the store, look at the price tag and reconsider. Thanks to mother, she made the decision very easy this time around. My kitchen is now stocked with bright and shiny pots and pans. No more scraped off non-stick coating!

On Christmas day, my sig-o handed me many little packages. From him, I received a heavy duty kitchen scale, a spoon rest, spoon clips, and a shootsac (another one of those things that I have dearly wanted, but can never bring myself to purchase).

In essence, I received a new kitchen for Christmas! All items to be replaced will be going in the donation pile. I feel truly blessed to have such wonderful people in my life. Happy Holidays!

Christmas Gifts for Friends

I usually try to give away gifts that have a homemade touch. It gives me a chance to challenge my creativity while spending as little time as possible stuck in traffic and trying to find parking at shopping centers. This year, to all friends whom I needed to ship gifts to, I decided to make cookie mixes. I originally got the idea from bakerella a few months ago. To add my own touch to the gifts, I used my recent interest in digital scrapbooking to my advantage. For the mixes, I layered my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and substituted holiday m&m's for the chocolate chips in canisters purchased from The Container Store. I covered the canisters with tissue paper and adorned with ribbon. I used my digital scrapbooking supplies to add on a tag and directions. This gift is a great idea for gifts all year round. I suspect this will not be the last time I will be making this.


Merry Christmas, everyone!

Turkey Day Countdown - Prep Day 2 - Fill Pies

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

I wish you all wonderful memories with your families and delicious phoods in your tummies.

The desserts on my table this year will be apple pie, pumpkin pie, and sweet potato pie.

Because I don't like to serve anything I haven't tested out myself, I made miniature versions of the pies with some set aside filling.

Apple Pie - Filling adapted from Williams-Sonoma
Crust recipe can be found here

Apple Filling

5 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1⁄2-inch chunks
3⁄4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1⁄4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract2 Tbs. unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Directions

1. Stir together the apples, brown sugar, flour, lemon juice and vanilla.

2. Let stand, stirring once or twice, for 20 minutes.

3. Spoon the apples and all the juices from the bowl into the pie shell, mounding the fruit slightly.

4. Fill the pre-baked (15 minutes) pie shell and top the apples with slabs of butter.

5. Cover the pie with rolled out pie crust. Cut slits on the top crust for steam to exit.

6. Bake at 400 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until the crust gets golden brown.

Pumpkin Pie - filling adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

1 (15-oz) can pumpkin puree
1 cup packed (7 oz) dark brown sugar
2 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
2/3 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup whole milk
4 large eggs

Directions

1. Combine the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cloves. Transfer to a medium saucepan and simmer over medium-high heat, stirring constatnly, until thick and shiny, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the cream and milk, return to a simmer briefly, then remove from the heat.

2. Whisk the eggs and slowly add the hot pumpkin mixutre.

3. Pour the filling into the pre-baked (15 minutes) crust. Bake at 400 degrees until the filling is puffed and lightly cracked around the edges and the center jiggles slightly when shaken, about 25 minutes.

4. Let the pie cool on a wire rack until the filling has set, about 2 hours. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Sweet Potato Buttermilk Pie adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 2 medium potatoes), peeled and chopped into a 1/2-inch dice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (optional)
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpoe flour
3/4 cup full- or lowfat buttermilk

Directions

1. Pour 1 1/2 inches of water into a 3-quart stock part with a strainer basket suspended over it and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the sweet potatoes, cover and steam until fork-tender, about 20 minutes. Place the steamed sweet potatoes in a large bowl and let cool to room temperature. Mash them into a smooth puree with a fork or potato masher. Add the butter, lemon juice if using, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula after each addition.

2. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks lightly with a whisk, about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and beat until they’re a creamy lemon-yellow color, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add the egg mixture to the sweet potato mixture and stir until the eggs are thoroughly incorporated and the filling is a consistent bright orange color. Add the flour a little at a time, stirring after each addition until thoroughly incorporated. Add the buttermilk and again stir until smooth and even.

3. With a cleaned whisk (or electric hand mixer), whisk the egg whites to soft peaks in a clean, dry bowl. With a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the sweet potato-buttermilk mixture until thoroughly combined. Pour the mixture into the prebaked crust and bake at 400 degrees on the middle rack of the oven until the center is firm and set, 35 to 40 minutes.

4. Remove the pie from the oven and cool completely on a rack. Serve at room temperature.