Cake Fridays

With the recent snowfall and frigid temperatures, I feel like we're back living in New England!  

Everyone has a favorite doughnut flavor and for a long time, mine was the Boston cream.  The combination of the chocolate frosting and smooth, vanilla custard filling satisfies chocolate and vanilla lovers alike.  These cupcakes are just that, a recreation of the famous Boston cream doughnut but in cake form.  Simple to make, indulgent and deliciously messy to eat.  Have plenty of napkins nearby because you're going to need them :) 

Boston Cream Cupcakes (Gooseberry Patch)

18 ¼ oz pkg yellow cake mix + additional ingredients

3.4 oz pkg instant vanilla pudding mix

1 C cold milk

1 ½ C frozen whipped topping, thawed and divided

4 I-oz squares semisweet baking chocolate

Prepare cake mix according to package directions.  Fill 24 paper lined cupcake cups 2/3 full and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Cool completely.  Whisk pudding mix and milk for 2 minutes; let stand 5 minutes.  Use a serrated knife to cut off the top of each cupcake; set tops aside.  Stir ½ C whipped topping into pudding.  Spoon 1 tablespoon onto each cupcake; replace cupcake tops.  In a microwave safe bowl, combine remaining whipped topping and chocolate.  Microwave for 1 minute; stir and microwave an additional 30 seconds. Stir until chocolate is melted; let stand 15 minutes.  Frost cupcakes with chocolate mixture. 

 

Made to order Muffins

Having fun on another snow day...

I encourage you to bake these muffins to keep everyone warm and cozy on a cold winter day.  These are delicious right out of the oven, heated slightly in the microwave, or eaten at room temperature with butter.  They do not require much sugar because of the sweet drop-ins, add-ons and mix-ins.  Feel free to use any candy bars, dried fruits, or crispy toppings your family likes to eat.  I used chocolate kisses for my son, butterscotch chips for my daughter and toffee almonds for my husband.  The possibilities are endless so have fun with these.  But be sure to have a tall glass of milk handy to wash them down :)    

Buttermilk Surprise Muffins

2 C flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 1/2 t cinnamon
2/3 C sugar
1 egg
1/4 C applesauce
1 C buttermilk
2 t vanilla
1/4 C oil
chocolate kisses, butterscotch chips, chocolate chunks, toffee almonds, etc. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix dry ingredients in one bowl, wet ingredients in another bowl.  Add wet to dry and stir to combine.  Fill greased muffin cups 3/4 full.  Put muffins in the oven and set timer for 17 minutes.  After 5 minutes of baking, open oven door and drop chocolate kisses point facing down into muffins, sprinkle some muffins with butterscotch chips, and leave some plain if you'd like.  With the remaining batter for your next batch, mix in chocolate chunks (or what I did was grind up some toffee covered almonds and mixed that into the batter).  Let muffins cool in pan for 5 minutes then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.  

Apple Snack

Super simple:

apple cut into chunks
melted peanut butter
handful chocolate chips

Put in a bowl and watch your kids swoon.  One serving.  

Source: Your great food photos

Cannoli Chips

Anyone familiar with Mike's Pastry and Modern Pastry in Boston will appreciate this recipe and article (see link here).  Cannolis are a staple in many Italian households because of their crispy exterior and smooth, creamy interior.  To guild the lily even more, some are dipped in melted chocolate or rolled in chocolate chips.  Yum!

Even if you don't like ricotta cheese, I can almost guarantee you'll like cannolis or these cannoli chips.  They are so cute, first of all and have a hint of sweetness from the powdered sugar and vanilla extract.  Dot them with mini chocolate chips and you've got yourself a kid friendly and adult friendly snack.  Enjoy :)


Cannoli Chips
Source: Cake Batter and Bowl

1 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
24 pita chips
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Mix ricotta cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl until smooth. Spread 1 tablespoon of ricotta mixture onto each pita chip and sprinkle mini chocolate chips evenly on top.  Makes 24 cannoli chips (4 servings).


  

Oatmeal Mondays

Oatmeal is great all on its own but sometimes you need to mix it up a bit.  That's why I love baked oatmeal.  Who knew how easy it would be to turn a bowl of oatmeal into a portable, bar like breakfast?!  Genius!     

This baked oatmeal is one everyone in your family will enjoy.  It is chock full of fruit (feel free to choose fruits to your liking), is low in fat, is just sweet enough from the cinnamon and brown sugar, and is sublimely healthy from the wheat germ and quick oats.  The two eggs and butter hold it together beautifully and the milk makes it light and fluffy.

Everyone's Favorite Oatmeal

2/3 C wheat germ
2 1/3 C quick oats
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/3 C brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 C milk
1/4 C melted and slightly cooled unsalted butter
1 apple and 1 pear, peeled and diced (fresh or frozen fruit should equal 1 1/2 C total)
handful dried cranberries for the top

Spray 8x8 glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix wheat germ, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and brown sugar in a large bowl.  Set aside.  In a glass measuring cup, measure and mix eggs, milk and melted butter.  Add to dry mixture.  Mix in fruit.  Pour mixture into baking dish and level with spatula.  Sprinkle cranberries on top.  Bake 30-35 minutes.  Makes 9 servings.          

Finally, a healthy cracker!

Move over Cheez-its.  These crackers are a healthy, satisfying alternative to the overly salty, overly processed boxed crackers you find at the food store.  They have a great crunch, nutty undertones, and are lower in fat and calories.  Not to mention they are made from chickpeas!  That's yet another way to sneak fiber into my children's diets.

Make these with your kids today!  They will be munching on them all weekend long.

Cheesy Chickpea-Sesame Crackers
Source: Martha Stewart

·         1 can (15.5 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained

·         1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander (I used rosemary & lemon pepper seasoning)

·         3/4 teaspoon coarse salt

·         3/4 teaspoon ground pepper (I omitted for the lemon pepper)

·         1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for surface

·         5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

·         1/2 cup grated Parmesan (1 ounce by weight)

·         1 large egg white (optional- I didn’t add)

·         2 tablespoons white sesame seeds (I sprinkled over and rolled lightly into the dough)

1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in middle and lower third. In a food processor, pulse chickpeas until coarsely chopped. Add coriander, salt, pepper, flour, and butter, and pulse to combine. With machine running, gradually add up to 4 tablespoons cold water until dough forms a ball. Add Parmesan and pulse to combine.

2.     Divide dough and form into two 1-inch-thick disks. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each disk to an 1/8-inch thickness. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with sesame seeds. With a knife, cut into 1-by-3-inch rectangles and place, 1/2 inch apart, on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until golden brown and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let crackers cool on sheets.

Keep crackers in an airtight container and store at room temperature, up to 2 weeks.

     

Cake Fridays

I've been on the lookout for the perfect vanilla cupcake recipe; one that requires a stick of butter, produces a moist product and is not crumbly.  Leave it to Food Network to come up with one of the most reliable cupcake recipes I've ever tried.  I have to admit I've been using the boxed cake mixes for a long time because I've had bad luck with homemade.  The boxed cake mixes are foolproof; the cupcakes come out light, airy, and spring back slightly when baked properly every time.   That's what you want when you're scrambling on the morning of your child's birthday to get the perfect dessert on the table for family and friends.  Well look no further because this is the best homemade cupcake recipe I've found and it's been a long, extensive search.  I hope you enjoy these tender little cakes as much as we do.  Feel free to frost them anyway you'd like :)   
 
Vanilla Cupcakes

1 ½ C flour

1 ¼ t baking powder

¼ t salt

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 C sugar

2 eggs at room temperature

2 t vanilla extract

2/3 C whole milk at room temperature

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.  Beat butter and sugar in stand mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 4 minutes.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Beat in vanilla.  On low, beat in ½ flour mixture, then all of the milk, then the remaining flour mixture until just combined.  Fill 12 lined muffin cups 3/4 full and bake 18-20 minutes at 350 degrees.  Rotate pan halfway through baking.  Transfer pan to a rack and let cool 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes to the rack to cool completely.

    

My Love for Buttermilk Continues...

 

Chapel Hill and Durham are lucky to have Foster's Market locations.  Sara Foster has written many cookbooks and I have read all of them!  Her love of Southern food and easy entertaining style excites and calms even the most nervous host.  If you crave Southern food like we do, I suggest checking out her cookbooks.  You will be giggling with delight :) 

This recipe comes from the Foster's Market Cookbook.  It is called salt and pepper skillet cornbread.  By now you all know I am a cornbread fanatic.  Come to think of it, anything with cornmeal in it (hush puppies, grits, breakfast cakes) is a must have in my mind.  If it's on the menu, I'm ordering it.  If it's in a recipe, I'm making it.  And that is just what I did for dinner last night.  Thank goodness my family shares my adoration for cornbread because this recipe makes a lot (8 large wedges to be exact).

Most of the cornbread recipes I follow are on the sweeter side but I was in the mood for something savory so this was perfect.  Pouring the batter into an already hot oil slicked cast iron skillet made for a crispy crust.  Taking extra care to sprinkle salt and pepper on top before closing the oven door made for a beautiful presentation.  This cornbread was so good that it didn't even need butter (the two tablespoons in the batter did the trick).  It was moist from the buttermilk and eggs, sandy from the cornmeal (but not too grainy, just the right amount of flour was added), and mildly sweet from the sugar.  I first fell in love with this cornbread reading Sara Foster's cookbook.  I fell in love for the second time biting into it.  It is out of this world!  It is phenomenally good and so different from the corn muffins I'm used to making, which gives me hope that restaurant style cornbread can be replicated in the comfort of your home.   

Salt and Pepper Skillet Cornbread

2 T bacon grease or olive oil

1.5 C yellow cornmeal

½ C flour

¼ C sugar

2 t baking powder

2 t sea salt, plus more for sprinkling on top

1 t pepper, plus more for sprinkling on top

½ t baking soda

2 C well shaken buttermilk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 T butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Coat a 9-10 inch cast iron skillet with grease and place in oven to heat while you mix the batter.  Combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, pepper and baking soda in large bowl and stir to mix.  Add buttermilk, eggs, and butter and stir until just combined.  Do not over mix; the batter should be lumpy.  Pour batter into hot skillet and sprinkle the top with a little salt and pepper.  Bake until top is golden brown and toothpick comes out clean, about 25 minutes.  Remove from oven, turn cornbread out of the skillet, slice into wedges and serve warm.

Double Orange Chocolate Buttermilk Loaf

That's a mouthful!  I based this recipe on my favorite quick buttermilk bread, adding my twist to it.  We had an orange in the house, I always have blood orange olive oil, and I was craving chocolate so this loaf was born.  If you like things sweeter, you may want to add a bit more sugar.  When it comes to quick breads, my husband and I prefer them to have a deep, dark chocolate flavor so this fare was just right for us.  You can add chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, chopped banana chips, or dried cherries to the batter.  The possibilities are endless!

Double Orange Chocolate Buttermilk Loaf

1 1/2 C flour
1/2 C cocoa powder
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 egg
1 C buttermilk
1/2 C sugar
zest of one orange
1/4 C blood orange olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a loaf pan.  Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.  In a small bowl, mix sugar and orange zest together to bring out the orange flavor.  Add the rest of the wet ingredients and blend.  Add to dry ingredients and mix until combined.  Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 37 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Allow pan to cool 15 minutes before removing bread and serving.      
 

Mmm, lemon buttermilk doughnuts

I made these lemon buttermilk doughnuts with the kids yesterday.  It was 8 am and I had already run out of things to do so we baked!  That's what's tough on days when my son is home from school.  I'm always scrambling for entertainment options.  The mornings seem to drag.  But we enjoyed baking and cooking yesterday, if not for anything else, we discovered a yummy, easy, kid friendly doughnut recipe.  And it's made with buttermilk!  FYI, you'll be seeing more buttermilk recipes this week, since I have until the 28th to use it up :)   

 

Oatmeal Mondays

The kids are home from school today.  Why not make them this?


Butterscotch Oatmeal
Source: The Food Charlatan

2 cups milk
1 egg
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick oats
2 teaspoons butter, optional

In a small saucepan, whisk together the milk, egg, brown sugar, and salt. Turn the heat on to medium, and don’t go higher than that the whole time you are cooking otherwise it will turn out grainy. Mix in the oats. Stir occasionally. When the oatmeal begins to bubble, cook and stir until thick. When it has reached the consistency you like, remove from heat, and stir in butter until melted. I usually let it sit off the heat with a lid on for a couple minutes so that it gets nice and thick. Serve with milk and fruit!

Carrot Cake with Chevre Frosting

I know it's Saturday and not Friday but I had to feature this cake today.  A good friend of mine baked this carrot cake with me this morning and boy is it amazing.  It is chock full of carrots, walnuts, and pineapple chunks with a kiss of ginger to finish the perfect bite.  And the frosting isn't all that bad either.  It's super creamy and just sweet enough.  We used vanilla bean paste instead of a whole vanilla bean.  The black specks running throughout the white frosting offset the orange, yellow, and brown tones of the cake itself.  This cake reminds me of a hummingbird cake, which I love but without the banana flavor.  We even substituted applesauce for 3/4 of the oil and it was still juicy and full of moisture.  This cake is the perfect balance between sweet and sour.  The cinnamon glazed carrots and candied pineapple collide with the tangy goat cheese frosting.  It is a dream come true. 

See recipe here. 

        

Cake Fridays

I am a huge fan of Gooseberry Patch.  I think that is what started my love of cooking and baking.  They publish the most wonderful cookbooks centered around the holidays.  I have yet to get into the crafty aspect of Gooseberry Patch but I intend to once I get my crafty gene!  

These mini cupcakes couldn't be simpler.  Melt chocolate, beat eggs and flour, add chocolate.  Mix.  Done.  And they don't even require frosting!  Make it even easier on yourself and buy a can of whipped cream and dot them with mini chocolate chips (or any chips you have on hand...ooh, peanut butter chips would be divine).  These disappear quickly so pace yourself and your guests.  They really do taste like a bowl of super rich chocolate mousse!

Mini Mousse Cupcakes (Gooseberry Patch)

2 1/3 C milk chocolate chips

6 eggs, beaten

¼ C plus 2 T flour

Garnish: whipped cream and chocolate shavings

Melt chocolate chips over medium heat in double boiler and let cool slightly.  In large bowl, beat eggs and flour.  Beat in melted chocolate until combined.  Fill 24 paper lined mini muffin cups 2/3 full.  Bake at 325 degrees for 7-10 minutes.  Cool in muffin tin on wire rack for 20 minutes.  Invert and cool completely.  Garnish if desired.