Eat Bake Laugh

On the passing of time...

2014-12-12T21:42:00.000-05:00

Time.

So much time has passed, and yet it feels like an instant. So much in my life has changed, yet so much remains the same, and right now, as I am busier than I have ever been - working, a new baby, trying to balance this oh so delicate act of mom/wife/sister/daughter - I find myself drawn back to this space. I find myself needing a creative outlet, of needing something that's mine.

So just like that I am back. Ready to reflect more, maybe bake a little less, but still laugh plenty.

And even though I know there aren't many out there to hear me right now, I say these words out loud just the same.

I'm back!

The Power of Handwritten Notes

2013-04-15T09:29:00.001-04:00

This post doesn't have any pretty pictures, or even a recipe. I am not even sure it has a purpose. It's simply about something that I love.

I love handwritten notes. They are like little pieces of someone that you can carry with you. Bits of history. Tokens of love and affection that don't even begin to compare to emails or re-tweets, or any other form of digital communication that bombards us on a daily basis.

Google search results tells us in a thousand different ways how important a hand-written note is for the post-interview follow-up, for doing business, or attracting donors to our worthy causes. In other words, it's a great way to get something we want. But what about a simple note just for the sake of a note? To let someone know that we love them, that we're thinking about them, that 'hey, you matter to me?'

There are a lot of different ways that we can share words with one another, and of all the wonderful things that can be handwritten, one of my most favorite of all is recipes. I have a shortbread recipe passed down from my great-grandmother, to my grandmother, and now to me. It’s written on a tiny 4x4 square piece of paper, and I have rewritten it in other places a dozen times to make sure that I don’t lose it, but the original is tucked away in my recipe drawer (yes drawer) for safe keeping.

That’s the power of the hand-written note. It’s the preservation of something so much more powerful than the words themselves. I'm not saying handwritten notes are going to save the world, but if you have the time, take an extra minute to write someone you love a little note. Let them know how much you care about them. Send a friend you haven't seen in awhile a cute little card or letter. I know they will love it!

xx
nina

Old-fashioned sugar cookies with cinnamon and cloves

2012-10-31T11:43:00.000-04:00

Before we talk about these sugar cookies, I just want to say that being a dog mom is tough. And being more obsessed with Arnold than he (sometimes) is with me makes for a lot of rejection. For reals.

Like yesterday, the hubs was watching the NBA opening season game and Arnold wasn't having any of it. I don't think he likes the whistles and the squeaking of the shoes on the court - so he goes upstairs. I go upstairs to cuddle him and he immediately goes back downstairs. I putter around for a bit and then head back downstairs. He gives me the stink eye from his dog bed and makes his way back upstairs. Total and utter rejection.

If he could talk, he would be telling me that my kisses and cuddles are embarrassing, and that for God's sake he is a dog with some dignity and can't I just respect that? Sigh.

Moving on from my night of rejection - let's talk old-fashioned sugar cookies.

I have always been more of a it has to have chocolate in it to be a good cookie kind of gal, but over time (ahem, as I've gotten older) I appreciate a nice sugar cookie now and then. I have a soft spot for sugar cookie cutouts, but these old-fashioned sugar cookies will please just about anyone.

The original recipe calls for lemon zest, but that just seemed so three months ago (aka when leaves were still on the trees). So in the spirit of all that is fall and fabulous, I added cinnamon and cloves instead, and swapped out the light brown sugar for dark. The outcome was divine. A soft, chewy, flavor-packed cookie that you could easily eat A LOT of. There, you've been warned, and I cannot be held responsible if you eat the entire batch.

These cookies are perfect for fall and I am telling you that you need to go out and make them right now. You'll thank me, I promise!

Enjoy!

Oh, and Happy Halloween too of course!

nina

You will need

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup unsalted butter, (2 sticks), softened

2 large eggs at room temperature

Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

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

Put the sugars, cinnamon and cloves in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until just combined.

Add the butter; mix until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs, one at a time. Reduce speed t o stir and gradually add the flour mixture until just combined. The dough will be thick and you don't want to over mix!

Scoop the dough using a 2-inch ice cream scoop (or any size you choose depending on how big you want your cookies). Space accordingly. Flatten cookies slightly with a spatula or your palm and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Flatten ever so lightly again and sprinkle with more sugar.

Bake cookies until edges are golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

Eat and enjoy!

Adapted from Martha Stewart Cookies

How to make Sharpie art on dishes

2012-10-28T12:26:00.000-04:00

Sharpie art. Maybe you've seen it on Pinterest or around the blog world, maybe you haven't. Either way, it will change your life. The possibilities for crafts, projects and gifts are endless, and the cost is low too.

It's a flipping brilliant idea, and I have no idea why I didn't come across it sooner.

If you're not in the know, I will let you in on the Sharpie art secret. Are you ready? Here goes:

Step 1. Search around your house for dishes/trays/mugs that you'd like to get crafty with. Just make sure they're oven safe!

Step 2. Pick and buy (if you don't have any already) your Sharpie pens. The colors are endless and you totally have permission to go wild.

Step 3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Step 4. Write or draw whatever you want on the dish of your choosing.

Step 5. Bake for 20 minutes and let cool completely before using. Your artwork will be permanent!

That's it! That's all there is to it. Amazing, right?

Now, I don't know if the Sharpie art will be dishwasher safe, so probably best to stick to hand washing for now unless proven otherwise.

For my little project, I used Sharpie paint pens instead of the regular markers. They were 40% off at Michaels, and they were great to use, but from what I have seen, regular Sharpies work just fine!

Now that you know how easy it is, go and make some Sharpie art!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

xx
nina

Back to blogging

2012-09-13T12:17:00.003-04:00

I've been on a longgg hiatus. Maybe you've noticed? Maybe not and that's alright too. During this hiatus I've still been cooking, baking and basking in the glory that is food. But I just haven't been able to carve out the time it takes to take the "perfect" picture, or write about the perfect recipe. I've put so much pressure on myself to create the perfect blog, that the blogging part hasn't even happened....

So, with that being said, this is my official comeback. I know you're all ready to mark it down in your calendars! I've made a deal with myself that it's OK to not always have an amazing new oh my gosh you've got to try this recipe every time I want to blog, and that there are so many other things that I can blog about that relate to food, and community and the happiness that comes from kitchens that I most definitely would never run out of things to say. If you knew me in "real life," you would know that I don't often lack for words.

There are so many amazing food blogs out there, it's hard not to compare and stack yourself up against them, but that's not what this is about for me, so please, please stay tuned....

Cupcake Pops!

2012-07-31T10:30:00.001-04:00

I know, I know. It's been awhile. The summer has turned into one giant activity - an endless array of beach days, parties, barbeques and all around fabulousness that I haven't been able to break free from! Fear not, as I have been busy in the kitchen and soon you will be so inundated with recipes that you will be sick and tired of hearing from me - I promise.

In the meantime, I leave you with cake pops from Bakerella. I made these for my brother in-law's engagement party and let me just say - they were a hit! The cake pops are a little time consuming to make, but the finished product was so adorable (and tasty!) I wouldn't hesitate to make them again.

You can find the recipe for the cake pops here.

I will be back soon! In the meantime, I hope you are all enjoying the summer!

xxx
nina

Cowboy Cookie Recipe

2012-05-04T08:26:00.000-04:00

True story. I am a recovering cowboy junkie. For a good portion of my young adult life, no one was more in love with cowboys than me.

In college, I had cowboy sheets. I think that they were meant for kids, but since the dorm beds were twin size, it never occurred to me that I was being completely ridiculous by buying them.

I LOVED them.

Wayyy into my cowboy obsession, I discovered cowboy cookies. Um yeah. Whatever year that was, I am pretty sure it was completely made by that cowboy cookie discovery. And since then, I've had many a cookie, but never made my own.

I really wanted to call these cowgirl cookies, but then I realized that no one would know what the heck I was talking about. I discovered that there are a lot of people out there who have never even heard of cowboy cookies, so why make it more difficult for them to discover their scrumptiousness?

Let me just say. These cookies are not for the faint of heart. They have a lot going on. I used a basic chocolate chip cookie base that is my go-to, and then just loaded those puppies up with goodness. The combination of the oats, coconut, almonds, cranberries and white chocolate chips is intense. But it's so good.

I also highly recommend mixing this cookie dough batter by hand - as in use your hands as the mixers. I almost always mix cookie dough by hand, because I think that mixers tend to over work the batter, which can result in a less than perfect cookie. Even if you just use the hand method after the butter and sugars are mixed, that works too and will make a big difference! Trust me on this.

I think these cookies actually tasted better the next day, after they were given a chance to settle. Yes, I know that's something that houses do, but I am thinking it can apply to cookies too. Makes sense, right?

Oh, and these cookies are amazing with chocolate ice cream. Which I may or may not have had for ~~dinner~~ dessert the past three nights.

This recipe makes about 15 cookies

You will need:

½ (100 grams) cup granulated sugar

½ (120 grams) cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 stick unsalted butter (115 grams) cold, and cut into small cubes

1 large egg at room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Salt (table or sea salt, depending on your preference)

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 and ¼ cups (200 grams) all-purpose flour

1 cup white chocolate chips

¼ cup dried cranberries

¼ sliced almonds

1/3 cup oats

¼ cup coconut

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300F (150C). If you choose to, you can bake these cookies at 350 degrees, but watch them like a hawk if you do!

Line two to three baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a stand mixer, beat the sugars and butters together until smooth. With your hands or a spoon, mix in the egg, vanilla, and baking soda until just combined.

Stir together the flour, salt, coconut and oats. Mix them into the batter until just combined (again using your hands or a spoon).

Mix in the white chocolate chips and sliced almonds.

Scoop two tablespoons of cookie dough onto the cookie sheets, spacing them about four inches apart. Fill your cookie sheets according to their size. Most standard sheets will fit about 8 cookie dough balls.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or just until the edges become golden brown. Remove from the oven and let sit on the cookie sheet for a few more minutes where they will bake a little longer, and then move them onto a cooling rack.

Eat and enjoy!

Cookie base adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Homemade Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

2012-04-30T10:15:00.004-04:00

One of my proudest kitchen moments so far has been making homemade ice cream.

When I ordered the ice cream attachment for my Kitchen Aid – I was beyond excited. I was bopping around, talking up my ice cream skills to anyone who would listen. This primarily meant the hubs and Arnold. It got pretty old, pretty fast. Believe me.

It’s just that I could NOT wait to make ice cream. But then life happened, and this past weekend I realized that I’ve had the stupid churn for several months, but I haven’t done a darn thing with it.

I’ve mentioned before how busy and important I am. Clearly this proves it.

When deciding on what flavor of ice cream to make first, the choice was clear – mint chocolate chip. The hubs loves mint chocolate chip ice cream – it’s his absolute favorite. And since he came down with ~~typhoid~~ a cold this weekend, it only seemed fair to make him some. Seriously, when the man is sick, it's like the world is ending.

I will honestly admit that until recently, I thought making homemade ice cream was outside of my culinary capabilities. I figured I should stick with pie crust and call it a good day. But all of this time spent in the kitchen has taught me the following: if I think I can, I will. So this past weekend I did.

It was a much easier undertaking than I imagined, and this mint chocolate chip ice cream recipe is incredibly accessible. No surprise it’s from David Lebovitz. It makes incredibly creamy and decadent ice cream. If you’re not a big fan of the creamy variety, substitute the heavy cream with whipping cream - it has a lower fat percentage and will work like a charm.

So what are you waiting for?! Think you can and you will! No matter what is facing you.

Happy Monday!

nina

You will need:

1 cup whole milk

¾ cup sugar

2 cups heavy cream

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups fresh mint leaves – packed

5 large egg yolks

5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used a combination of both)

Directions:

In a saucepan, warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup heavy cream, vanilla, salt and mint. Once the mixture is hot and steaming, remove from the heat and cover. Let the mixture stand for one hour. This will infuse the mint flavor into the cream.

After an hour, strain the mint from the mixture, making sure to press down with a spatula or your hands to get as much mint flavor as possible. When you’re finished, discard the mint.

Pour the remaining heavy cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Set aside.

Re-warm the mint milk mixture over medium-low heat. Once it’s warm, slowly pour some of the mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly until combined. Then scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan.

Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until it thickens and coats the spatula. *Note, this process went faster than I thought it would, about 5-7 minutes. If using an instant read thermometer, it should read around 170ºF (77ºC).

Immediately strain the mixture into the cream, then continuously stir the mixture over an ice bath until cool.

Refrigerate the mixture thoroughly, preferably overnight. Then churn and freeze according to the instructions of your ice cream maker.

If using your kitchen aid attachment, add the chopped chocolate at the very end of the churning process. Usually 2—3 minutes before it is done. If using another type of ice cream maker, follow the instructions for when to add the chocolate.

Serve immediately after churning, or freeze and enjoy!

Recipe slightly adapted from David Lebovitz (from his website)

Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake

2012-04-23T08:54:00.001-04:00

Before we go any further, I have a couple of confessions.

First, I am the kind of person who feels bad for stuffed animals that are left alone on store shelves. Or just look lonely – even if they have tons of other stuffed animals all around them. I’ve been known to buy said stuffed animals to prevent them from being all by their lonesome. And I’ve been having a really hard time not stocking up on stuffed ducks, chicks, bunnies and all other types of leftover Easter paraphernalia that has been haunting the stores.

Second, I don’t like to drape my legs over the edge of the bed because I am still not 100% convinced that something isn’t going to reach up and grab me – dragging me into some under the bed abyss.

Phew. I feel better. Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, we can move on to the amazing-ness of pound cake and lemons.

I love pound cake. It’s incredibly versatile, freezes beautifully and I think often gets a bad rap because people think it’s boring. And who can blame them, when pound cake probably gets the least amount of beautification of any dessert cake out there.

But don’t be fooled. This pound cake recipe is anything but boring. The tangy and tart flavors from the lemon pair so amazingly with the hint of almond in this recipe, that I was basically jumping and up and down when I tasted it. It's that good.

Like a traditional pound cake, this cake is dense. But it is so moist and has a lightness from the ricotta that makes it unlike any other pound cake I have ever had. Simply put, it’s amazing. Did I say that already?

Anyone would be impressed if you showed up at a dinner, potluck or BBQ with this pound cake. I guarantee it would be ~~hoovered~~ gone in a matter of minutes (kind of like at my house). If it seems a little plain to you, you can pretty it up with strawberries, blueberries or even vanilla bean seeds mixed into the batter.

I wish I had a picture of an entire slice of cake, but unfortunately, I was too busy eating every last morsel.

Enjoy!

xx
nina

You will need:

For the cake

1 1/2 cups cake flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks butter, at room temperature, plus more to grease the baking pan

1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese

1 1/2 cups sugar, plus 1 tablespoon

3 large eggs at room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon Almond extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan with butter, and line the bottom with a buttered piece of parchment paper. I wish I had thought to do this beforehand! Do not use a small loaf pan for this, 9x5 is best, because the cake will rise substantially.

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

Using an electric mixer or stand mixer, cream together the butter, ricotta, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes or so, scraping down sides as needed. With the machine running, add the eggs one at a time.

Add the vanilla, lemon zest and almond extract until just combined. Scrape down the sides with a spatula as needed. Do not over mix.

Add the dry ingredients, a small amount at a time, until just incorporated. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 45 to 50 minutes.

Let the cake cool in the pan for a bit, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Eat and enjoy!

This recipe was adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

Baked Doughnuts Three Ways

2012-04-18T12:07:00.004-04:00

Coconut. Sprinkles. Cinnamon and sugar. Need I say more? No, I didn't think so.

This post is coming to you wayyy after the fact because I have been too busy enjoying this amazing spring weather and ~~eating~~ crafting all kinds of recipes for you. I pinky swear that's what has been going on and that there will be delicious things coming your way in the near future.

I have been wanting to make doughnuts for a long time - ever since I first saw these baked doughnuts on Hannah's site, Honey and Jam. I love the idea of baked doughnuts verses fried ones. And obviously they're guilt free that way, right? And who doesn't love cinnamon and sugar? So it really was a no-brainer for me to make these. But since I love sprinkles and have a new found obsession for coconut, I thought why not use those too.

Now, you might be thinking that these are not the prettiest doughnuts in the world, and I wouldn't blame you for thinking that. The crazy person in me thinks the same thing, but they were just so delicious I could overlook their imperfection. I actually thought that I was going to have perfectly shaped doughnuts because I have biscuit cutters, and I thought to myself boom - this is going to be a piece of cake. But I was wrong. I am seriously thinking about investing in a doughnut cutter, because then I would have perfectly shaped doughnut holes too. Double boom.

And if you're thinking it's totally nutso for me to be obsessed with the shape of the doughnuts, you're absolutely right. But I am a little nutso, so bear with me.

These doughnuts are best eaten the day they are made, preferably within a few hours. I think they would be a lovely addition to a weekend brunch. I love the colorful sprinkles, and think that they would look a-mazing on a white platter. Speaking of which, I should have thought of that sooner and photographed it for you. That's what I get for being totally obsessed with the size and shape of the doughnuts.

This recipe is really simple and you could easily prep these while making the rest of your brunch recipes, and then bake and coat them at the very end. I even think this dough could be used to make something other than doughnuts, like maybe some sort of sweet roll filled with raspberry jam.

You will need:

For the dough

1 egg
1/4 cup superfine sugar
1 cup whole milk, heated to 115 degrees
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 and 1/2 to 2 and 3/4 cups all purpose flour, plus more for kneading

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch cubes and at room temperature

For the toppings
1 stick butter, melted
Cinnamon and sugar (I just mixed sugar and cinnamon together until I had the taste I wanted. I also added a packet of vanilla sugar because I am in love with vanilla).

Any kind of sprinkles (but really, aren’t rainbow sprinkles the best?)!

1 cup of shredded coconut

Directions
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg and sugar on medium speed until well blended, about 1 minute. Add the milk, yeast, salt and vanilla, and stir to blend together. With the machine on low speed, add 2 cups of the flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, and beat until the dough is thick and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Switch to the dough hook. With the machine on medium speed, add the butter one piece at a time, and beat until no large chunks of butter are left in the bottom of the bowl, about 3-5 minutes. *I really found this part to be time consuming, so I recommend having the butter at room temperature for easier mixing.

Reduce the speed to low and add additional flour as needed, until the dough gathers around the hook and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. It will be soft and moist, but not overly sticky. I found that I needed to add very little additional flour at this stage, but I really think it depends. Use your best judgment on how the dough feels to you.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently, until the dough no longer sticks to your hands. Lightly grease a large mixing bowl and transfer the dough to bowl, turning over once to coat. Cover with a dish towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in volume (about one hour).

After the dough has risen, punch it down and roll it out to ½ inch thickness. With a doughnut or cookie cutter, cut out 3 inch rounds with 1 inch holes. The dough will shrink into itself at this point, don’t worry, it will puff up again with the second rise.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the doughnuts about 1 inch apart on the baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap or a dish towel, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 20 minutes. This rise is really important, so make sure to give the doughnuts enough time to increase in size.

Bake the doughnuts until they are a light golden brown, about 5 to 8 minutes. Make sure not to over bake them!

Immediately out of the oven, dip the doughnuts into butter, then directly into cinnamon sugar, coconut and sprinkles.

Adapted from Honey and Jam, via Lara Ferroni

Cherry Upside Down Cake

2012-04-02T10:51:00.003-04:00

This post comes to you after several ~~tantrums~~ episodes of foot stomping because I could not for the life of me get my camera to do what I wanted it to. Yes, I stomp my feet when I am mad. Yes, it's okay because I am only 5 feet, 2 inches tall, and short women are allowed to stomp. And yes, that is an official rule.

And really, it was the camera's fault. It's all technical and fancy, with buttons that I don't know how to work - yet. It was simply not cooperating. It also doesn't take kindly to food bribes, which always works with the hubs and Arnold, so I was left with noting else to do but stomp. I am sure there is someone out there who understands my plight.

But moving on to the good stuff. I have an undying love for sweet, dark cherries. I love them most when they are fresh and in-season, but for those months when fresh cherries aren't available, I opt for jarred.

I usually get the jarred version from a German store near my parents home, which is sadly closing and this is me stomping my feet and being very ~~mad~~ sad about this.

So this past weekend, while I was mourning the loss of my little German store, I racked my brain about what to do with a few cans of cherries I had picked up at the store a few weeks earlier (I am hoarding all of my jarred cherries for a later date).

I have been wanting to make some sort of corn, cherry muffin bread concoction, but I just wasn't feeling it. Instead, I was craving cake. And since I went to spinning class this weekend, I got to eat cake. That is also an official rule.

After some nosing around, I happened across a cherry-upside down cake at the Food Librarian.

I love upside-down cakes, mainly because of how they look, but also because you get the softness of a cake, coupled with a gorgeous fruit topping that always gets this perfect caramelized edge. In my mind, it's the ideal picnic cake, and I could easily envision myself in some gorgeous field in Europe, sipping wine and eating cake like it's nobody's business. If anyone out there needs someone to be an official European cake eater/tester/whatever, call me.

This recipe is originally from Bon Appétit, circa 1997, and I adapted it ever so slightly. I like to do a little recipe throwback every once in awhile, because that's just how I roll (okay, by now you've probably figured out that I am a major dork, and I really appreciate that you've even read this far down the post). But since you have, here is the recipe.

You will need:

For the cherry topping

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

3/4 cup packed, light brown sugar

14 ounces cherries, halved, pitted (or in this case, one and a half cans of cherries, drained and cut in half)

1 teaspoon Almond extract (or more if you dig the almond flavor)

For the cake

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 large eggs, separated

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup whole milk

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:

This recipe makes one 9-inch cake. Between me and the hubs, we may or may not have eaten the whole thing ourselves over the weekend.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter the sides of 9-inch cake pan. I used my spring form pan for easier removal later on, but you don't have to.

Melt a 1/4 cup of the butter in the cake pan, set over low heat on the stove. Add the brown sugar and almond extract, whisk until well blended. Remove from heat and spread the mixture out into the pan. Arrange the cherries, cut side down, in a single layer on the bottom of the pan, pressing them lightly into the mixture to get them to stick. Set aside.

For cake:
Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Using an electric (or stand) mixer, beat one cup of sugar and the remaining butter in a large bowl until creamy. Mix in egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Add dry ingredients, alternating with the milk and ending with the dry ingredients.

Using the electric mixer again (with clean beaters) beat the egg whites and cream of tartar in a large bowl until stiff, but not dry. Stir 1/4 of the whites into the cake batter. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the remaining whites into the batter. Spoon the batter on top of the cherries. Note - the batter will be thick. Do not worry, it will still turn out beautifully.

Bake until the top is a deep golden brown, and a cake tester comes out clean. Depending on your oven, I'd say anywhere from 35-55 minutes. In my convection, it took about 35 minutes. Place the cake on a cooling rack, and let cool - about 20 minutes.

Run a small knife around edges of the pan to loosen the cake, and then invert onto a platter or plate. It was really delicious slightly warm, but since I practically ate the whole thing myself in less than 48 hours, I'd say it's good warm, cold, however!

Enjoy!

nina

Quick French Toast with Strawberry Sauce

2012-03-23T15:52:00.000-04:00

Let me just start off by saying that if I had any sense at all, I would have soaked the bread overnight and made baked french toast. But alas, I have no sense, so you're stuck with this quick french toast recipe.

Now my favorite type of bread to use for french toast is day old, thick-sliced bread, like French or Italian, but you could really use any stale-ish bread for this recipe. Yes, stale-ish. It's a word. I pinky swear.

I love how all of the nooks and crannies in the bread soak up the egg mixture, and the thickness of it just makes it all seem so much more fancy.

I actually acquired this bread the night before at a restaurant. We were out for my father-in-law's 65th birthday (Happy Birthday Bill!) and as I was waiting for the waiter to take my plate to wrap up in a doggie bag, I was staring at all of the bread we had left on the table. So I grabbed a couple of pieces and plopped them on my plate to be wrapped up. Well the waiter saw what I was doing and said take it all, and that it's really great toasted. Of course, I instantly thought of french toast. And since the bread would have been thrown out anyway, I took it all. He brought me a nice paper bag with a handle and in went all of the bread. We are talking a loaf and a half at least. My hubby was only slightly embarrassed. I was all excited thinking about breakfast the next morning.

This recipe goes together in a snap and the fresh strawberry sauce is the perfect accompaniment.

French Toast Recipe
1 loaf of stale (ish) bread
4 eggs
1 cup of milk
1/4 cup of heavy cream
1 tablespoon of rum (optional)
1 tablespoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Whisk all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Dip each slice of bread in the mixture, letting the excess drip off. Place in a pre-heated pan or skillet, browning on both sides until cooked through. I like to use butter in the pan, but if you're trying to be good and using non-stick, cooking spray works just as well.

Strawberry Sauce
1 package of fresh or frozen strawberries
1 tablespoon of sugar (optional)
Water

Place all of the strawberries in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the consistency is that of a sauce. Add a little water while the strawberries are pulsing if you find it to be too thick. Adding sugar is totally optional, depending on how sweet/tart you like your strawberries.

Pour generously over the french toast and top with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Chocolate Torte with Raspberry Filling

2012-03-20T09:09:00.002-04:00

Woo hoo! Chocolate and raspberries together! This recipe may or may not be exciting to you, depending on how deep your obsession with chocolate and raspberry combos runs. Word of caution - my obsession runs deep.

I have a recipe for a flour-less chocolate cake that is my go-to if I want to make myself seem more adept at baking than I really am. Everyone always oohs and ahhs, and thinks it's the fanciest thing ever. Which of course it is. But when I saw this recipe in The Best of America's Test Kitchen at the beginning of the year, I instantly wanted to try it out.

It's a little time consuming, if only because of the steps. If you have a small kitchen like myself, this becomes even more true, as I have to do each step one at a time to save space (and not make ginormous messes, which I will end up doing anyway).

I also had a minor freakout when my food processor lid would not click shut, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why. I was on a time crunch and practically in tears flailing around my kitchen. Pathetic, I know. I then decided that my only option was to put the food processor away, use a blender, and hope for the best. It worked - sort of. Then I tried the food processor again and it worked like a charm. Like we never had a fight in the first place. I have no explanation other than I am losing my mind.

But in the end, the outcome was simply wonderful. A rich, moist chocolate torte with the slightest hint of almond, working fabulously together with the fresh raspberries and jam. It's decadent. Eating it makes you feel like you're someplace way fancier than your dining room table. Unless, of course, your dining room table is super fancy to begin with.

I served this for my parents this past weekend and they loved it. Some freshly made whipped cream is a lovely accompaniment, but not necessary.

I hope you enjoy!

xo
nina

For the cake and filling you will need:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I prefer to use bittersweet chocolate chips, makes the melting process easier)
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I tend to use more, but that's just me)
1/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 and 3/4 cups sliced almonds, lightly toasted
1/4 cup (or 1 and 1/4 ounces) flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 large eggs
3/4 cups (or 5 and 1/4 ounces) sugar
2 1/2 ounces fresh raspberries
1/4 seedless raspberry jam

For the glaze you will need:
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (again the chips come in handy here)
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream

Directions:
This makes one, 9-inch cake, serving ~~12-16~~ 8 cake hungry people

1.Line bottom of two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Melt chocolate and butter in a large bowl set over a saucepan filled with 1-inch of simmering water. Or you can just melt it right in the saucepan which is what I do.

Melt until smooth, remove from heat and let cool for 30 minutes. Then stir in the vanilla and espresso powder. At this point you will also want to preheat your oven to 325 degrees and adjust an oven rack to the middle position.

2. Pulse 3/4 cup almonds in a food processor until coarsely chopped - set aside to garnish the cake later. Process the remaining 1 cup of almonds until very finely ground (but don't pulse too much because you don't want to make almond butter)! Add the flour and salt and pulse until just combined. Transfer the almond mixture to a bowl. Using the empty food processor, process all of the eggs until doubled in volume. Add the sugar until combined. Use a whisk to gently fold the egg mixture into the chocolate - leaving some egg streaks. Gently whisk in the almond mixture until just combined.

*Note, I feel pretty strongly that you could make this cake entirely gluten free by omitting the flour and that the result would be more or less the same.

3. Divide batter between cake pans, smoothing the tops with a spatula. Bake until a cake tester comes out with a few moist crumbs. This equaled to 16 minutes in my oven, so I'd say anywhere from 13-17 minutes. Let the cakes cool completely on wire racks. I also placed mine in the fridge after they had cooled a bit to make them easier to handle.

4. At this point the recipe calls for cardboard rounds the same size of the cake pans. I am far too ~~lazy~~ busy and important for that step, so I just inverted one cake on a cake stand and then gently added the second layer after the filling was added. I basically crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

5. Place 1/2 cup raspberries in a medium sized bowl, mash with a fork. Mix in the raspberry jam. Spread this mixture evenly onto the cake layer. Top with the second cake layer.

6. Now comes the fun part - you get to glaze the cake! To make the glaze, melt the chocolate and cream in a saucepan. Stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and whisk until smooth. Pour the glaze over the entire cake and with an inverted spatula, spread the glaze around. I opted to glaze the sides too which made for quite a mess, but that's neither here nor there.

7. Gently press the reserved chopped almonds onto the side of the cake (admittedly, having the cake on cake rounds would have made this step easier, but like I said, I am way too busy and important to be dealing with cardboard cutouts).

8. You're almost done! Arrange individual raspberries around the cake however you choose. Refrigerate until the glaze is set and then eat and enjoy!

Morocco Magic

2012-03-09T18:03:00.001-05:00

As we head into the weekend I leave you with some travel pictures.