The Voice of Joyce

It's getting hot in here!

2019-06-09T08:21:00.002-04:00

Hello friends!

It has been a while since I made a blog post, but that doesn't mean I haven't stopped baking!

I have even contemplated making candy! One of my readers passed along a cool this link on the basics of candy making.

Candy making is hard! It's complicated and some would even say... dangerous.

Thermometers and hot sugar = serious business.

Last week, I made these cupcakes using a thermometer.

Thermometer? Yup, these little cakes are covered in an Italian Meringue frosting. It was perfect for piping flowers. I know frosting isn't the same as candy... but the whole process certainly got me sweating in the kitchen!

Italian Buttercream Recipe

Makes about 4 1/2 cups (enough to fill and ice an 8-inch cake)

Ingredients
Italian Meringue:
3/4 cup sugar
5 large egg whites

Italian Buttercream:
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a small heavy saucepan over moderately high heat, combine 1/2 cup of the sugar with 1/4 cup water and cook, without stirring, until the mixture reaches 230°F.

2. While the sugar is heating up, place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip on medium speed until frothy. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and beat the meringue until medium peaks form.

3. Continue heating the sugar mixture until it reaches soft-ball stage, 240°F. Reduce the mixer speed to low and pour the soft-ball-stage sugar into the meringue in a slow, steady stream. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and whip until the meringue cools to room temperature and holds a stiff peak, 2 to 3 minutes.

4. Exchange the mixer's whisk attachment for the paddle attachment and reduce the speed to medium. Add the butter, a few pieces at a time, until all of the butter has been incorporated and the buttercream is thick, fluffy, and very smooth. Add the vanilla extract and beat briefly to incorporate. Use the buttercream immediately or cover and refrigerate it up to 3 weeks.

Cooks' note:
Before using cold buttercream, let it soften at room temperature for 30 minutes then transfer it to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on low speed until fluffy and soft enough to spread.

Adapted from here!

Peanut Butter Tofu Skor Cookies.

2013-07-31T20:35:00.005-04:00

I had a block of extra firm tofu that needed to be used up and after making that Avocado Butter-less Bread, I was feeling somewhat adventurous.

I decided to make some cookies. I guess I was just riding out that wave of curiosity.

And to my surprise, the cookies turned out and tasted like normal peanut butter cookies!

The tofu replaced the egg in the recipe. Very vegan friendly.

Don't worry, there is plenty of gluten so living in Toronto hasn't changed my baking style completely.... not yet at least.

I kind of forget to write down the baking temperature and time... so proceed with caution if you decide to try this...

Recipe for Peanut Butter Tofu Skor Cookies
Ingredients:
block of tofu (around 1 cup?)
1/2 cup peanut butter?
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup of flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup skor bits

1. Preheat the oven to 300F.
2. Purée or blend the tofu until smooth.
3. Mix the tofu, peanut butter, and sugar together.
4. Add in the flour, baking soda, and salt into the tofu mixture.
5. Stir in the skor bits.
6. Form the dough into balls and place on a baking sheet.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until goldeny....

Peanut Butter and Jam Muffins.

2013-07-23T20:25:00.002-04:00

I made these a while ago. They were average.

The recipe was for peanut butter banana muffins, but I decided it would be neat if they were PB and J instead.

Peanut Butter and Jam Muffins

I think the muffins were not as moist because I didn't incorporate the jam in the same way as the original recipe; instead of mixing it directly into the batter, I just spooned it into the muffin tin.

Not a total flop, but definitely not a home run.

Recipe for Peanut Butter Jam Muffins
Original recipe makes 1 dozen
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup quick cooking oats
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana <-- I used strawberry jam instead
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

--- I skipped this part bc I forgot to do it ---
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
3. Combine 1 cup flour, oats, 1/3 cup brown sugar, and baking powder.
4. Whisk together milk, peanut butter, banana (omitted), egg, oil, and vanilla.
5. Add the wet mixture to dry ingredients, mixing just until moistened.
6. Fill prepared muffin cups 1/2 full. Add spoonful of jam and then spoonful of muffin dough to cover a little.
SKIPPED: In a small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup flour, melted butter and 2 tablespoons brown sugar. Sprinkle topping evenly over muffins.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 18 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm.

Recipe from here.

Banana Pork Wontons.

2013-07-19T18:01:00.001-04:00

I had some extra meat stuff when I made these BANANA MEATBALLS so I made wontons!

Bought some wonton wrappers and I started to wrap. Used cold water to seal up the sides.

Some wontons looked like bundles... and others were like tents.

Recipe for Banana Pork Wontons
Ingredients:
1 pound (?) of ground pork
1 mashed banana
1/2 chopped onion
1 tsp fresh basil
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup Cha Sui sauce - aka Asian bbq sauce
1 tsp Siracha hot sauce
1 slice of bread
1/4 cup of hoisin sauce
3 chopped green onions
1 pack of wonton wrappers (I only used half)

Cooking instructions:
1. Add some water into a pot
2. Drop in the wontons when the water comes to a boil
3. When the water boils again, add a cup of cold water. Do that twice... or just once.
4. Scoop out the wontons after the water boils one last time.
5. Freeze whatever you don't eat.

Whatt??? There isn't any butter or oil in this Avocado Chocolate Banana Bread?!?

2013-07-04T19:58:00.000-04:00

I think I'm on to something - a total money saver and a nutrition increaser.

Or maybe not...

Maybe I'll eat more of it because it is justifiable, but I'm actually decreasing my health with the sugar intake...

Whatever.

Let me just tell you about what I think is totally amazing: Avocados.

Yes, avocados are amazing.

I'm probably the last person to realize it, but I didn't really enjoy eating them so I didn't eat them, and plus I'm not a trendy hipster who will eat avocados like they just might go out of style tomorrow.

So, you must be wondering how I'm eating them if even I could enjoy them.

I bake them... into yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmy treats!!!

Instead of using oil or butter in this banana bread, I added puréed/blended avocados.

And it's cheaper than butter!

Avocado Chocolate Banana Bread

Just so you know, I made the same cake last week and used olive oil (1/3 cup), instead of avocados.

I also used blueberries, rather than chocolate chips.

Wicked cool, huh?

Blueberry Banana Crumble Bread

Recipe for Avocado Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Bread:
1 cup mashed bananas (2-3 large)

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/2 an avocado
1/2 a cup of chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

Crumble:
1/4 cup butter
3 tbsp flour
3 tsp sugar

For the banana bread, beat the bananas, avocado, and sugar together in a mixmaster bowl.

Add the egg and continue beating.

With mixmaster at slow speed add the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

Add in the chocolate chips.

For the crumble, mix the butter, flour, and sugar in a small bowl.

Pour bread mixture into a loaf or small circular cake pan and top with the crumble mixture.

Bake in a 300 degree oven for 1 hour.

Banana Meatballs.

2013-06-29T22:13:00.000-04:00

The other day, I went to buy bananas in Chinatown.

There was a giant sign warning me not to take apart the banana bundles so I didn't.

As a result of that experience, I usually buy the whole bundle, regardless of where I go grocery shopping.

I can only eat so many bananas until the inevitable "bruising and browning" start.

Usually I default to frozen bananas or banana bread, but I wanted to do something different.

So I made meatballs.

Yes, BANANANANANANANANA MEATBALLSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!

You are probably thinking that the idea of adding a banana into meatballs is really wild, but.. it's not.

To me, bananas have a tropical flavour... just like pineapples, and people add pineapples to tons of stuff:

smoothies, pizza, sweet and sour pork, and....... even meatballs!

It was a little risky, not because I made up the recipe, BUT because I had never made meatballs before and I was still getting use to the oven in my place.

The meatballs turned out well!

They were tasty and the banana flavour was subtle.

I had some extra meat, so I'll let you know what I did with it another time.

Recipe for Banana Meatballs

1 pound (?) of ground pork
1 mashed banana
1/2 chopped onion
1 tsp fresh basil
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup Cha Sui sauce - aka Asian bbq sauce
1 tsp Siracha hot sauce
1 slice of bread
1/4 cup of hoisin sauce
3 chopped green onions

Mix in a giant bowl.

Make into balls.

Preheat the oven for 300F-ish.

Bake for 30 minutes or until cooked...

Then eat them! Maybe make a meatball sub with an Asian coleslaw! YUM.

What to do with eleven yolks?

2013-06-16T14:01:00.004-04:00

This was from a while ago and I just forgot to post it up.

My friend made an angel cake and had 11 egg yolks left over.

I had a feeling that he didn't have enough time to make something neat and didn't want to eat a giant high in cholesterol omelette, so he gave the yolks to me.

I didn't know what to do 11 yolks, but thank goodness for Google.

I found this site, which lists recipes by the number of yolks in the recipe.

One yolk, two yolk, three yolk..... four. Very Dr. Seuss.

Unfortunately, nine and eleven yolk recipes are are harder to find.

I just improvised and used a twelve yolk recipe.

Lower in cholesterol than the normal 12 yolk recipe. A very good selling point.

There were two recipes that used 12 yolks: a Gold Cake and a Daffodil Cake.

I used the Gold Cake Recipe, but modified it by adding lavender. Still a flowery cake.

Recipe for Gold Cake
Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter, softened <-- I used coconut oil
1 1/2 cups white sugar <-- I didn't have enough so I mixed it with brown sugar
1 cup egg yolks <-- I have no idea if 11 egg yolks is equal to 1 cup. Looked pretty close
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
Lavender stuff.. dried lavender

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8 inch round pans. I used 2 loaf pans.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
3. Cream butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl. Add egg yolks and vanilla; beat until fluffy.
4. I think they forgot to say when to add the vanilla extract so I did it right about here...
5. I warmed up the milk and steeped some lavender stuff.
6. Add milk to butter mixture in 2 parts alternately with flour mixture in 3 parts, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Spread in prepared pans. Tossed in some more lavender stuff.
7. Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until an inserted wooden pick comes out clean. I added 3 minutes for small loaf and 5 minutes for larger loaf.

Original recipe for the Gold Cake here and the recipe for the Daffodil Cake here.

Chewy Chocolate Lavender Cookies

2013-05-18T14:43:00.003-04:00

I recently moved to a new city and I just realized that I haven't blogged in over a month. .

I have been baking or trying to at least, but every time that I decided to make something, I realized that I was missing something. Mildly frustrating.

For instance, I tried to make Pineapple Muffins... but half way through making a mess in the kitchen, I realized that I didn't have butter or oil. I compromised and used yogurt... because that was the only potential substitute.

It wasn't a total success.. or a failure... The muffins just had a weird gummy texture... like the texture that you get from adding too much protein powder to muffins... yeah, I'm sure everyone can relate with that example.

Today, I was set on sticking to a recipe and I tried not to go "off the grid". I wanted to test out a cookie recipe that included corn starch...

For me to follow this recipe, I had to pick up the baking essentials: butter, brown sugar, apparently corn starch, and a baking tray.

Yes!!! A NEW TRAY!!! I was very excited to test out a new tray. Ah, I love buying new bake ware. It's like buying a new pair of shoes. Just amazing.

Chewy Chocolate Lavender Cookies

The cookies turned out well, but of course, I had to get creative. I added lavender... I wonder if anyone will notice that the cookies taste like SUMMER!!

Oh, I also baked the cookies for 9 minutes (vs 11 minutes) because I'm still getting use to the oven, which runs a little hotter than my previous oven... I think.

Recipe for Chewy Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients
2 and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, spoon & leveled
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup light brown sugar, loosely packed (I lowered it to 1/2 cup... just because)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
I also added ~2 to 3 teaspoons of lavender

Instructions
- Toss together the flour, baking soda, cornstarch and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a medium size bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain. Whisk in the egg, then the egg yolk. Finally, whisk in the vanilla.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula. The dough will be very soft. Fold in the chocolate chips. They may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but do your best to have them evenly dispersed among the dough. *** instead of adding the wet into the dry, I added the dry to the wet.. what I usually do...
- Cover the dough and chill for 2 hours, or up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory.
- Take the dough out of the refrigerator and allow to slightly soften at room temperature for 10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 325F degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Roll the dough into balls, about 3 Tablespoons of dough each. The dough will be crumbly, but the warmth of your hands will allow the balls to stay intact. Roll the cookie dough balls to be taller rather than wide, to ensure the cookies will bake up to be thick. See this post for more clarity and a photo. Put 8 balls of dough onto each cookie sheet. Press a few more chocolate chips/chunks on top of the dough balls for looks, if desired.
- Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes. The cookies will look very soft and underbaked. Do not bake longer than 12 minutes. They will continue to bake on the cookie sheet. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

Read more from the source: Sallys Baking Addiction

High Rising Muffins: The Banana Chocolate Version

2013-04-09T21:30:00.001-04:00

SURPRISE... I made muffins again...

It seems that all I do is make cupcakes and muffins. I guess the muffin liners appeal to me. Less clean up.

I wanted to make some of those nice high rise muffins. You know, like the ones at Starbucks and Second Cup?

Maybe it's because I've been looking at some new housing situations. I'm really digging those high rise apartments.

Nice view. Who wouldn't want that?

Banana Chocolate Muffins

I found out that there are three things that may help to make a muffin to rise higher:

1. A super hot oven temperature.
I'm talking like 400-425, maybe even 450 degrees F.

I baked my muffins for 8 min at 425F, then I dropped the temperature down to 350F for another 8 or so, until done.

2. A scoopable batter.
Yeah, I know scoopable isn't a word, but it's my blog. All I mean is that the batter shouldn't be runny or pourable.

It must be thick-ish. I used my normal Banana Muffin Recipe, but I added some coco powder (~1/2 cup) to thicken up the batter.

I've used this so many times... but I can't seem to remember if the batter actually needed the coco powder... I think it was borderline pourable and that is why I added it.

3. Fill the muffin pan almost to the top.
None of this 3/4 full business. Half or 2/3 fullness is for cupcakes and we are making muffins.

Overall, I think it turned out pretty well. In fact, I will probably do these three things every time I make muffins.

The only down side would be that it may take a little bit longer for the oven to preheat. Yeah, bummer.

I also found that I made fewer muffins... which wasn't a surprise since I filled them higher. Not a bad thing, but just something to keep in mind if you decide to do these three things... do it...

Strawberry Muffins.

2013-04-03T23:22:00.000-04:00

I made some strawberry muffins.

It turned out fine, considering the recipe was titled Whole Wheat Apple Oat Muffins and I didn't use any apples.

Strawberry Muffins

If I would make it again, I would pat the strawberries dry before adding them into the recipe.

Actually, if I would make it again, I would just follow the recipe and use apples, instead of strawberries.

Recipe for Whole Wheat Apple Oat Muffins
The original recipe supposedly makes about 14 muffins, but I didn't really follow the recipe and I think I made only 12...

I also forgot to do the crumb part. OOPS.

Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed, divided into two 1/4 cups
1 large egg
1 cup (8 ounces) milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large apples, peeled, cored, + chopped into small cubes (about 2 to 2 1/2 heaping cups), preferably Honeycrisps, Fujis or Galas – I used strawberries .... pea sized bits

Directions:

preheat the oven to 450°F. grease + flour the cups of a muffin tin (or use muffin cup liners) + set aside.

mix together the flours, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, allspice + cinnamon, + set aside. in a separate bowl, cream the butter + sugars until fluffy. add the egg + mix well. add the milk + vanilla + mix again. then add the dry ingredients, mix + fold in the apple chunks (aka chopped up strawberries) with a spatula (by hand).

divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling to the top of the cup, sprinkling the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar on top (about 1 teaspoon per muffin). bake for 10 minutes, turn the heat down to 400°F, + bake for an additional 5 – 7 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. cool the muffins for 5 minutes in the tin, then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

I ended up baking an additional 3 minutes because they seemed too moist... note to self: pat dry.

Dulce de Leche Stuffed Cupcakes.

2013-03-19T11:51:00.000-04:00

I made some cupcakes again. Seems to be the story of my life lately.

Hey, I'm not complaining. I like doing it.

These ones were stuffed with Dulce de Leche.

What is that, you might ask? Well, it sort of tastes like caramel.

I used a Crockpot and made some from condensed milk, not evaporated milk.

Confusing, yes, I know. They both end in "milk" and come in small little cans.

I wouldn't know what would happen if I used evaporated milk... I suppose it wouldn't taste as good.

Dulce de Leche Stuffed Cupcakes

Each cupcake was bursting with that ooey gooey dulce goodness.

... and didn't stop filling them until I had a sea of cupcakes. Big ones, mini ones.. ugly ones, pretty ones...

Recipe for Dulce de Leche
Ingredients:
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
Crockpot
Foil or heat proof plate
Water

Instructions:
Remove the paper from the can of milk.

Plate a piece of foil or a heat proof plate on the bottom of the crockpot to protect it from rust building up on the can during cooking.

Set the can of milk on the plate or foil and cover completely with water then attach crockpot lid.

Depending on how much time you have... you can cook the dulce de leche in one of two ways...

1. On HIGH: Cook for 4-6 hours. 5 hours seems to make a good consistency, but go 6 if you want it thicker.
2. On LOW: Cook 8 hours.

CAUTION: Make sure that the can remains covered AT ALL TIMES. Allowing the water to boil off could cause the can to explode.

Allow can to come to room temperature before opening.

Store in air tight container up to a week in the refrigerator.

Recipe from here

Roast them nuts.

2013-03-10T20:07:00.002-04:00

If you didn't know that I'm crazy for nuts, I guess I'm hiding it well. I'm talking about the culinary kind...

Anyways... I eat them everyday and I will probably continue to. I mix them into my oatmeal, add them into my trail mixes, or cover them with chocolate... I could go on.

In grad school, I had a jar of peanut butter by my desk and I practically spread that butter on everything so it's not surprising that if it came down to it, I would eat a peanut butter and jam sandwich everyday to satisfy my craving.

Maybe that is a little extreme. I would probably stop after the first year or so, but to avoid that weird situation from happening, I roasted some almonds and pecans.

I dry roasted some, made some salty, and also made some sweet.

Salted Almonds

Honey Cinnamon Candied Pecans

Oh, did you know that nuts are actually fruit? Apparently walnuts are fruit, but almonds, cashews, and peanuts are seeds.

I know I reference Wiki a lot, but I suppose that it's fine since they give a shout out to epidemiological studies in the Nutritional Benefit section. Isn't epi soo cool? ;)

Recipe for Salted Almonds
2 cups (500 mL) whole almonds
2 teaspoons (10 mL) canola oil (I used coconut oil)
salt... I forgot to measure the amount

Preheat the oven to 300F.

Combine all ingredients in small bowl, and toss to coat. Spread almonds on a parchment-covered baking sheet.

Bake at 300F for 15 minutes. Set pan on wire rack, and let cool 10 minutes.

Recipe for Honey Cinnamon Candied Pecans
2 cups (500 mL) whole almonds (I used pecans)
1/4 cup (60 mL) maple syrup (I used honey)
2 teaspoons (10 mL) canola oil (I used coconut oil)
2 teaspoons (10 mL) vanilla
1 tablespoon (15 mL) cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 300 F.

Combine all ingredients in small bowl, and toss to coat. Spread pecans on a parchment- or foil-covered baking sheet. Bake 20 to 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until sugar is caramelized. Set pan on wire rack, and let cool 10 minutes. Break apart any nuts that have stuck together, and serve.

Ps I baked them for only 20 minutes. After they cool, store in a air tight container. Eat them on their own, add them to salads, mix them into your trail mix, or whatever else you want to do.

Directions for Dry Roasting
2 cups of almonds/pecans

Preheat the oven to 300F. Spread almonds/pecans on a parchment-covered baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Set pan on wire rack, and let cool 10 minutes.

Chocolate cupcakes with the best frosting ever.

2013-03-05T13:36:00.000-05:00

People like looking at food pictures, especially instagram-ish, filtered-added photos.

So here you go... feast your eyes on some cupcakes that I made.

Chocolate cupcakes with a flour frosting

Yup... I added flour to the frosting and it is the best frosting ever.

The flour stabilizes the frosting without adding a ton of sugar... in fact, I usually lower the sugar content so I'm not abusing my little Islets of Langerhans. Yes, sometimes I'm health conscious.

Since you have to beat the crap out of it, it takes a little more time and effort than your average Joe buttercream frosting.

It is super light and fluffy... like whipped cream and it's totally worth the extra effort.

This just might be my go-to-frosting-recipe. Trust me.... it's awesome.

Recipe for the Flour Frosting
Ingredients:

5 Tablespoons Flour
1 cup Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Butter
1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar!)

Directions:

Bake your favorite chocolate cake and let it cool.

In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. You want it to be very thick, thicker than cake mix, more like a brownie mix is. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. (If I’m in a hurry, I place the saucepan over ice in the sink for about 10 minutes or so until the mixture cools.) It must be completely cool before you use it in the next step. Stir in vanilla.

While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. You don’t want any sugar graininess left. Then add the completely cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat the living daylights out of it. If it looks separated, you haven’t beaten it enough! Beat it until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.

Original recipe found here

Dried plum and banana muffins.

2013-03-01T14:35:00.000-05:00

Well, hello there. It seems that I've been on a little hiatus from this blog.

Don't worry, I have still been baking away ;) .... I just haven't been taking pictures of these adventures. Who wants to read a blog post with only text? Not this girl, at least... and that is why I haven't been blogging.

I should take more pictures. My brother takes a ton of pictures and documents practically everything in photo form. He has a cool fisheye lens that he uses to make cool-looking pictures. Maybe I should get one too... but then I would have to carry it around and I already carry enough things... like lip balm. So maybe I won't get one.

Anyways... I made some muffins and took some pictures today. Yay...

Dried plum and banana ones.

Dried plum? yeah. Totally out of this world.

Never tried one? Well, I'm sure you have if I told you they are prunes... haha..

By the way, I read that the "European Food Safety Agency has ruled that prunes are not a laxative and can't be sold as such". Well.. that is good to hear I guess, but I'll think twice about reaching for that second muffin... even if it isn't a laxative...

I put some dried plums (maybe 1.5 cups) in the blender with some hot water and added that mixture to my usual banana muffin recipe. I also decreased the white sugar by half and added some vanilla extract and cinnamon.

Recipe for Dried Plum and Banana Muffins

1 mashed banana
maybe a generous 1 cup of blended dried plums

1/3 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup melted margarine OR shortening OR oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Beat the bananas, dried plums, and sugar together in a mixmaster bowl.

Add the egg and continue beating.

Slowly pour in margarine and continue beating. Then add the vanilla extract.

With mixmaster at slow speed add the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

Pour into 12 lined muffin tins.

Bake in a 300 degree oven for 30 minutes or in 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

I baked them at 350 for 19 minutes.

Care for a cup of hot coco?

2012-02-08T21:05:00.001-05:00

The problem with hot chocolate is that it can spill everywhere.

My solution: turn it into a cookie.

Yeah... I pretty much turn everything into cookie form. I like cookies.

They were pretty good. Nice and chewy. No spillage.

Recipe for Hot Coco Cookies
1 cup margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup marshmallows
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the margarine, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Sift in the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder; mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips.
3. Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls and place them one inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from here.

Meringue Cookies.

2011-12-22T22:26:00.000-05:00

I had to use up a few egg whites so I made Meringues.

I had a minor freak out because I thought I had messed up.

The egg whites weren't whipping up/holding their shape.

But everything worked out. It just took a while.... LIKE FOREVER.

Luckily, I have a stand mixture so I walked around the kitchen as the egg mixture whipped, and whipped and... whipped some more.

I got fancy and added skor bits on top.

I also didn't leave them in the oven over night (like the recipe says to) so it wasn't "airy" through out the cookie. I baked them for the 20 minutes and then took them out. They were chewy and more fun to eat.

WOOOOT!!

Recipe for Meringue Cookies:

3 large egg whites (3 ounces or 90 grams)

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

3/4 cup (150 grams) superfine or caster sugar (if you don't have superfine sugar simply take granulated white sugar and process it for about 30-60 seconds in a food processor)

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. You can form the cookies with a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) plain tip, or I often just use two spoons to make the cookies.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on low-medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat the whites until they hold soft peaks. Add the sugar, a little at a time, and continue to beat, on medium-high speed, until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. Beat in the vanilla extract.

Note: The meringue is done when it holds stiff peaks and when you rub a little between your thumb and index finger it does not feel gritty. If it feels gritty the sugar has not fully dissolved so keep beating until it feels smooth between your fingers.

Before placing the cookies on the cookie sheet, place a little of the meringue on the underside of each corner of the parchment paper. This will prevent the paper from sliding. Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) tip. Pipe 2 1/2 inch (6 cm) rounds of meringue in rows on the prepared baking sheet. Alternatively, spoon mounds of meringue, using two spoons, onto the prepared sheets. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with a few shaved almonds, if desired.

Bake the meringues for approximately 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, rotating the baking sheet from front to back (about half way through) to ensure even baking. The meringues are done when they are pale in color and fairly crisp. (The meringues will release easily from the parchment paper.) Turn off the oven, open the door a crack, and leave the meringues in the oven to finish drying several hours or overnight. The meringues can be covered and stored at room temperature for several days.

Makes about 10 - 2 1/2 inch (6 cm) meringues (or more if they are smaller...)

Recipe from Joy of Baking

Revamping

2011-12-11T17:45:00.001-05:00

It's hard not to notice, but just in case you didn't... I'm revamping the site. :)

Piña Colada Egg Tarts.

2011-12-11T16:30:00.000-05:00

I just realized that I forgot to post this a long time ago. Ooops.

I modified a recipe to make some Piña Colada Egg Tarts.

I didn't actually modify a recipe. I think I just made it up. At least they looked like the egg tarts that I made previously.

The Piña Colada flavor was noticeable but the texture was runny. Maybe it was because I used fewer eggs (although I can't even remember how many I used so that's not very helpful) and Piña Colada liquid drink mix, instead of powdered sugar. I should have added corn starch or something.

I guess I can't post the recipe because I don't remember the proportions. Besides the liquid drink mix and eggs, I think I added some milk too. Or was it cream? Maybe I did add some corn starch to thicken it up. I think this blog post should win an award like "Most uninformative" or something.

Chocolate Cupcakes

2011-11-18T20:26:00.001-05:00

Ellen, one of my baking buds, and I made some cupcakes for Guts on Ice, a fundraiser for crohn's and colitis.

They were having a bake sale. It was for a good cause and who could say no to skating with hockey players?

We topped the cupcakes with stuff in attempt to make them look cute and irresistible.

I must say that we were successful in making a mess of Ellen's kitchen.

I took a few pictures with my phone. It's proof that I'm not making this up.

Chocolate cupcakes with a Jackson Pollock inspired caramel drizzle.
Total art.

These ones were topped with crushed candy cane.
We have to get people in the festive mood with only 36 days til Christmas.

Gum balls. Plenty of balls. Red, yellow, green, blue too...

Another picture of the caramel ones. We also put caramel inside.
Caramel to the max? Yes, I think so.

Cinnamon Rolls

2011-10-14T00:15:00.001-04:00

I've never made cinnamon buns before... until now.

It's not too difficult.

It just takes time... and love.

Mostly just time... and maybe some cinnamon.

Cinnamon rolls

And yes, I took a picture of the ugly one that doesn't look like a roll.

Just use your imagination and pretend it looks pretty.

At least it was very tasty.

Remember, "looks aren't everything".

I read that the longer you let the bread buns rise.. the higher and fluffier they will be...

So I left them alone and they just did their thing...

Got very high. Got very twisty.

Added a little bit of icing to top it off.

Recipe for Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients for Dough:
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 4 cups all-purpose flour

Ingredients for Filling:
- 3/4 cup brown sugar (I used 1/2 cup)
- 2 tablespoon ground cinnamon (I used 4 teaspoons)
- 1/4 cup melted butter (I used 1/8 cup room temp butter... maybe less)

Topping:
- Use whatever icing you want... cream cheese frosting? my fav...

Directions:

- In a small bowl, dissolve 1 teaspoon sugar and yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter and salt; stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm.

- In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture, milk mixture, eggs and 1 1/2 cup flour; stir well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

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

- Combine remaining 3/4 cup brown sugar and cinnamon; set aside.

- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, roll into an 18x14 inch rectangle. Spread butter over the dough, leaving 1/2 inch border uncovered; sprinkle with brown sugar cinnamon mixture.

- Starting at long side, tightly roll up, pinching seam to seal. Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons butter (I skipped this step).

- With serrated knife, cut into 15 pieces; place cut side down, in prepared pan. OR... Do this trick for cutting the rolls without mashing the dough: take a piece of thread, slide it under the roll, cross the thread and pull quickly.

- Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in volume. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

- Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool in pan for 3 minutes, then invert onto serving platter. Cover with icing.

Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies

2011-10-09T01:00:00.000-04:00

What should I do with left over cream cheese frosting?

Make cookies.

But what if I can't find a recipe...

So make one up.

Ok.

Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies

I had a ton of frosting left over and I was too lazy to bake a cake.

I wanted to make cookies. The only problem was that I couldn't find a recipe to convert frosting into cookies.

So I tried to think of other uses for frosting.

I even googled it.

Someone thought that spreading frosting on toast constituted as a creative way to use up extra frosting. Um, I beg to differ.

Frosting isn't very versatile because it is very sweet.

I was afraid that if I made cookies, they would be too sweet and would give people an intense sugar rush.

Sometimes people need that feeling, but most people end up with headaches from consuming a lot of sugar.

To avoid that, I decided to add in a sour element, like lemon zest or lemon juice. I used both.

And... voila, Lemon Cookies!

They turned out. Love when that happens.

Recipe for Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies

Ingredients:
- Some left over cream cheese frosting (perhaps 2 cups...), here are some measurements, but they are total guesses:
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 (3 ounces) package cream cheese, softened
2 cup powdered sugar (maybe... it was more?)
1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- Lemon zest from 1 lemon
- 2 teaspoons of lemon juice
- 1 egg
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoons baking powder

Instructions:
In a large bowl, combine the powdered sugar, butter, cream cheese, salt.

Add in egg, almond extract, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Beat until smooth.

Stir in flour, baking soda, and baking powder until well blended.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Refrigerate dough.

Form balls and place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 7 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until light and golden brown.

Egg muffins.

2011-10-01T17:59:00.002-04:00

Eggs. Plenty of ways to cook them.

I got this idea from here.

Not sure if I can call these muffins.

They don't even look like muffins, but they were made in a muffin pan.

Egg "Muffins"

Very simple to make.

Just crack an egg into a muffin holder.

I didn't beat the eggs but I did poke the yolk. I've been told that they can explode, but that's when you cook 'em in the microwave oven.

I used the regular oven for these muffin things.

You can add whatever you want to each egg. Some people line the sides with bacon or use deli meat as "muffin" liners.

I added left overs. One was chicken. The other was pork.

Oh and don't forget the cheese. People like it.

I used a silicon non-stick muffin pan and I had no problems taking them out.

The picture, however, has some problems. It's blurry, but I'll just blame it on the extreme heat from the food. Distortion and whatnot.

Anyways, cooking eggs this way is very simple. Easy as pie... or muffin.

Maybe next time I'll wrap the sides in bacon or something.

Recipe for Egg Muffins

Preheat your oven to 400F.

Use a silicon pan or Spray your muffin tin with nonstick spray/oil.

Push one slice of turkey into each muffin hole or line sides with bacon.

Mix eggs, salt and pepper, and whatever else you want add.

Distribute evenly in each muffin cup. Then top with a small sprinkle of cheese.

Bake for 25-35 mins, depending on how brown you want the muffins.

Pop out and enjoy!!

Bacon, Bacon, Bacon.

2011-09-24T22:33:00.000-04:00

Today, my dad roasted a whole pig in the backyard.

I've only heard about pig roasting parties that have happened on farms.

I was concerned with city violations and bylaws.

My dad didn't break any. Yay...

To go along with this whole pig theme, I made Maple Bacon Cupcakes and Dark Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes.

Topped them with Candied Bacon and Cream Cheese Frosting.

Bacon three ways.

Maple Bacon Cupcakes and Dark Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes.

Very Epic Meal Time.

Bacon strips, bacon strips, bacon strips...

This bacon was from the butcher.

Dark Chocolate Bacon Cupcake

Don't shoot me, but I'm not a huge bacon fan.

I thought this cupcake was strange.

Tasted like a chocolate cupcake with weird bits.

I think bacon lovers would appreciate it more than I did.

I made 2 dozen of these ones.

Maple Bacon Cupcakes

I screwed up the conversions and the amounts in the recipe. Oops.

I ended up with 3 dozen of these cupcakes. So in total, I made 60 cupcakes today.

The first 2 dozen of the maple cupcakes were not as moist and the last dozen was perfect.

I baked them for the same amount of time... I guess the oven was acting up...

The maple cupcake was not a super sweet cupcake. More of a cornbread muffin thing.

Both cupcakes went well with the frosting.

The chocolate recipe seemed like less of a hassle.

Normal flour. No mixer needed. Win.

The maple recipe needed self-rising flour, which I tried to make. I think that is where I went wrong. I ended up with a ridiculous amount of baking powder in the recipe.

I also needed to use the mixer to beat the butter. I hate washing dishes so the Maple cupcake was the underdog from the start.

Recipe for Dark Chocolate Bacon Cupcake
makes 24/ 375F oven

12 slices bacon
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 eggs
1 cup cold, strong, brewed coffee
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, 3/4 cup cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Make a well in the center and pour in the eggs, coffee, buttermilk and oil. Stir just until blended. Mix in 3/4 of the bacon, reserving the rest for garnish. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, dividing evenly.

Bake in the preheated oven until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan set over a wire rack. When cool, arrange the cupcakes on a serving platter. Frost with your favorite chocolate frosting and sprinkle reserved bacon crumbles on top. Dust with additional cocoa powder.

Recipe from All recipes.

Recipe for Maple Bacon Cupcakes
Makes 6 / 350F oven

4 1/2 tablespoons of butter, room temperature
1/2 tablespoon of bacon drippings (left in the fridge to become solid)1 egg
5 tablespoons of brown sugar
4 tablespoons maple syrup
1 1/4 cup of self rising flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
tiny tiny pinch of kosher salt
1/4 cup of milk
1/4 cup of minced bacon, cooked and drained

Cook some bacon in a fry pan (about 6 thick strips). Reserve the drippings and place in the fridge to solidify. Mince 1/4 a cup of the bacon. The chef should eat whatever is left to assure that the bacon is tasty.Beat the crud out of the butter and solidified bacon fat 'till light and creamy. Add the brown sugar and maple syrup and beat well until combined.
Add the egg and beat until incorporated.Sift the flour, salt, baking soda and powder together.

Add some of the flour and mix, then some of the milk, then continue to alternate the dry and wet ingredients, ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in the bacon. Taste and add more maple syrup, flour, or milk if needed for desired taste. Keep in mind the maple frosting is very sweet, and to add in very small increments for alterations as maple syrup in large amounts can break a cake batter.

Scoop into cupcake papers and bake at 350 F for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Be sure to rotate the pan after the first 15 minutes for even baking.

Recipe from Vanilla Garlic

Peanut Butter Cookies, Again.

2011-09-20T23:01:00.001-04:00

I made some cookies for a friend.

This friend of mine had used my school desk as a food storage area for the entire year. It wasn't a big deal.

I didn't mind. I was just thankful it wasn't a pair of smelly old socks or something.

You are probably wondering, "Why would I make cookies for someone who was all up in my space?"

Yeah, I have no idea.

But recently, there was an office move so my friend had to do some spring cleaning. Or should I say fall cleaning?

Anyways, all that was left was a sad-looking-half-empty jar of peanut butter. So I decided to swipe it and make cookies.

I used this recipe almost a year ago and totally forgot.

They look smaller this time... because they are.

Some of them are also filled with a chocolatey goodness.

Oh, and I changed the baking temperature and time.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Chewy center, Crispy top = Win.

Stuffed with chocolate. These are like a reversed Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.

Don't worry, I didn't give them all away. I kept plenty for myself.

Recipe for Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter

3/4 cup peanut butter (maybe I used closer to a cup)

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoons baking soda

chocolate for stuffing (optional- I used dairy milk)

Cream together butter, peanut butter and sugars. Beat in the egg.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir into batter. Put batter in refrigerator for 1 hour.

Roll into 1 inch balls and put on baking sheets. Flatten each ball with a fork, making a criss-cross pattern. If you want to stuff the cookie... now would be the time to do it. Make sure the entire chocolate is covered in cookie batter.

Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F oven for about 8-9 minutes or until cookies begin to brown. Do not over-bake.

Piña Colada Cupcakes with Almond Buttercream Frosting.

2011-09-10T21:12:00.004-04:00

"If you like Piña Coladas, and getting caught in the rain..." then you might like these cupcakes.

Don't worry, you don't need to be into yoga but having a brain would be good.

Piña Colada Cupcakes with Almond Buttercream Frosting.

I have trouble sleeping in. I don't know why that is and today was no exception.

Maybe it's because my window blinds are filled with tiny holes/slots and don't actually block out the light in the morning. I'm also aware that it's possible for people to see into my room at night. Definitely creeps me out just thinking about it. And no, I didn't choose these window blinds, but I'm too lazy to change them now.

Or maybe it's because I wake up at the same time almost everyday. Circadian rhythms and whatnot.

Regardless, I was super tired this morning but all I wanted to do was bake something different.

Probably not the best idea to make substitutions for almost everything in the recipe so I'm not going to post it. I'm not even sure I can remember it.

Don't worry, the cupcake turned out fine. Very moist. Always a good thing.

I'm not sure why these cupcakes stuck to the cupcake liners, which of course made it difficult to take off the liner.

Maybe it was because I double layered the cupcakes. I've never done that before and I'm not sure why I did. Probably because I was so tired.

Maybe if I had baked them longer, they would have come off clean.

Whatever. So many maybes.

Update: Now that the cupcakes have cooled, they don't stick to the liners.

I also decided to post the recipe but just keep in mind that most of the measurements are approximate.

Recipe for Piña Colada Cupcakes with Almond Buttercream Frosting:
For the Cupcake:
1 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp each baking powder and baking soda
1/6 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup pina colada drink mix (you can substitute honey, but then you won't have pina colada cupcakes... you would have honey cupcakes)
1 large egg

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line 9 muffin cups with paper liners.

2. Mix flour, baking powder,baking soda and salt in medium bowl to blend.

3. Beat butter and pina colada drink mix in large bowl with an electric mixer 3 or 4 minutes until well mixed. Beat in egg until blended.

4. With mixer on low speed, beat in half the flour mixture, then the milk. Beat in remaining flour mixture until just combined.

5. Spoon about 1/4 cup batter into each muffin cup. Bake 14 to 17 minutes until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove cupcakes from pan to wire rack to cool completely.

For Almond Buttercream Frosting:
1/2 cup of unsalted butter, softened
pinch of salt
2 cups of icing sugar
splash of pina colada drink mix (I want to say 1/4 cup but that might be too much)
another splash of almond extract (I think it might have been 1 Tbsp, maybe not)

1. Beat the butter and slowly add in the icing sugar.
2. Add in the salt.
3. Add in the liquid to desired taste and texture.
4. Just let the mixer beat and beat until light and fluffy.