When it comes to cooking, I would have to say my biggest weakness is cooking asian food. For some reason I can never really get it exactly right. Nothing ever tastes fantastic, whether it be because I can’t find a good recipe or I’m doing something terribly wrong, it just never turns out to be worth the effort. I rarely make asian food. I’m usually pretty happy sticking with Mexican or pasta dishes.

I’m always on the lookout though for good asian dishes that work. Rachel Ray led me straight to this one. Over the past few months, I’ve really started to appreciate Rachel Ray more and more. I think she has some pretty good recipes that are easy and get people cooking things they may not have tried before. I found myself recommending one of her cookbooks to a newly married friend of mine who is at a loss for where to start with cooking for her husband. Rachel has some great and simple recipes for cooks who want to learn. My mom got me a subscription to her magazine for Christmas last year and I’ve made at least one recipe every month and it’s always been great. This one was no different.

It wasn’t very spicy at all, so if you like it a little spicy I would recommend using a touch more sriracha in the sauce, but you can always add more to your bowl after you’ve served it. I added about a teaspoon to my bowl and it gave it a light kick, but improved the flavor a lot.

Korean-Style Chicken or Pork Noodle Bowls (I used chicken)
Recipe from Everyday with Rachel Ray Magazine

Serves 4

Ingredients
Salt and pepper
1 pound whole wheat spaghetti (I used regular thin spaghetti. I’m sure whole wheat would be great but I used what I had at home)
One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, grated
2 large cloves garlic, grated
About 1/4 cup tamari (dark soy sauce)
About 3 Tablespoons honey or agave syrup
2 tablespoons tomato paste (I forgot to buy this at the store so I left it out. I didn’t miss it)
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon hot sauce, such as sriracha, plus more to pass around the table
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound skinless, boneless, chicken thigh meat, chicken breast meat, or thin-cut boneless pork chops, cut into thin strips (I used chicken thigh meat)
1/4 small cabbage, very thinly shredded
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced or chopped
1 bunch scallions thinly sliced on the diagonal
Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish (I left these out)

Directions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain.

While the pasta is working, using a blender or food processor, combine a splash of the boiling water (before you add salt), the ginger, garlic, tamari, honey, tomato paste, vinegar, sesame oil, and hot sauce until smooth.

Get all of the remaining ingredients ready for a quick stir-fry. In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over high heat. Add the chicken or pork and stir-fry until browned, about 3 minutes. Add the cabbage and bell pepper and stir-fry for 2 minutes, then add the scallions and ginger sauce and toss for 1 minute. Pour over drained noodles and top with the sesame seeds. Pass more hot sauce around the table.

Thanks.

When Brian and I were in pre-marital counseling, our pastor asked us what we “need” in life to be happy. What is it about us that makes us us as individuals. He asked us to think of three things that we need continually to be peaceful and happy in life. Three rituals or things about daily life that we could know about each other so that when the other person does that thing, then we know they are happy. Usually that kind of introspection is a little hard for me. I typically have to think about it for a while and come up with an answer later, but this was actually pretty easy for me. I came up with three things that I know I need without having to give it much thought at all.

Here are my three things:

1. I need time to write
2. I need something to look forward to
3. I need conversations with people

I’m going to talk about the middle one right now.

Up until last week, for the past few months I felt like I didn’t really have anything to look forward to. We haven’t planned any big trips, we aren’t planning on having kids anytime soon, we aren’t ready to buy a house, etc. I also felt like I didn’t have a clear direction for my career. I was starting to get really, really down about it. I felt like this blog was really the only thing that I had to look forward to doing. I really, truly did look forward to making food and taking pictures of it so I could write about it and share it with the world. This blog was my thing to look forward to, and that is a big deal. I love this blog because it did that for me. Thank you reading the past few months. I really appreciate it more than I can say.

Then, when I found out I was accepted into the Master’s program for Special Education and I’m going to school in the fall, I all of a sudden had a whole new life to look forward to. A life of helping kids like Sullivan and Cayla every day to reach their maximum potential. When I worked at the LLH as an associate teacher it was the happiest I have ever been in my life with my work. I felt like I was doing something important and that I was good at it. I was in line with God’s plan for me and I loved it. I remember when I left to go back to school a few years ago I cried and cried (during the day, all day, while the kids were there… yeah). Something about leaving that classroom felt so, so wrong, and my heart was really feeling it that day as I left.  I knew at the time that it was time to move on and do something else. After that day I pursued many different things and got on a few different paths, and I never thought that I would end up being a teacher.  It makes sense though. I every time I questioned what I wanted out of life I should have just asked myself what makes me happy, because working directly in the classroom with those kids is the happiest I have ever been. I’m glad that every time I started to question my career Brian would say, “Why don’t you just be a teacher?” Eventually I caught on.

It’s such a great feeling to have such an amazing career to look forward to. The creative ways I can teach and help the kids are endless and I can’t wait to start and see where my imagination takes me. I’m also glad that I always have this blog and food to write about, because I love food and writing about my favorite recipes. This is my favorite hobby. Thank you for taking time to share it with me.

This is Morgan. Morgan wants to make you a deal. I promised her I’d let her tell you about it herself:

“HI!!!!! My name is Morgan and my mom says I’m the cutest thing. My mom tells everyone that when I’m big I will talk out loud and say all my thoughts. Right now I don’t talk out loud, but I run a lot everywhere I go! I like to run fast. I also give the best hugs. Everyone says my hugs are best. Sometimes kids like me and my friends are slow at some things, but we are really good at others. I’m a good runner. My school is perfect for kids like me.

I love school. I love it because there is a big gym to run fast in. I also get to have fun days like today when I get wet all over. Later my teacher will bring me inside and I’ll shiver because its colder inside and she will make me dry. Then I will sing (well, not with my voice, but with my hands I will sign) with all of my friends. My teacher taught me sign language so I can tell her what I want until I start talking with my mouth.

I’ll make you a deal. I promise I will love you forever if you vote for my school. Log onto facebook and click RIGHT HERE to vote for my school, “The Little Light House”. We are number 33 today but if we get in the top 20 we will win $500,000. My school doesn’t make my parents pay anything for me to go. They are run off donations and that’s all, so the money would help me get to keep coming to school. I love my school so please vote for it!”

Sorry, I had to let her do that. She’s been bugging me about it all day.

So I got some exciting news this weekend! I am going to be getting my Master’s in Special Education! I’m really excited about it. I love working with kids like Morgan and I think it’s going to be the perfect job for me. I start school this month and I couldn’t be happier. It’s good to have a goal and a plan, and I felt like getting accepted into the program gave me a great goal. I can’t wait to be a Special Ed teacher.

Morgan’s school is the school I used to work at as a Fundraising Coordinator and as an Associate Teacher. It’s a great school and they really could use the money, so if you haven’t voted I’m sure they would appreciate it!

Reader beware: consuming hot peppers with this delicious filling and sauce creates the powerful and hard to resist “addicting-spicy”. This is when something is spicy but delicious at the same time, and you are physically unable to stop eating the spicy food. Your hands simply will not stop grabbing the fork and lifting it to your mouth. The disease has not yet known to be fatal, but is sure to last until the last bite has been consumed.

Consider yourselves warned.

Peach week is over, although the peaches are not all gone. I froze some and plan to use them for something fun soon. After all the cool peach desserts, I decided it was time for something hot.

I decided on stuffed peppers, and I will say that this was the best appetizer I’ve had in a while. We used several different types of peppers and each one tasted great with this filling and sauce. The sauce is wonderful because it’s a little sweet, and compliments the spicy peppers and cheese wonderfully. I liked using more than one type of pepper, because I wasn’t stuck with one level of spiciness the entire time. It was nice to take a bite of a spicy pepper then back off a little bit with one of the less spicy varieties, then back to spicy. Using one type of pepper limits the fun.

If you are going to use just one type though, I would have to suggest jalapenos. They brought the perfect level of heat to compete with the sweet sauce and cheese filling. They were definitely my favorite.

Watch out though, they’re still pretty spicy.

Stuffed Hot Peppers with Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Sauce, adapted from Bobby Flay’s recipe here.

This recipe makes enough to fill several jalapeno peppers and other small peppers. We probably could have filled about 40 if we wanted to.

Ingredients

Several Jalapeno Peppers or other hot peppers from your garden, sliced in half lengthwise with the stem and seeds removed.

For the Filling:
8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
4 oz goat cheese at room temperature
1/4 cup grated sharp white cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped

For the Sauce:
1 red pepper
1 tomato
2 tbs red wine vinegar
1 tbs honey
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
fresh ground black pepper

Directions

For the filling:

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion starts to become soft, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Combine the cream cheese, goat cheese, and white cheddar cheese using an electric mixer. Add the onion and mix until combined. Add the pepper and continue to mix until smooth. Fill each pepper half with a small spoonful of the cheese mixture and set on a baking sheet lined with foil. Bake the peppers until the cheese starts to brown slightly, approximately 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and serve with sauce.

For the Sauce:

Place red pepper and tomato in the oven under a broiler and cook, turning occasionally, until the skin turns black on the pepper and becomes brown and wrinkled on the tomato. Remove from oven and place the pepper and tomato in a bowl under a clean dish towel or about 10 minutes to allow them to cool enough to handle. Once they are cooled, remove the skins and seeds from each, chop, and place in a food processor along with the rest of the ingredients. Process until smooth. Spoon a small amount of sauce over or alongside each pepper.

To continue with peach week I have something to keep cool with. I had originally planned on making shortcakes with peaches and raspberries and marscapone cream, which I may still do, but I was too hot this weekend to turn on my oven. Maybe tomorrow I’ll get inspired to bake something, but yesterday I was more in the mood for something cold. Very, very cold.

I am normally never, ever, in the mood for a popsicle. Yesterday, however, I found myself flipping through the latest Bon Appetit and saw a recipe for Blackberry popsicles. They looked amazing. I wanted one, but I didn’t have blackberries. I did, however, have perfectly sweet and wonderful peaches.

So, I made these instead. It was really, really easy and they tasted great. Because I strained the peach liquid before I mixed everything together they were icy and liquidy without chunks of peaches in them just like a popsicle should be. I had extra liquid, so I filled an ice cube tray which inspired a second creation, sweet peach iced tea.

I don’t know which one I liked more, the popsicles or the tea. They were both extremely refreshing and delicious. Seeing as how this recipe was adapted a LOT and made on a whim I was very pleasantly surprised how both of the treats turned out.

Sweet Peach Popsicles (or ice cubes for tea)

This recipe makes about 8 big popsicles. I made 4 popsicles and filled one ice cube tray with the amount that this made.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
4 Medium sized ripe peaches, peeled and sliced
3/4 cup peach nectar

Directions:
Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until sugar dissolves, whisking occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Puree peaches and peach nectar in a blender until very smooth, then strain over a medium sized bowl. Discard any leftover pulp from the peach mixture that is in the strainer. To the bowl of the remaining peach liquid, add the sugar water mixture and whisk to combine. Pour the peach liquid into the popsicle molds or ice cube trays.

Sweet Peach Tea

Ingredients:
4 black tea bags (such as lipton)
2 liters water
1 tray of Sweet Peach Ice cubes

Directions:
Place tea bags and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat until very small bubbles cling to the sides of the pan and the water has turned a beautiful brown tea color, about 10 minutes. Do not boil. Remove from heat and let cool.

Place several Sweet Peach Ice Cubes in a glass and pour the cooled tea over them. Enjoy!

Ok, I’m excited.

Really, really excited.

The reason I’m excited is because this pie recipe, is MINE. I created it- and … it tasted fine! It fell apart, but I didn’t mind. I was just happy there weren’t any major disasters.

I decided to make my own recipe… TIME OUT: I want to say right now that creating a pie recipe isn’t necessarily rocket science…. just know that I’m aware of that. Now, where were we? … because I wanted a pie, but I didn’t want it to have a pie crust top, I wanted streusel instead. I also wanted to add mixed berries instead of just blueberries or just blackberries to the peaches, and I couldn’t find a recipe that did those things. I also didn’t want to make my own pie crust… so the dough boy and I teamed up on this.

I used a mixture of the peaches I got last weekend in Porter, which were both the Bellaire and the Red Haven variety. Now, the Red Haven peaches are not particularly sweet, so I added more sugar that I probably would have if I had been using really sweet peaches. Next month, if I make this, I’ll probably use only 1/4 cup sugar instead of 1/2 cup. Just use your best judgement. If you want a sweeter pie, use more sugar.

Look at all the delicious fruit inside.

The recipe is at the end of the post, so if you want to skip down to it go ahead. I just want to show you what I did in the 2 hours that the pie spent cooling. You can let the pie cool longer than that, and the longer the better. I think this pie was significantly better the next day. (The cooling is an important step, so be sure to have something super fun planned for 2 hours while you wait. The activity should probably be outside or else the smell of the pie might make you accidentally eat it all immediately).

Peach Pie with Mixed Berries

Serves 8-10

Ingredients
For the Filling:
7 Medium sized peaches, peeled and sliced
1 tsp lemon juice
1.5 Tbs cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1.5 cups mixed berries thawed from the freezer or fresh (I used a frozen mix of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. I loved the variety)

1 store bought pie crust (just one circle is needed)

For the Streusel:
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1.5 ounces butter

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll out the pie crust into a 9 inch pie plate. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sliced peaches with the lemon juice, sugar, and corn starch. Let sit for 10 minutes. If the mixture makes enough juice to cover the peaches, remove about 1/5 cup of juice. Make sure and keep a good amount of the juice in the peach mixture. Pour the fruit into the pie crust.

To make the streusel, combine the brown sugar, flour, salt, and butter in a food processor until clumps form. Stir in the chopped pecans. Spread the streusel on top of the pie and bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. After 20 minutes, turn the temperature down to 350, and cover spots of the pie that are starting to turn brown. I covered the whole thing for the remainder of the time. Bake at this temperature for another 30 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and let rest for at least 2 hours. I thought the pie was absolutely wonderful (probably better) the next day.

Peach Week.

The reason?

I have a ton of peaches.

I know I’m starting this sort of in the middle of the week so it’s not really Peach Week, more like Peach mid-week or Peach Weekend, but nevertheless, we are going to talk peaches for a few posts. Since I’m drowning in peaches over here I feel like it’s all I can think about, therefore it’s all I am going to write about for a few days.

I hope that’s ok with you.

I went to the Porter, Oklahoma Peach Festival this weekend and picked up two different types of peaches that they had ready so far. Later in the summer they will come out with different varieties, but this weekend they had Bellaire and Red Haven peaches. I got a little bit of each, and when I got home I sat for a long time debating which recipes I was going to try with my new wonderful fruits.

It was harder than I thought it was going to be to decide. I finally came up with a few recipes that I liked for a pie, some salsa, and peach melba. By the time I had decided on what to do, it was too late to start any of it. I set the peaches aside for their various assignments, and thought about the next day when I would have more time to bake.

It was not, however, too late for this.

As I was looking over recipes I saw a few for peaches in wine. The recipe was so simple. Two ingredients.

1. Peaches
2. Wine

I happened to have both of those things, and I also happen to LOVE both of those things. I actually was a bit skeptical at first. It felt like I was ruining the wine by putting such a sweet fruit in it, but then I turned my thinking around and decided that this was about the peach, not the wine. You have to eat the peach and that is where the true beauty of this dessert (or late night snack) is. Of course, if you want to drink the wine afterwards, feel free. Just be warned that it will taste a little peachy.

I used a red wine blend and the Bellaire peach, but I saw recipes that used white wine too so use that if you don’t like red wine. I’m sure it’s great too. The Bellaire peaches are sweeter than the Red Havens, and a sweet peach was definitely needed in this. Let me tell you though, the peaches tasted incredible. I was extremely surprised at how much I loved it. After loving peaches and wine separately for so long I don’t know why I didn’t think I’d care for this, but it was amazing. It’s my new favorite thing.

So, for now, you can enjoy this little peach appetizer. I’ll write about my pie soon

Peaches in Wine
Serves 2

Ingredients

One Peach peeled and sliced
2 glasses of the wine of your choice

Directions

Cut a tiny x in the skin of the peach on the bottom, opposite the stem. Drop peach into a saucepan of boiling water for about 60-90 seconds. Immediately remove and immerse into an ice bath for about 30 seconds. Remove peach from ice water and remove skin with your fingers. This technique will allow you to peel the skin back easily.

Slice peach and remove the pit. Fill the bottom of a wine glass with 4-5 slices and cover with your favorite wine. Let sit for a minute or two (or 10 if you really want wine-y peaches), and enjoy!

The fun thing about having kids around is that you make things that you wouldn’t normally think to make. For example, I never would have thought, on my own, to try and make home made Cinnaminions.

“What’s a Cinnaminion? That’s a weird word. I think you’re making things up!” you might say.

I-Hop has been promoting these sugar coated iced donut things for a while and calling them Cinnaminions, a play off of Despicable Me‘s Minions, which are the little yellow guys you see running around on all the previews.

These guys right here:

Well, it’s a good thing that Toni is around. She loves Cinnaminions, and while she was with my mom one day they decided to try to make them at home. When I heard about it, I decided I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to taste help with these little treats.

My mom decided to use a recipe for beignets and decorate those with sugar, icing, and sprinkles. Beignets are basically fried dough that you can top with sweet things like powdered sugar or icing, much like a doughnut, but it’s slightly more chewy than a doughnut would be. The outside of the beignet gives a little tug when you bite into it and pull. The inside is perfectly fluffy and soft. Beignets are French treats traditionally filled with fruit, but we made them without filling and they were delicious.

Let me tell you, these may be simple looking treats but they are really, really tasty. We ended up using powdered sugar on some, icing only on some, and a cinnamon/sugar mixture with icing on others. There were 3 different varieties and they were all great. I’m always looking for little fun desserts that go great with coffee, and let me tell you these are perfect.

There’s a small downside. As you can see, this recipe makes a LOT of these beignets, (about 50 2×2 inch squares) and they are really only good on the day you make them. I really don’t have any suggestions for keeping them longer than about 12 hours once they are fried. You can however, keep the dough in the refrigerator and fry them as you want to eat them. The directions for that are below, but I don’t think the dough will keep longer than a day either. Maybe you can get two good days out of them if you do it that way.

The other way to keep them good is to just put them in your belly. That will do it.

So, on a day when you’re having company these are the perfect treat. Toni, my parents, and I loved them.

Buttermilk Beignets from Epicurious.com

Makes about 4 dozen beignets

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 1/2 cups bread flour plus extra for flouring work surface
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Peanut oil for frying
• Confectioners’ sugar for serving, as much as you think you’ll need—then double that!

Directions

Heat the milk in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until small bubbles form at the surface. Remove from the heat, add the buttermilk, and then pour into a stand mixer bowl. Whisk in the yeast and the sugar and set aside for 5 minutes. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt, and mix on low speed, using a dough hook, until the dry ingredients are moistened, 3 to 4 minutes. Increase the mixer speed to medium and continue mixing until the dough forms a loose ball and is still quite wet and tacky, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set the dough aside in a draft-free spot for 1 hour.

Pour enough peanut oil into a large pot to fill it to a depth of 3 inches and bring to a temperature of 375°F over medium heat (this will take about 20 minutes). Line a plate with paper towels and set aside.

Lightly flour your work surface and turn the dough out on it. Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour, gently press to flatten, fold it in half, and gently tuck the ends under to create a rough-shaped round. Dust again and roll the dough out into a ½-inch- to ¹/³ -inch-thick circle. Let the dough rest for 1 minute before using a chef’s knife, a bench knife, or a pizza wheel to cut the dough into 1 1/2-inch squares (you should get about 48).

Gently stretch a beignet lengthwise and carefully drop it into the oil. Add a few beignets (don’t overcrowd them, otherwise the oil will cool down and the beignets will soak up oil and be greasy) and fry until puffed and golden brown, turning them often with a slotted spoon, for 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to the prepared plate to drain while you cook the rest. Serve while still warm, buried under a mound of confectioners’ sugar, with hot coffee on the side.

*Molly Note: While the beignets were still warm we topped them in three different ways. Here are the things we used.

1.  We made icing, using confectioner’s sugar and half and half. Make the icing by using about 3/4 cup of confectioner’s sugar with about 3 tablespoons half and half. Mix them together. Add more half and half or powdered sugar to get the desired consistency. The icing went on some beignets by itself, and we also drizzled it on some that had cinnamon and sugar.

2.  We made a cinnamon/sugar mixture (about 1 cup sugar and about 3 tablespoons cinnamon). We rolled beignets in this mixture until they were evenly coated, then topped them with drizzled icing and sprinkles.

3. We dusted some beignets with powdered sugar. Those were perfect just like that.

Put sprinkles or icing on any of them to make them extra wonderful!

Make ahead:
The beignet dough can be made up to 8 hours in advance of frying. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray it with nonstick cooking spray. After cutting the dough, place the beignets on the paper and place another greased sheet of parchment paper, sprayed-side down, on top. Wrap the entire baking sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate. The beignets can be fried straight from the refrigerator.

It all started with a dream…and a very tight budget.

The dream of the perfect wedding shower for my friend Melissa that included an edible fruit arrangement.

Here is Erin who hosted the shower, with Melissa (the bride) admiring the napkins that Erin picked out. Melissa loves the small details.

The edible bouquet was going to be fun. We had the rest of the menu planned out but we wanted a way to display the fruit that was cute and different. Special touches like that are what make showers special, right?

So, we looked online and quickly found that fruit bouquets are expensive. A tiny one was over $60, and we didn’t want to focus on that as something we spent a lot of our money on. But Erin kept looking at the picture of the arrangement on the screen longingly, and after a while she said, “I think we could make that.”

I had my doubts, but I was willing. The day of the shower I showed up to Erin’s apartment with all of the fruit that the arrangement in the picture contained, and Erin was ready with a melon baller, skewers, a bucket, a cookie cutter, and a foam block. We used one of the green foam blocks you would used in a flower arrangement that crumble green flakes when you rub them. That worked perfect.

And we started cutting fruit. The melon baller was giving me LOTS of trouble, but we were able to form the balls well enough for them to look like spheres and stick them on the arrangement. The pineapple was cut with a flower shaped cookie cutter. The grapes and strawberries were just washed and used as is. That part was easy.

We laid a bunch of kale on top of the foam block to hide it, and then Erin stuck all of the skewers into the block. It may have been easier to stick them in as she went, because she did stab herself several times putting the fruit on the skewers with forest of sharp skewers around. It worked out though.

After a while, it started to look pretty much like the picture.

And it looked great with the rest of our spread.

If you want to try making one of these, basically all you need is a LOT of grapes (they go on almost every stick), some pineapple, honeydew, and strawberries. You’re welcome to copy off of our picture! If you come up with a different but cute arrangement send me the photos. I would love to see them!

I realized today that I forgot to tell you what I made for Brian’s birthday dessert. He actually liked it, and his mom liked it so much that she asked for the recipe and has already made it and brought it to work, which is a very good sign.

It was a Tiramisu Cake, which was very easy but I did manage to mess it up a little. It didn’t affect the outcome too substantially, but enough to make me notice. This is a cake made from many of the same parts as tiramisu, minus the ladyfingers and plus the cake. You soak the cake layers in the espresso syrup that you create. The recipe says that you are supposed to double soak the top layer by soaking one side and then flipping the soaked side down on top of the bottom layer, then soaking again before frosting the entire cake. I didn’t read about the double soaking and I put a dry layer on top of an already frosted bottom, which made it impossible to unstick and soak the stuck side. SO, as a result my top layer was only single-soaked, which left the cake slightly dry. If I had double soaked the top layer though, it’s possible that the whole cake would have been extremely espresso-y and wet. I still think that would have been better though.

But, no one complained. It all worked out in the end.

I found the recipe on the Smitten Kitchen but she found it from a cookbook called Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

Tiramisu Cake

For the cake layers:
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk

For the espresso extract:
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder (If you are having trouble finding this, look in the International/Mexican section in the supermarket. I found it there. It wasn’t by the coffee. Instant coffee would probably work too, but the real stuff is in the Mexican section)
2 tablespoons boiling water

For the espresso syrup:
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon amaretto, Kahlua, or brandy (I used brandy because I had it… and don’t ask my why I had it. I was surprised too)

For the filling and frosting:
1 8-ounce container mascarpone
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon amaretto, Kahlua, or brandy (Again, I used brandy)
1 cup cold heavy cream
2 1/2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped, or about 1/2 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips (I used bittersweet and it was wonderful)

Chocolate-covered espresso beans, for decoration (optional- I left them out)
Cocoa powder, for dusting

Getting ready:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9×2 inch round cake pans, dust the insides with flour, tap out the excess, and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To make the cake:
Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat for another 3 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, and then the yolk, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla; don’t be concerned if the mixture looks curdled. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, adding the dry ingredients in 3 additions and the milk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients); scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and mix only until the ingredients disappear into the batter. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 28 to 30 minutes, rotating the pans at the midway point. When fully baked, the cakes will be golden and springy to the touch and a thin knife inserted into the centers will come out clean. Transfer the cakes to a rack and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them, and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right-side up.

To make the extract:
Stir the espresso powder and boiling water together in a small cup until blended. Set aside.

To make the syrup:
Stir the water and sugar together in a small saucepan and bring just to a boil. Pour the syrup into a small heatproof bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon of the espresso extract and the liqueur or brandy; set aside.

To make the filling and frosting:
Put the mascarpone, sugar, vanilla, and liqueur in a large bowl and whisk just until blended and smooth.

Working with the stand mixer with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, whip the heavy cream until it holds firm peaks. Switch to a rubber spatula and stir about one quarter of the whipped cream into the mascarpone. Fold in the rest of the whipped cream with a light touch.

To assemble the cake:
If the tops of the cake layers have crowned, use a long serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion to even them. Place one layer right-side up on a cardboard round or a cake plate protected with strips of wax or parchment paper. Using a pastry brush or a small spoon, soak the layer with about one third of the espresso syrup. Smooth some of the mascarpone cream over the layer – user about 1 1/4 cups – and gently press the chopped chocolate into the filling. Put the second cake layer on the counter (NOT on the cake like I did) and soak the top of it with half the remaining espresso syrup, then turn the layer over and position it, soaked side down, over the filling. Soak the top of the cake with the remaining syrup.

For the frosting, whisk 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of the remaining espresso extract into the remaining mascarpone filling. Taste the frosting as you go to decide how much extract you want to add. If the frosting looks as if it might be a little too soft to spread over the cake, press a piece of plastic wrap against its surface and refrigerate it for 15 minutes or so. Refrigerate the cake too.

With a long metal icing spatula, smooth the frosting around the sides of the cake and over the top. If you want to decorate the cake with chocolate-covered espresso beans, press them into the filling, making concentric circles of beans or just putting some beans in the center of the cake.

Refrigerate the cake for at least 3 hours (or for up to 1 day) before serving – the elements need time to meld. (I refrigerated for 4 hours which was enough time, but the longer the better I’m sure)

Just before serving, dust the top of the cake with cocoa.