bake till golden

Fake-Cakes for Fake Holiday! Happy Valentine’s!

2014-02-11T17:12:00.000-05:00

okay so the title is a bit dreary. but really people. valentine’s day? what a crock. please, if you’re out there, heed my advice: use EVERY day to express your love. not just this coming friday.

i won’t rant too hard, especially since i caved for the masses and made a pink + heart + sweet concoction that could be mistaken for a valentine’s treat (you’re right… it’s hard to look past the timing of said non-holiday treat). check it out for yourself – pink lemonade fake-cakes:

this is the easiest “cake” you will ever put together. it requires minimal ingredients and no baking – i call that a win. they are pretty darn tasty. it’s kind of like pie with extra crust (which is what we all want anyway).

actually i should probably back track – i tried to get fancy with the hearts and chocolate drape, and actually made a mess. but you can just skip over that part.

the main cake is illustrated below – just layer graham crackers with a mixture of sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice. let it melt together overnight, then cut up some pieces. or not – you could stack higher and make look like a legit cake, which is superbly elegant.

if you’re in for a hurtin’, you try to punch out a bunch of hearts with a cookie cutter… you slowly realize this is moving way too slowly and is making quite the mess, so you quickly resort to cutting small “petit fours” instead - so. much. easier.

then, you try to get reaaaal fancy and make them actually look like petit fours by covering them in chocolate. you try the poured fondant method and you destroy them. nearly all of them. you get smart, finally, and try scooping a bit of chocolate on the cakes and spreading it around. but that takes forever. you give up, and just eat them.

so, are you ready?

chocolate covered pink lemonade fake-cakes (makes a bunch)

equipment:
long piece of foil
spatula
heart cookie cutter (or other shapes, or large knife)

ingredients:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lemon juice
2-3 drops pink gel food coloring gel (or few drops of red liquid food coloring)
1 box honey graham crackers
16 oz pink baking chips (or any of your favorite colors or chocolates)
2-3 tsp coconut oil (or other variety)

the fake cake:

mix together the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and food coloring until well incorporated.
on a long piece of foil, lay out your graham crackers 4 long and 2 deep (if you’re planning on keeping it a cake, you can always narrow the dimension and stack higher – much more grand). i dotted the foil with some of the milk mix to keep the grahams steady but this made it difficult to lift up the pieces later – pick your poison.
pour a generous half cup of the milk mix onto the graham crackers and spread evenly to the edges.
add another layer of graham crackers, then milk mix, then crackers, and lastly milk mix.
gently wrap the foil up the edges and tent over the top, and leave in the refrigerator overnight. this right here is good enough to serve. just slice like a cake and hand out – it’ll look like you baked a hundred layers and labored for hours. mwahah.

get fancy:

using a cookie cutter or knife, cut the cake into your desired shape. have patience if you’re going the cookie cutter route! otherwise, 1-inch squares make for cute petit fours.
melt your baking chips over a double boiler (or in the microwave). stir in the oil.
to cover small 1-inch squares, use about 1 tbsp of chocolate – scoop on top of cake and use spatula to spread down the four sides. allow to set. repeat. over, and over, and over again.
i welcome anyone with a chocolate covering method that is faster than the above – i tried to just pour it over a wire rack but that definitely didn’t work!

eat, love, and hit the gym next week!

Keepin’ it Classic

2014-01-22T09:52:00.002-05:00

baking has taken lots of creative turns in the past several years. weird spins on classic desserts are pretty much to be expected in trendy bakeshops and hipster cakeries. but sometimes, you just gotta go old school.

that’s where these lemon bars come in:

now this is a dessert that can do no wrong. bake up a good lemon bar recipe and you’re winning hearts all around the dinner table. i’ve never made them from scratch before but when i found them in an old cookbook, i decided it was time to bring back the classics.

this cookbook was quite the find for a pretty novice baker like myself. while staying in wilmington for a family medicine rotation a few years back, i frequented an eclectic used-bookstore. sometimes i would study at the quirky coffee bar nestled in the back of the store, but mostly i sat in a dim-lit corner, perusing dozens of old nutritional guides and vintage cookbooks.

one day, i came across volume 4 of family circle’s “illustrated library of cooking,” and being that the volumes were organized alphabetically, this one consisted of “cak-can.” read: “cake-candy.” i mean, it’s as if they made volume 4 juuust for me. i didn’t have a choice – i bought it.

it doesn’t get more old school than this – the publishing date was 1972. it’s pretty informative too, including information on everything from basic baking techniques, to classic sponge cake recipes, to even doctored cake-mixes and chocolate truffles. but i saw the lemon bars and fell in love. and so finally, with a few extra eggs in my fridge in need of love, i finally hunkered down and made them.

i made the crust first, and par-baked it:

then, i made the filling, poured it in, and baked again:

then its easy: remove, cool, cut, and serve!

this recipe didn’t need any alteration – just a doubling. give it a try – the taste is spot on!

old school lemon bars (makes 32 2-inch squares)
(double the original recipe by family circle “illustrated library of cooking”, vol. 4)

equipment:
13x9x2 baking pan
stand mixer

ingredients:
1 1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2/3 cup ground almonds
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 tsp lemon zest
4 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup flaked coconut

first, the crust:

mix together the flour, powdered sugar, and almonds.
add butter and mix till combined – this is easiest with your hands.
press crust mixture evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 13x9x2 glass baking pan.
bake at 350F for about 20 minutes, till it’s slightly puffy and golden. while it bakes, make the filling.

then, the filling:

in your stand mixer (or by hand if you’re arm strength is even remotely better than mine), combine eggs, sugar, zest, juice, baking powder, and salt – beat at medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until it gets fluffy.
stir in the coconut.
pour the mixture over the hot crust.
bake at 350F for 25 minutes, or until golden around the edges.
allow to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.

bon appetit!

Oreo Truffles – the way they were meant to be

2013-12-29T20:22:00.002-05:00

by now, anyone and everyone who likes to eat has made or consumed oreo truffles. it has got to be the easiest thing ever invented. i’ve made them dozens of times, mostly because they’re easy and they always pay off: oreos + cream cheese + chocolate. i don’t have to re-look up a recipe, i don’t have to figure out how long to bake it in the oven, i just mix two things together and dip it in chocolate. boom.

i’ve made a few variations here and there, including with mint oreos (total crowd pleaser), golden oreos with white chocolate (for the less chocolatey inclined folks), among others.

but what i’ve always wanted to do is mix it with pumpkin. some people have traded a tad bit of the cream cheese for pumpkin but i felt like trading in the whole thing.

then, one day while shopping in a craft store, i discovered something miraculous: salted caramel baking chips. what the heck? i know i know, its all chemicals and grossness, but whatever – so are oreos – and they both taste hella good.

so when mi madre brought me double-stuf instead of the regular oreos i needed, i thought, what tha heck – lets just do this already.

so i messed up the whole recipe and made the most bomtastic oreo truffles you’ve ever had. you’re welcome.

here’s your end result:

and here’s how you get that – first, gather up some ingredients.

then give your oreos a whir in the food processer. mix in the pumpkin (and some cinnamon, which i decided to do last minute).

scoop out – freeze - shape.

melt up your baking chips.

go dip crazy.

sink your teeth.

the end.

happy holiday no-dieting!

pumpkin caramel oreo truffles

equipment: food processor
cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
cookie scoop (or tablespoon)
narrow mug/cup
24 lollipop sticks (i halved 12 long ones)

ingredients:
1 package double-stuf oreos
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional – more like preferably)
12 oz salted caramel baking chips (or other flavors – note: if you use vegan choco, this whole recipe turns veganese)
1 tbsp canola oil

grind up the entire pack of oreos in a food processer, until a fine, sandy consistency.
add pumpkin and cinnamon, if using, and blend until a soft paste is formed. it’s a bit softer than if you were to make the original oreo truffles with cream cheese, but that’s okay. i promise.
scoop out tablespoon-size oreos (easiest with a cookie scoop) and plop them onto your parchment-lined cookie sheet. don’t worry about the shape just yet.
freeze those suckers for about 10 minutes.
remove from freezer and roll each truffle between your palms to make a more smooth ball shape. place back in freezer.
place caramel baking chips in a large, narrow mug and microwave on high for 30 seconds. remove from microwave and stir – then continue to microwave in 15 second increments, stirring between each round. this should hardly take 2 minutes, tops. the more you stir, the more it melts.
remove 4-5 truffles from the freezer to work on at a time. dip the end of a lollipop stick into the melted caramel, and stick into the center of a truffle. repeat with remaining truffles and give them a few seconds to set.
holding the truffle via it’s stick, dip into melted caramel. if you can’t dip it far enough to cover the whole thing, simply push the stick side to side or front to back, but don’t stir – the truffle could fall off if you do.
remove from cup and allow excess to drip off. place back on parchment and allow to set. repeat with others.
i found it helpful to reheat the caramel in the microwave in between batches, since dipping semi-frozen truffles can cause the caramel to cool quickly.

these are a bit softer than their originals but freezing helps make them managable. then, when kept at room temp or in the fridge, they are so deliciously creamy. the touch of cinnamon really makes it taste like a chocolate graham cracker. ugh. i want another one.

let me know what you think!

Merry Christmas – Haaappy Hooolidays!

2013-12-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

don’t just read the title of this post – sing it – like n’sync would.

oh to grow up in the 90s.

on that note, i thought you might like to see some cupcakes i pumped out with the cousins a few days ago. i had really high hopes for these “hi hat cupcakes” (pun intended). instead, a number of things went wrong:

for the second time this week, i overcooked my cupcakes and they stuck to the wrapper.
i didn’t realize i had to cook the frosting, with a hand blender, for 12 minutes.
the heat wasn’t high enough, so i actually cooked the frosting, with a hand blender, for 30 minutes. ow.
after all that, my frosting still sucked. tasted like marshmallow sand – so gritty.
when piped, the frosting didn’t stand as tall as i would have liked.
BUT – the decor turned out cute anyway. even though i had intended on all christmas trees, i ended up with a few elf hats secondary to lopsided frosting.

no worries folks – we ate them all anyway!

now eat and be merry!

And then came the holidays

2013-12-18T12:53:00.001-05:00

y'all - where has the time gone? i finished up a year of research that seemed to fly by with all the air miles i racked up, and then started back for my last year of med school - my last year - and it's already half way over. now i'm in the thick of interviewing for residency programs (blogging from the airport, where i seem to spend most my time these days).

can we take pause right quick and discuss how terrified i am? i spent my whole life working toward this, toward being a doctor. and come the month of may, i'll finally have those shiny letters behind my name. and then someone's going to ask me how to treat their pneumonia and i'm going to freak.

okay that's exaggerating but still - people are about to TRUST me. they are about to relinquish control and say, "doc - fix me." am i ready for this?!? i sure hope so.

the good thing is, i've got a supportive family and *fiance* to help me out. more on that one later ;)

segue into the pounds and pounds i've put on stress eating this past month. being back in school, interviewing all over the country, doing rotations abroad, planning a wedding - so many life changes and happenstances and i am stressed y'all.

so, though i've been stress-baking quite a bit through all the craziness of the past year, i was just too lazy to document it. shows what kind of blogger i am. in the midst of it all, however, i did happen to try my hand at cheese - wait for it - cake. cheesecake.

it seems like people are generally scared of baking a cheesecake. for me, it wasn't so much as scared as it was laziness (recurring theme, anyone?). it takes some effort to bake a good cheesecake. once you get the batter together, you have to bake it for over an hour, and then let it cool to room temp before you put it in the fridge until the neeeext daaaaay. that's when your cake is really ready to be unleashed from its spring-form pan and devoured by the masses.

i finally got over the laziness and found a coconut cheesecake recipe that i have made a dozen times now without fail - it always works. always. thank you alaska from scratch for this gem. people LOVE it!

i've essentially hoarded fresh cranberries this winter, so i decided to throw some in this cheesecake for a bit of holiday flair. it is as delicious as it is beautiful. let's just say i took it to a holiday gathering and everyone asked me where i bought it. that's right - it's sellable. i mean - just look at it:

all you have to do is bake a crust.
then sprinkle some cranberries and coconut across the bottom.
pour in the coconut cream cheese batter.
bake in a water bath.
cool completely – overnight.
whip up a quick cranberry topping.
dump it on your cake.
and marvel for two seconds prior to backing out a piece to test-drive.

so if you happen to find a day of patience during the hectic festivus seasons, i beg you to make this cake: you will have zero regrets.

*a note about cranberries: alton brown schooled me after i made this cake with the knowledge that cranberries are full of air (hence the popping noise they make when cooked). so, when you bake fresh cranberries in a cake, they will pop and release some air – this led to some weird bubbles under the surface of my cake which i’d never seen before. cutting through the cake didn’t reveal any gorgeous cross sections that i’d originally hoped for but it delivered on flavor nonetheless. tart and sweet can’t be beat. you could definitely try this recipe out with other berries that don’t have as much air content – blue or blackberries would be divine!

cranberry coconut cheesecake
adapted from alaska from scratch

equipment:
spring-form pan
small sauce pan
stand mixer with paddle attachment
large roasting pan
oven and stove top

crust:
1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (or 8 full crackers, crumbled in a blender)
5 tbsp white sugar
1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes
5 tbsp coconut oil, melted (or butter if you choose)

filling: 12 oz. fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup + 3 tbsp white sugar, divided
3/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes, divided
1 1/2 lb cream cheese, softened (3 8-oz packages, full fat is best)
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
7 oz coconut cream (or milk)

make the crust:

preheat oven to 350F.
for the crust, mix together all the ingredients and press into the bottom and half-way up the sides of a spring-form pan (in the pictures you'll see i lined the bottom of my spring-form with parchment paper, but that isn't really necessary - i just wanted to slide it off the pan and into a cake-caddy after. i also wrapped the outside of the pan with foil to prevent any water leakage during the actual cake baking process, but this is probably avoidable if you've got a decent-working pan).
bake for about 12 minutes, till golden brown.
remove from oven and let it cool completely.

do something with the cranberries:

toss the cranberries with 3 tbsp sugar and 1/4 cup shredded coconut.
sprinkle half the mixture directly onto the cooled crust.
cook the other half of the mixture in a small saucepan over medium heat, until the cranberries start to burst and release their natural pectin. stir and remove from heat to cool completely.

get to work on the filling:

decrease the oven temp to 325F.
beat the cream cheese in your stand mixer until smooth. be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to incorporate all the cheese.
add sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, and salt – beat until smooth.
add beaten eggs 1 tbsp at a time to the cream cheese mixture, mixing will after each addition.
add coconut cream and beat until combined.
pour cream cheese filling into the spring-form pan, covering the cranberries completely.
place the spring-form pan into a large roasting pan, and place this on the center rack of your oven. fill the roasting pan with hot water (i whipped some hot water up in my tea kettle), until water reaches half way up the sides of the pan.

bake, cool, decorate, serve:

bake for 65-75 minutes, until filling is set and jiggles slightly in the center when tapped.
for me, the easiest way to get the pan out of the oven without scalding myself with hot water is to slide the oven rack out and remove only the cheesecake. then you can remove the roasting pan with all its hot water after its cooled a bit.
allow the cheesecake to cool completely to room temperature. then, while still in the spring-form pan, place it in the fridge to cool at least 8 hours.
run a knife around the side of the cake before releasing the spring-form pan (if you don’t, and your cake is the least bit stuck, it will cause your cake to crack!)
top with cooled cranberry mixture and sprinkle with remaining coconut.
then, let them eat cake.

phew. that took forever. but i promise – it was so worth it.

The best damn cookie you ever ate

2013-03-13T05:06:00.001-04:00

i believe that. really.

the now annual berryhill bake-off took place a few weeks ago at school, and after having placed third in the competition two years ago with these yummy lemon-coconut-saffron beauties, i decided to enter this year. not too long ago, i tested a recipe for cream cheese cookies, and when they came out tasting like a rainbow on my tongue, my mind ran wild with flavor combinations to enhance it.

apparently i’ve got a thing for lemon, too, cause that’s what i made.

first, you make a lemon-tinted cream cheese cookie dough. then plop them on a baking sheet. you’re not supposed to crowd, but sometimes these things can’t be helped.

next, you bake them just the right amount. till the tips and the edges set in an ever so golden color, and the bottoms just begin to brown.

after you've “tested one,” let the rest cool and get started on that basil white chocolate ganache. holy mouth pleaser.

now dip your cookies. and try not to lick the drippings.

then, if you’re catering to a crowd of judges, slice ‘n serve. feel free to eat ten first if you’d like.

i know i said to forget about them, but i couldn’t let the ganache drippings go. guess where this went? answer: my belly.

now get it in your belly too!

lemon cream cheese cookies (makes about 40 2-inch rounds)
adapted from merrill

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
6 oz plain cream cheese
2 cups white sugar
zest of 2 lemons
1 tsp lemon extract (optional, for super lemon flavor)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt

in a stand mixer, cream together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy – this will take several minutes. this can be done with a hand mixer too, if you’re patient enough.
whip in the zest and lemon extract towards the end.
on low-medium speed, mix in the flour and salt until just incorporated. you may need to scrape down the sides a bit and stir it by hand, but DO NOT over-mix.
using a cookie scoop or spoon, drop tablespoon-size balls of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. bake at 350F for about 17 minutes or so – but keep an eye on them. the original recipe called for 12 minutes of baking, but mine were no where near done at that time. one of my previous batches baked for 22 minutes. you’ll know when they’re done when you see the the edges start to firm up and turn a light golden brown color. if you pull them out too early, they won’t set, but if you bake them too long, they won’t be as chewy and gooey in the middle.
after removing from the oven, allow the cookies to cool for five minutes on the pan before moving them to a cooling rack. cool completely before frosting with ganache (below).

basil white chocolate ganache (makes plenty. enough for extra to use as bread. i mean… spread… for bread.)

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 oz basil leaves (about 1/2 bunch)
12 oz white chocolate chips

over the stove on low heat, steep the basil leaves in the cream. you don't want this to come to a boil, just let it sit steeping for several minutes while it's nice and warm.
empty the chocolate into a large heatproof bowl. pour the cream over the chocolate, straining the basil leaves in a sieve. let stand for a few minutes, then stir until all the chocolate is melted. allow it to cool for a few minutes.
you can either drizzle or dip your cookies into your ganache – i find dipping to be easiest. turn your cookies face down and swirl them in your ganache. lift up, allow the excess to drip into your bowl, then place the cookies face up on a cooling rack set over your baking pan (this catches any extra drip. don’t want to waste!). allow to set.
INDULGE.

ps: no, i didn't place this year. so many good entries, including a first prize winner that included tons of booze (talk about winning over stressed out med students). i got asked for this recipe at least half a dozen times though, so i'll take that as affirmation!

Happy birthday to me :)

2012-12-31T19:28:00.001-05:00

i don’t usually scream about my birthday. but this is it guys: i’m 25. the last milestone of can-do’s has been reached – i can now rent a car. that’s it. the last piece. all i’ve been waiting for. my age is no longer a barrier to legal recreation. hip hop hurray!

i’ve been brainstorming cake flavors for the past few weeks, and everyone keeps asking, “why are you making your own birthday cake?!”

‘cause i wanna.

and there you have it – i made my own cake for the big 25:

i know what you’re thinking – what a SWEET cake stand, sonya!! its amazing, i’m aware. i just got back from a month long trip to palestine and while i was there, i visited a glass and ceramic shop where you could watch the owners and employees blowing glass and shaping dinnerware. i saw just a handful of cake stands but refrained from buying it at first glance. then i realized that for the next week, i couldn’t stop thinking about how much i wanted that cake stand (i got issues). so, i went back and bought it. don’t judge. i mean do youuu have a cake stand from palestine?

oh she’s so pretty.

i tossed around a few ideas for cake flavors but finally settled on one that i’ve made before in a simple muffin form: coconut banana ginger cake. previously, i made these with a simple ginger glaze, seen here:

this is my new go-to cake. i mean that. it can be a bread, a muffin, a cupcake, or a cake. it’s fast, easy, tasty, fast, and easy and tasty. yes, doubly so. instead of muffins, i decided to bake up two layers, throw some bananas in the middle, and frost it. something grand to display on my beautiful ceramic stand. but rest assured, this recipe can be modified to be baked in any pan of any shape however you please.

to make it the birthday-way, first, you bake up two layers of coconut cake mix that’s been mixed with ginger powder, bananas, and water (nothing else). preferably, you overtly tell your sister that you need two new 8-inch round cake pans for your birthday that can be used to make your birthday cake.

then you make some caramelized bananas by stirring up some butter, brown sugar, bananas and a touch of ginger over the stove.

slap that on a cool bottom layer of cake.

get photo-bombed by the sister.

stack your cakes, then make the “best frosting ever recipe from pinterest” that you realize too late is actually really runny and not suitable for a layered cake …

you basically do your best to make the frosting work because you’re too lazy to whip up the buttercream you know you should have made.

after, you relish in the fact that your cake is still kinda cute despite the runny frosting because you’re such an artist (pronounced ar-teest).

bake up and enjoy! and have a wonderful and safe and joy-filled new year :)

ginger coconut banana cake
(makes 2 8-inch layers)

1 box coconut cake mix (duncan hines make one to die for)
1 tbsp ginger powder (or more if you like the kick)
3 medium ripe bananas
1 cup water

mix together the cake mix and ginger powder.
in a small blender, whiz together the bananas and water until pureed.
fold the banana puree into the cake mix until well incorporated.
split the batter into two greased 8-inch round pans and bake at 350F for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
allow to cool for a few minutes before flipping the cake out of the pan onto a cooling rack. cool completely.

caramelized banana-ginger filling
(makes enough for 1 thin layer)

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 ripe banana, mashed
1 ripe banana, sliced
1 tsp ginger powder

in a pan over medium-high heat, stir together the butter and sugar until the sugar is dissolved.
add the mashed banana and continue to stir until the mixture thickens, several minutes.
throw in the sliced banana and ginger powder and stir. the slices may break apart and that’s okay. the bananas add a lot of moisture so if you find you’re stirring a lot but there’s still some liquid, don’t worry. i just pulled out the solidified mixture and kept the liquid in the pan.
remove from heat and allow to cool. spread the mixture onto one layer of cake, then stack the second layer on top.

not-the-greatest-pinterest-find cool whip frosting
(makes enough to top your cake, pour over individual slices, or re-freeze to be eaten as ice cream)

1 box coconut cream instant jello pudding mix
1 cup milk
1 tsp ginger powder
1 tub cool whip, slightly unthawed

stir the pudding mix, milk, and ginger together in a small bowl until it starts to thicken.
fold in the cool whip. put in fridge until ready to use, to allow it to set back up a little.
pour over your cake stack… then pull bits of frosting into the large crevice created by your uneven layers. to make them look even. this is easiest with an offset or rubber spatula.
use the left over “frosting” by spooning over individual slices, then serve.

man i am cheesin’ hard…

happy new year folks!

What Pinterest does to me

2012-12-20T01:11:00.001-05:00

its no secret. i'm a pinterest fiend. love at first site (i seriously just realized the pun on my second read-through…). gone are the days when i find interesting sites and recipes and ideas and have to create folders in my browser to bookmark them in – only to realize that after my computer crashes, my long and winding list of to-do-in-the-future has been wiped clean. thank you, pinterest, for housing my to-do list.

pinterest really is a great site to garner interest from. i probably tag food ideas the most, anything from mouth-watering chocolate pakoras to red velvet cheeseballs and blackberry smash & cheese sandwiches. but a recent find got me thinking (and believing) that just about anything can be made into a dessert. just. about. anything.

i found THIS thing of beauty on pinterest a while back: stuffed baked sweet potatoes with goat cheese, honey, and roasted grapes. roasted. grapes.

i had never heard of such a divine being as roasted grapes but this more sweet than savory combo screamed to be packed into a cupcake. the sister’s birthday was the perfect opportunity to try it out. lucky for me, she was willing to be experimented on. this could have been truly terrible.

but it wasn’t:

i had a can of sweet potato puree left over from last year when i made vegan cupcakes for the fam. i decided to use the same base cupcake recipe and focus on topping it with the stuffings from the original recipe. this recipe isn’t for the faint of heart, so try it if you dare – it is an unusual combination that confuses your palate for a brief second before sending a tingly feeling down your throat and into your belly. really.

sweet potato cupcakes with honey & goat cheese frosting, topped with roasted grapes
(makes 24 regular cupcakes)

1 batch of 24 vegan sweet potato cupcakes
2 lbs red or black grapes (i’d have preferred red, but sister loves black)
oil, salt, pepper
2 8-oz packages of cream cheese
1 8-oz package of plain goat cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup honey

first and foremost, make sure to use cupcake wrappers that have grapes on them. it makes all the difference. (really it does – see these strawberry beauties if you need more convincing).
okay, NEXT: wash and dry the grapes. sprinkle them them with a touch of salt, dash of pepper, and a few teaspoons of oil (grape seed oil would be the obvious fancy choice, but i just spritzed mine with canola). toss to combine.
spread the grapes out in an even layer across a foil-lined baking pan and roast at 450F for 20-25 minutes, until the grapes start to pop and prune and the juices call your name. remove from oven and allow to cool completely. then taste one.
to prepare the frosting, mix together the cream cheese and goat cheese in a stand mixer.
slowly add in the the powdered sugar, and whip till combined. you can add more sugar per your taste, but i like the tartness the goat cheese adds.
top the cooled cupcakes with a generous dollop of frosting, creating a well in the center so that your grapes sit pretty.
divide the grapes and place them on top of your frosted cakes. drizzle generously with honey.
devour. don’t think twice.

make cupcakes. roast grapes. whip frosting. assemble. pretty darn easy.

even though its over a month late – happy 21 birthday baby sister!

Fall - the season of all things good - has arrived!

2012-10-14T21:25:00.000-04:00

it has. cold nights, warm days, cool breezes. sweaters, boots. shawls. indian holidays. family birthdays. the state fair.

and pumpkins.

i've been a pumpkin fiend lately. i go through cans (yes, multiple) in a week, either from baking or oatmeal or just straight eating it plain. and its soooo good. i think the pumpkin, coupled with the pounds (literally) of carrots i eat a week are helping maintain my summer tan. here's to hoping i don't actually look like an oompa loompa. my friends would tell me if i did, right?

speaking of friends...

my bestie ray turned 25 this week. we went out to the miguel concert (holyhotmoly) and then somehow managed to go out dancing until 3, followed by a trip to cook-out. haven't done that in a MINUTE. i am still catching up on sleep.

today, we also held a little surprise dinner for her. with the changing of the season, i decided to turn to my trusty 2-ingredient pumpkin muffins that are always fast and easy. instead of just two ingredients though, i kicked it up a notch. i tried this new combo a few weeks ago for another birthday exchange, and when my sister and her roommates ate the leftovers they went bizzurk. "ohhmyyygaaawwwhh these are so good! i dont know what it is! they're better than ever!"

maybe they were all just menstruating or something...

lady issues or not, these are actually that good. so i replicated for ray's bithday and am pleased to say its still damn mouthwatering. i call them muffins even though i'd say the consistency is between a cupcake and a muffin (muffcake?) mixins include coconut and white chocolate, topped with some sprinkles for birthday flair. the secret though? i think this tastes better than usual, truly, because i ditched the spice cake mix and replaced it with yellow cake - then added in pumpkin pie spice and extra cinnamon. that gave it a more legit pumpkin pie flavor.

here it is - go make it NOW!

pumpkin pie muffins with coconut and white chocolate (makes almost 48 minis)

1 box classic yellow cake mix
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 15-oz can pumpkin puree
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup shredded coconut
sprinkles (optional)

combine the cake mix, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon in a large bowl. you can either sift them, or just use a wire whisk to combine.
mix in all the pumpkin. a few dry spots of cake mix are probably fine, but you'll want to smush the big pieces up against the side the bowl to mix things as evenly as possible.
add the white chocolate chips and coconut, and stir until just combined.
fill a paper-lined mini-muffin tin with the batter, close to the top if you'd like your muffcakes to puff up nicely - i found this easiest to do with a tablespoon cookie scoop. you'll need two 24-count tins, or you can work in batches.
top with sprinkles, then bake at 350F for 15 minutes. remove from oven and let cool in pan for 2 minutes before transferring individual muffcakes to a wire cooling rack.
treat thyself and enjoy! as with most veggie breads, these are even better on day 2.

of course ray loved these too. as told by these vintage hipster pics (surprisingly, not taken via instagram)!

Summa Summa Summa-time!

2012-07-26T22:48:00.003-04:00

except... i didn't really have a summer. as per usual. late june, i finished my last rotation (surgery = wild. i mean they cut people open and then put them back together. bonkers. sorry, i know this is a cooking blog. no people-cutting here.) after that, i spent a few weeks studying for "step 2" of my board exams, which included a 9-hour written test and an 8-hour oral test up in philly. threw in a few days visiting the fam in albany (will post our fruit pie recipe soon!) and bam. i'm here. summer for a week. welcome to real life.

anyway, now that summer is almost over, it feels good to be back in the kitchen! seriously. making food that doesn't require just heating veggies in a microwave is superb. been hanging out with the grandmas, slowly starting to fill a notebook with indian grandma recipes (about time i started learning to actually cook). and of course, taking orders for baked goods to send to work with the parentals.

commence today's return-recipe after a three month hiatus: strawberry shortcake muffins.
yes, i have a strawberry obsession. let's be real - today's recipe came about because i bought these awesome muffin cups and needed to use them:

my god these are cute. came in a pack of regular AND minis. for a dollar. holla! doubled up on some regulars to contain the strawberry juice, and saved the minis for another day. made these beauties:

an easy spin on the fresh summer classic, complete with biscuits and fresh strawberries. with almonds and a touch of vanilla for good measure. are you ready? are you?

good.

strawberry shortcake muffins (makes 12 regular muffins)

1 16-oz tube refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (next time, i might try the honey butter ones... oy)
1 cup fresh strawberries, chopped and patted dry
1/4 cup slivered almonds
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 to 1 cup strawberry jam

cut each biscuit round into 8 pieces. this is super easy with some kitchen shears. like, really easy. so just skip the knife.
in a large bowl, mix the biscuits, strawberries, almonds, and sugar. patting the strawberries dry theoretically helps prevent two much water from letting go, but the key i think is to just hurry up through the rest of the steps. go go go!
combine the butter and vanilla extract, then add to the biscuit-strawberry mixture and toss until coated evenly.
scoop the mixture into 12 paper-lined muffin cups (cutely-lined cups are preferred). bake at 325F for 25 minutes or until golden brown, rotating the pan halfway through.
in the meantime, heat the jam for 30ish seconds in the microwave and stir it down till its a pourable consistency.
remove muffins from the oven, then immediately transfer out of pan and onto cooling rack.
spoon the jam over the warm muffins.

and voila:

the only thing missing that's shortcake-y is the whipped topping. you should go for it. i skipped it since these were being shipped next day, so i didn't want the cream to deflate in a gooey runny mess. but i bet it'd make a mean topping. mean, i say. cute and mean. like regina george.

love this weird heart shaped strawberry.

sigh. i wish summer would stay forever. heart you guys!

Burnt bottoms won't stop me from devouring these!

2012-04-26T12:11:00.000-04:00

so they're a little burnt. i admit. but i hope no one notices...

maybe the ooey gooey peanut buttery deliciousness of these bars will distract them from the bitter bottoms. maybe. maaaybe.

that being said, these are the BOMB dot com for real. so good in fact, that the invocation of that cliche 1990s statement is totally warranted. these are like a delicious pb&j sandwich in mini sweet insanity form. these are not waist-line friendly. you've been warned.

i originally made these on while on cardiology (i made a lot of stuff on that rotation.. what does that say about my love for cardio? must be a troubled love, because nothing on this blog is good for your heart - physically anyway, your fictional, soulful heart probably loves it. tangent.) they went over well so i made them on my current spring break (yes spring break occurs late april para mi) for dad's workplace. i love pb&j 'wiches, which you already knew given my first ever post on this blog. this time, we move from cupcake to bar.

i used some delish blackberry jam and added in the fresh thangs too. mmmm so good. fresh blackberries have a seedy crunch that i love and that go perfect in these. in fact for more crunch factor, i might add in some chopped peanuts next time as a garnish. that would make these over the top. i don't think i can handle that right now though. maybe you can. wink wink nudge.

really wish i hadn't burned them. but, i've adjusted the recipe below so hopefully you don't burn your batch. have at it!

pb & blackberry jelly bars (makes 24 bars)
(adapted from betty crocker)

you need TWO of the following ingredients:
1 packets of peanut butter cookie mix
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2/3 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 egg

you need just ONE of the following:
1 cup blackberry jam
1 pint fresh blackberries
some chopped peanuts if you're feeling extra fancy.

combine one set of the cookie mix, flour, butter, and egg in a mixing bowl.
press the cookie dough into a prepared 9x13inch pan and bake at 325F for 12 minutes.
quick - you've got 12 minutes! while the base is baking, repeat step 1 with the second batch of ingredients. also, stir the jam in a bowl until smooth and spreadable. halve the blackberries while you're at it.
remove the pan from the oven and spread the jam over the entire base. then, top with fresh blackberry halves. next, crumble the new batch of cookie dough over the blackberries until it's all covered up.
bake again at 325F for 25 min or until golden brown.
remove and let cool for a good couple of hours before cutting up and handing 'em out.

fresh out the oven. mmmmm.

try not to focus on the burnt bottom, now. instead, fix your gaze on that blackberry. riiiight there. it makes all the difference in this thing, honest.

good enough to replace the ol' pb&j sandwich? well if you ignore the "not part of your complete breakfast - or any meal" part of it, then yes. replace away!

let me know whatcha think

Feels like summer - tastes like it too!

2012-04-16T17:46:00.001-04:00

winding down. by friday at 5pm, spring break will commence. one week off. with glorious weather.

heck yeah!

that's not to say that i haven't loved this rotation - being on my internal medicine rotation has been awesome. seriously. my first month on cardiology was reaffirmation that the heart is a damn cool organ. and this month on gen-med at our large, local community hospital has been super. i love love love inpatient medicine! the hospital can be chaotic, disorganized, and really sad - but it's the coolest place to see and practice medicine (i think so, anyway). and on gen-med, i see everything. they call it "bread and butter medicine"; i feel like everything i learned last year actually gets applied in this rotation. how cool is that?

as "fun" as it is to take care of super sick people, it's also really heartbreaking at times. one day i'll come home a bit depressed about a patient's situation. the next day i'll be inspired by another patient. the next day i'll just be plain annoyed. it's a burnt-out cliche roller coaster, but i love it. really.

as much as i adore work, i also adore time off, which comes in the form of one day a week. yesterday was BEAUTIFUL out, and i was pumped to make something tasty. my intern enticed me with thoughts of a strawberry-peach-basil pie he makes, so i took inspiration from that and here's what i got: a strawberry-filled "peach" cake with basil white chocolate frosting.

uh-huh. wrap your head around that one:

fyi, the "peach" cake comes from a little trick i learned recently. remember these pumpkin muffins that only required cake mix and a can of pumpkin? well apparently this trick works with any canned veggie/fruit. just take a box of cake mix and mix it with a 15oz jar of fruit that you've pureed down - in this case peaches. the flavor doesn't really come through, not with the peaches anyway, likely because cake mixes tend to have their own cloyingly sweet flavor that could probably mask brussels sprouts. but i won't go trying to prove that one.

strawberry-filled "peach" cake (makes 52 mini-cupcakes)

1 can sliced peaches in light syrup
1 box yellow cake mix
1 jar strawberry jam (not preserves)

puree the peaches and stir it into the cake mix until well incorporated. batter = done.
fill your mini-cupcake pan about 2/3 full and bake at 350F for 13-15 minutes. Careful - overcooking these is really easy and you may end up with burned bottoms. that definitely happened to me. oops.
remove from pan and let cool completely on wire rack.
empty half the jar of jam into a bowl and stir vigorously until it's pourable. pour into a piping bag fitted with a filling pipe (i used wilton #230). alternatively, just put that sucker in a ziploc bag and cut the tip (may be harder to fill, though!).
insert the tip 2/3 of the way into the cupcake and gently squeeze the filling in. the hard part is this: i tend to oversqueeze cause i want a solid bite of jam in that sucker. but this easily puts cracks in your cake, so when you unwrap it, it kinda falls apart. that being said - who cares. it's all going in your mouth anyway.

basil white chocolate ganache

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 oz basil leaves (about 1/2 bunch)

12 oz white chocolate, chopped (try to get the quality kind - i used food lion brand. bad idea.)

over the stove on low heat, steep the basil leaves in the cream. you don't want this to come to a boil, just let it sit steeping for several minutes while it's nice and warm.
empty the chocolate into a large heatproof bowl. pour the cream over the chocolate, straining the basil leaves in a sieve. let stand for a few minutes, then stir until all the chocolate is melted.
here, you have options: A) dip the tops of your cooled, filled cakes into the ganache and let set. B) after the ganache has set in the bowl, fill a piping bag and pipe away. Or, C) chill the ganache in the fridge, then whip using a stand mixer before piping. i opted for choice C, but as i alluded up top, the chocolate i had wasn't too quality. my ganache was extra oily - not sure if it's the brand or if it's the ingredients in white chocolate. but it didn't hold it's shape well at all. oh well. like i said - it tasted damn good anyway!

it tastes as good as it looks, people. something about basil makes it ever so sweet, but familiar at the same time. but not familiar in the way italian pasta with basil is familiar (because in cupcake form, that would be gross). familiar in the sense ... that you never want to stop eating it.

so don't!

A little something for Easter!

2012-04-08T17:52:00.000-04:00

yall. it's been SO long. that's a recurring theme every single time i've posted lately. but 2 months? really, sonya?

to be honest, it's not that i haven't baked anything in a while. in fact, when i was on cardiology last month (which was AWESOME, by the way), i actually baked quite a lot. when you're cooped up in the hospital all day, no matter how fun it is, you need some sugar to keep you moving.

i made monkey bread a few times now, the classic way with cinnamon and brown sugar. i wanted to make it again because it's a really easy crowd-dessert. you just pull the pieces off and voila. no cutting, no need for tons of table space with cupcakes. this sucker has 80 mini pieces in it. enough for thirds! with easter here, i wanted another monkey bread but with a springy flavor. you probably know i adore lemon and coconut, as seen here with these bars. so, i mustered up this thing. i've seen recipes around using butterscotch pudding mix in monkey bread - so why not lemon? and there you have it. the perfect dessert. i think i really got it this time. took a trial of this to work earlier this week and banked.

look at it. in all it's sunshine glory.
now go make it.
here's how.

lemon-coconut monkey bread (serves an army)

1 package cook-to-serve lemon pudding mix (NOT the instant kind)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes
2 16-oz cans of refrigerated jumbo buttermilk biscuits
1 stick unsalted butter

in a large ziploc bag, shake together the pudding mix, sugar, and coconut flakes. zip and set aside.
take a pair of kitchen shears, and snip each biscuit round into 5 pieces (80 total). place in a large mixing bowl.
melt down the butter and pour it over the biscuit pieces. mix well (with yo' hands!) to make sure they're coated evenly.
put the coated biscuit pieces into the ziploc bag, seal, and shake vigorously. really hard. till the pieces are all coated. you may have some extra sugar-mix in the bag; that's okay!
spray a bundt-pan with non-stick baking spray (or grease and flour). arrange the biscuit pieces inside, evenly. you can pour the remainder of the sugar if you'd like - first pour in half, then shake the pan so it settles. then pour the second half and you're done!
bake at 350F for 30 minutes. remove and let cool before flipping onto a serving dish.
smell. pull apart. devour. love.

love my easter tablescape?

yeah... a bit contrived, but i'm struggling here.

be warned: this ish is addicting! and nowhere NEAR healthy!

The King, has arrived!

2012-02-21T16:55:00.000-05:00

haaapppyyy mardis gras! this non-french tradition is usually celebrated with "king cakes," a bundt with classic colored sprinkles and a trinket baked inside. whoever finds the trinket hosts the next party. i like this tradition. but i also like breaking away from tradition - so, i made king cupcakes. and sadly, i did not bake a trinket inside, because honestly, something doesn't sit right with me and the thought of heating plastic inside my cake. just sayin'.

with these cakes, i attempted to be yummy and summery by making peach cupcakes with a blueberry frosting. leeeets just say that the cake turned out fine with a few peach chunks.. but the boxed cake mix over powered any hope of real peach flavor. as for the blueberry frosting, turns out its hard to get a lot of blueberry in a cream cheese frosting without having to add boatloads of sugar so that its pipe-able. plus, i only had half a pound of powdered sugar and no desire to go get more... so i tried pulverizing granulated sugar in a blender, but had no patience. so my frosting got a wee bit crunchy. just a wee bit.

needless to say, im going to have to try this recipe again before i post it. however, i thought you may want to see how the cupcakes themselves turned out! i had the perfect yellow and green liners (i have been stocking up lately, its nice to have the perfect set on hand!). all i needed was a little purple (calling all blueberries), but since i had to limit the blueberries, i used some violet icing color to tint it some more. pipe a "crown" using a star tip and voila: king cupcakes.

feast your eyes!

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It's a brownie kind of weekend

2012-02-04T20:12:00.000-05:00

i love chocolate. i love football. i HATE pro sports.

wow, i got off on a tangent reaaally quick there.

i will spare you the "i-hate-pro-sports-because-pro-players-are-so-damn-greedy-and-seldom-have-respect-for-their-fans-especially-when-they-halt-season-play-just-so-they-can-demand-more-money" rant. it's not worth it right now. because right now, i have the lingering taste of dark chocolate fudgy brownies in my mouth, which i'd rather not spoil. and you know what taste is NOT lingering in my mouth? black beans.

that's odd, sonya. who said anything about black beans?

to use black beans in your brownie mix is an age-old trick (well... i don't know if it qualifies for "age-old" but it's not new anyway). it's seriously the easiest thing you've ever done. and you get to cut out on the fat and cholesterol from the eggs and oil and add back in some protein. without. even. knowing it.

the idea is simple - buy your favorite brownie mix, puree up a can of black beans, mix it all together and bake away. and then, you can eat it sort of guilt-free. people like to trick themselves into thinking these are "healthy" but i like to think of them as just "less bad."

these suckers are going with my parents to the superbowl party tomorrow (i know, after my pro-sports rant, im supplying a pro-sports celebration. alas, to err is human.) if you need a super easy dish that has the unofficial title of "best tailgating dessert ever," this is the one for you!

dark chocolate black bean brownies (makes 35 small brownies)

1 package brownie mix (fave, and cheapest = duncan hines dark chocolate fudge)
1 can black beans
1 tsp baking powder (can be omitted, if you want an extra dense brownie)
1 cup dark chocolate morsels
1/4-1/2 cup almond slivers (or other nuts)

empty the beans into a collander and rinse thoroughly under cold water.
put the beans back into their can and add enough water to reach the top.
puree the mess out of the beans, till its nice and liquidy.
whisk the baking powder and brownie mix together in a large mixing bowl. add the bean puree and stir until combined.
line a 13x9x2 baking pan with foil, then spray with cooking or baking spray. fill the pan with your batter and bake at 325F for about 20 or so minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
immediately after removing from the oven, top the brownies with the dark chocolate morsels. you can stick it back in the oven for a hot second to help melt down the chocolate, then use a spatula to pat it down. or you can just do whatever.
crumble up the almonds, or leave them in whole slices, and sprinkle over the melted chocolate. allow to set before cutting.

nomnomnomnom.

yeah, these are delicioso. but guess what is NOT delicioso? the attempt i made at butterscotch blondies with coconut... they basically turned into dry cookies. really sad. because i really love butterscotch. those are going to the superbowl party anyway (heh) but they are def not getting posted here. more on that recipe when i find one that actually works.

happy "less bad" eating!

One Cake, Two Ways!

2012-01-29T16:33:00.000-05:00

lately, i've been eating at bruegger's bagels a lot. you know... to study. namely because my uncle bequeathed me once again with the bottomless mug card. SCORE! anyway, aside from the free drinks, the object of my affection has become the rosemary olive oil bagel....

mmmmmMMMM. it is soooo damn tasty.

so it got me thinking i should put that into a cake. thus the itch to make a lemon and rosemary olive oil cake was born. this is a pretty classic combination that i hadn't tried till now, so i was pretty stoked. so stoked in fact that i made two versions.

okay i didn't make two just for kicks - i made two because the madre, as per usual, requested one for her coworkers. being that i am in between rotations this weekend (woohoo!), i was happy to oblige.

you know why else i was so happy? because i wasn't just going to make a regular ol' cake. i was going to make a bundt cake. yes, my shiny new aluminum bundt pan came in the mail not too long ago, and i have been dying to use it. i've always had this idea that cakes just taste better if they're in bundt form (for the record, i was right).

so, folks, here you are: lemon-glazed lemon and rosemary olive oil bundt cake. what a long (but glorious) name. one version is vegan, from scratch, and a little more time consuming - but ridiculously good. the other is going the sandra lee route, being semi-homemade but wholly-delicious. take your pick, and lemme know what you think!

vegan lemon and rosemary olive oil cake (makes 1 bundt cake)
( loosely adapted from chef chloe's lemon olive oil cake)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 tbsp lemon zest (about the zest of 1 large lemon)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about the juice of 1 large lemon)
2 tsp fresh chopped rosemary

preheat the oven to 350F and prepare a bundt pan by spraying the inside with a non-stick baking spray (these come with a bit of flour already in them). alternatively, you can grease and flour the pan.
in a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
in a separate bowl, whisk together the olive oil, sugar, water, zest, juice, and rosemary.
add the wet ingredients into the flour mixture, and stir. you should get a nice rise out of the baking powder and soda.
pour into prepared bundt pan and bake immediately, on the middle rack of the oven, for 30 minutes.
remove from oven and let cool completely (at least an hour) before turning it onto a serving dish.
drizzle with lemon glaze (below) and serve.

would ya look at how gorgeous that looks? you can even see the specs of rosemary in the cake. i promise it looks as good as it tastes. if not better.

a quicker lemon and rosemary olive oil cake (makes 1 bundt cake)

1 package lemon cake mix

3 large eggs, room temp

1 1/4 cup water

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tsp fresh chopped rosemary

preheat the oven to 350F and prepare a bundt pan by spraying the inside with a non-stick baking spray (these come with a bit of flour already in them). alternatively, you can grease and flour the pan.
in a large mixing bowl, whisk together all the ingredients. (holy crap - that was easy).
pour into prepared bundt pan and bake immediately, on the middle rack of the oven, for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
remove from oven and let cool completely (at least an hour) before turning it onto a serving dish.
drizzle with lemon glaze (below) and serve.

ended up a little darker when using the cake mix. very pretty though. and it took me no time at all. this cake was sweeter and perhaps a little less tart than the vegan one, probably because of the ingredients in a boxed cake mix. however, they both even up on the sweet end when you dump the glaze on it. get. ready.

lemon glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

2-3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

thoroughly mix together the above ingredients. you can thin the glaze out a bit with more lemon juice, or with milk or water, to get it to the desired consistency.
drizzle over bundt cake and allow to set. if your glaze is on the runnier side, you may want to drizzle it just before serving. if you've got a beautiful thick glaze, just pour it on and let it set.

this is what happens when you THINK your glaze is too thick and decide to thin it out some more... trust your instincts people, or you'll have a pool of glaze that will tempt you to lick the entire cake stand after you remove the cake...

not that i did that or anything.

and with this last pic, birthday shoutout to my bro, andrew poon, who is doing big things with his life :)

ps...
it's been one year and two days since i put up the first recipe on this blog. since then, i've had allllmost 10K clicks on the site. love it! this started off as a project my second year of med school to balance out the insanity of how hard i was working to become a doctor. its my reminder to enjoy the sweet things in life - take note!

Finally back in the kitchen - Did ya miss me?!

2012-01-15T10:32:00.000-05:00

admit it. you misssssed me...

okay not as much as i missed you. it has been a long time since i've been back in the kitchen. my trip to india (did i even tell you i was going?) was a whirlwind tour with days and days of wedding festivities, trips to see wild lions, near-death car accidents, loads of time with family - and moments where i missed my grandfather immensely. the whole trip came and went in a blur, but now i am already back at work on my next rotation: outpatient medicine.

the good thing about this rotation is that i've got a little more time on my hands. no more having to take call, work weekends, blah blah. im just in clinic, then im not. it's excellent, especially considering how exhausted i am from writing grant applications and moving forward with plans for my research year (exciting!).

before i left, sheila got me a great gift: the flavor bible. such an awesome present (though my present to her was better: i surprised her with my trip to india :). apparently this book is everyone's essential guide to improve cooking, and i cant wait to get in the kitchen more to use it.

this baking adventure was my first small attempt at utilizing knowledge from the flavor bible. after flipping to "blueberries" in the book, i saw that "cinnamon" was listed as being an AWESOME pairing with the bo's. now i have never thought about that particular combo (and i love cinnamon with EVERYTHING), but according to a contributor to the flavor bible, "Cinnamon with blueberries really intensifies the flavor of the blueberries." according to google, everyone else already knew that this combination was a winner. alas, that is why this book is so essential to my culinary learning. stoked! see?!:

since coming from the 80'degree days in india, ive been cold as all hell back home, so i decided to go with a light, airy, summery dessert. and a semi-healthy one too. angel food cake is deliciously fat free, made super fluffy by the butt-load of egg whites. ma and i are attempting to get healthy - needless to say, she didn't like the "rubberiness" of the cupcake version. what can i say? eating healthy is an acquired taste!

angel food cupcakes (makes 36 regular cupcakes)

angel food cake mix
1 1/4 cup water

prepare the batter as instructed on the box. use a big bowl - the batter gets reaaaal fluffy with the dry egg whites already in the mix.

fill your double-lined muffin tins* 2-3 full, then bake at 350F for 15 minutes, or until the tops spring back to touch.

remove from oven, then remove cupcakes from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.

* i double-lined a few of the cupcakes and noticed that it prevented the sides of the cupcake from drying out and sticking to the liner as much. clutch finding.

blueberry cinnamon topping (tops ~1/3 of the cupcakes... sorry)

12 oz frozen blueberries
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp corn starch

combine blueberries, sugar, and cinnamon in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat.

once the blueberries start to break down and simmer, add the cornstarch and stir until dissolved.

keep on heat for a few more minutes or until the sauce thickens, then remove and let cool completely. its up to you how much you want the blueberries to break down - i liked the look of them keeping their shape.

scoop 1 tbsp of topping onto cooled angel food cupcakes and enjoy!

yummm...do you guys see this? do you see how fluffy it is? how gorgeous the blueberries look? it is so light, the perfect amount of sweet... yes, they are a little bouncy as far as mouthfeel goes (another word i learned from the flavor bible). regular angel food cake is made in a special pan, and cools upside down. so, cupcakes are dicey. they can stick to the wrappers if you over cook them - a trick i figured out is you can sweat them in a closed container for a bit. the wrappers peel a little easier after that!

there it is. im back. and guess what else - i've got a bundt pan that should be arriving in the next day or two. expect cake. soon.

A casserole in a cupcake - YUM.

2011-11-27T23:38:00.001-05:00

as promised, here is another recipe crossed off the wish list: sweet potato cupcakes with mallow cream frosting! i have always wanted to turn the classic thanksgiving casserole into a bite-size cake for the holidays. it's not the most novel of ideas, but it sure is a tasty one. the twist here? these babies are vegan. what's that? vegan marshmallows? how is that even possible??

$4.49 for a small bag, and anything is possible apparently.

holy crap expensive, but that's what you get when you're trying to be a good vegetarian and avoid all things with gelatin (yuck). never the less, these beauties were delicious. just throwing some marshmallows on top makes for a fun presentation albeit a messy one. the vegan mallows are extra sweet and a little denser too, but they paired well with the not-too-sugary cakes. just make them. i promise they're good. and no, i won't hate you if you cheap out and get the gelatin-laden marshmallows. it's a down economy, i get it.

sweet potato cupcakes (makes 24 regular cupcakes)
(adapted from vegnews)

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tbsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
1 (15 oz) can sweet potato puree
1 cup water
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp vanilla

whisk together the flour, sugars, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
stir in sweet potato puree, water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla until smooth batter forms.
pour into prepared muffin tins, about 2/3 way full.
bake at 350 for 22ish minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
remove from oven and top immediately with marshmallows so that they stick. remove from pan and allow to cool.
before serving, torch the marshmallows using a kitchen torch. or, if you don't have one, do what i did: unwrap the cupcakes and place them on a baking sheet. then broil them in the oven or toaster oven until the tops brown slightly. careful, too much broiling and you'll melt the marshmallows into a watery mush! they don't need long. serve 'em warm.

ohmygaw, so ooey-gooey. the back one is pre-"torched." if you broil, definitely unwrap so the bottoms don't get too burnt and stick to the wrapper. you can tell i got hasty with the marshmallows, so only the top of the pile burn and the bottom oozed... but who cares.

happy holidays peoples :

Friends, Food, and Family - All I need in life

2011-11-26T10:13:00.001-05:00

it's been a rough couple weeks, folks. my grandfather passed away in india the week before thanksgiving and though he was ill for a long time, no one ever expects these things to happen. luckily, i've been able to surround myself with family as we remember the great things about my dada. i can only count on one hand the number of times i've ever seen him, but he has impacted my life in ways i'm sure many of you can relate with your own family members. he was confident, smart, engaging - and i am really going to miss him...

what i've realized over the past few days, with the support of so many great people, is that i am so thankful for the people i have in my life whom i love and who love me. part of the way i show that is in my baking - sharing a warm, homemade goody with family and friends, around which we can laugh, cry, and reminisce - those are memories i savor.

fortunately, my good friend allison and i have made it a point to keep our old friends close by throwing a thanksgiving potluck reunion each year. the tradition was alive and well in its sixth year this past wednesday, and i made a twist on cornbread for my friends. hope you enjoy trying these not-too-sweet thanksgiving treats, and are reminded of how fortunate you are to be able to break bread with the people in your life that mean something to you.

cornbread cupcakes
(adapted from no frills)

1 cup cornmeal
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
about 5oz cream-style corn (1/3 can)
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup canola oil
2 tsp honey, plus more for drizzling
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, lightly beaten

1) sift the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and soda, and salt in a bowl. 2) stir in sugar and mix well. 3) in another bowl, mix together cream corn, milk, oil, honey, and vanilla. 4) whisk eggs into liquid mixture. 5) pour liquid mixture into dry mixture in 3 batches, stirring each time until incorporated. be sure not to overmix, or cakes will turn out dense. 6) fill a lined muffin tin to about 2/3 full, then bake till golden, about 22 minutes at 350F. 7) while warm, spoon small amounts of honey over the cupcakes to saturate the tops. 8) allow to cool completely, then top with whipped honey frosting.

whipped honey frosting
(i think i may have seen this in a martha stewart book, once)

1 stick unsalted butter, room temp
8 oz plain cream cheese, room temp
1/2 cup honey

1) cream together the butter and cream cheese in an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. 2) slowly add in honey while mixer is still running. you may not use the total amount of honey depending on the sweetness you want. 3) allow mixer to run until you have a light, whipped frosting. spread onto cooled cornbread cakes with an offset spatula.

see the little bits of corn in there? the cream-style corn gave these a soft, chewy bite at times. it's pretty close to your standard cornbread, but a tad sweeter. the whipped topping takes it to the next level for me :)

will post the recipe i tried on my family for thanksgiving soon - sweet potato cupcakes with marshmallow topping :) hope everyone had a happy holiday!

Finally, more time to bake!

2011-11-11T21:14:00.001-05:00

finally finished ob/gyn, yes i did people. can we just discuss how freaking tiring that rotation was? i mean really. i am STILL recovering. but it was a lot of fun, and got me thinking that maybe i could do it... GAH, i like all my rotations, how will i decide? ob(stetrics) was fun because of the hands-on stuff i got to do all day, like deliver babies and assist in c-sections. but the gyn(ecology) part? borrrring. i feel bad saying that too, i mean these are my people (ie women) we're talking about. but gyn is just not my thing. so sue me.

you know what is my thing, though? working from 8-5. having my weekends free. and having veteran's day off for the first time in 7 years. these are the perks of working at central regional hospital, one of the state psychiatric facilities in NC. my first week on the job and i've seen multiple schizophrenic, bipolar, and depressed patients, and while it isn't a glamorous job by any means, it sure is intriguing.

really though, the best part about all the free time i have outside of work is that i get to spend more of it with my family. and more of it baking. and more of it baking for my family. which is what i did last week for my grandmother's birthday. technically i was still on my ob/gyn rotation, but the anticipation of freedom during psych got me started early. so, i made vegan carrot cupcakes, unfrosted since baa's got diabetes and i'm attempting to help her out on the low-sugar front :) carrot cupcakes are a family favorite and i was in the vegetable mood with the string of cold weather we've been getting (that doesn't even make sense, but whatevs). these were adapted from the same vegan cupcake cookbook that i used to make the hurricane cupcakes back in august. even though they were unfrosted, i maintain that they are cupcakes and not muffins. eat 'em, you'll see!

vegan carrot cupcakes (makes 12 regular cupcakes)

(adapted from "vegan cupcakes take over the world")

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 cup finely grated carrots
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup raisins

1) start by soaking the raisins in warm water until you're ready to use them. this rehydrates them - fancy word for "plumps 'em up." 2) mix together the sugar, oil, applesauce, and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl. 3) sift in the flour, baking soda and powder, salt, and spices, and stir until smooth. 4) fold in carrots, walnuts, and drained raisins. 5) fill paper-lined muffin tins 2/3 full and bake at 350F for 25ish minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

mmmm. some would say this cupcake looks lonely without it's

traditional dollop of cream cheese frosting.

i beg to differ. but do what you'd like!

see that extra shredded carrot there? yeah, i attempted to make some carrot cookies, vegan and stevia style. they sucked. they sucked so bad i even twice baked them and they still sucked. i'll try again later.

can't wait to keep baking. thank you psych rotation, i have my weekends back!

Fresh haircuts - YUM!

2011-10-25T13:11:00.001-04:00

it's true - i think fresh haircuts are a necessary luxury in life. anyone that knows me, knows my thoughts on this matter. there is nothing like running your fingers through a freshly trimmed haircut. okay, maybe there are a few things that are similar - a good piece of dark chocolate, driving to the beach, not failing a med school test - all possible equivalents.

i used to have really long hair that never got cut. i finally worked up the balls to cut it all off, and donated my hair twice. the second time i decided to keep it short - in set the addiction. i've been getting my hair cut every 7ish weeks for the past 3 years (obsessive much?). honestly i could go every 4 weeks if i didn't think it'd break the bank.

one of the best parts about getting my hair cut, is my stylist: nika. she is a fun, spunky, and super talented woman who has been cutting hair for all the women in my family for quite some time now. last week, i went to pick up sheila from the salon, and chatted with nika - found out that my sister let her in on the blog, AND that her birthday was coming up in early november! dun dun dunnn... that means i just had to bake something. the only info i got from nika was that she hates cinnamon and loves lemon. i can roll with that.

i felt like stepping away from cupcakes for a minute, so i finally pulled something off the wish list: coconut, lemon, and blueberry ~~cheesecake~~ bars. the cheesecake got nixed cause i found an easier recipe - no big deal. see?:

the original recipe comes from the blog two peas and their pod (her pictures are way better than mine - but i'm still pretty proud of these!). the only real modification i made was to the crust - i wanted to incorporate some coconut flavor, so i found some buttery coconut cookies and mixed in some coconut flakes. let me tell you - if nika doesn't like these, i promise i won't quit my day job. which, by the way, includes being post call again after delivering 2 big babies ALL BY MYSELF! doctored. now let's bake :)

coconut cookie crust

1 1/2 cups coconut cookie crumbs
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup flaked coconut

1) combine all ingredients and pat firmly into the bottom of a greased 8x8 baking tin. 2) bake at 350F for 10 minutes, or until the edges start to brown. 3) remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.

lemon blueberry filling
(from two peas and their pod)

2 large egg yolks
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
1 cup fresh blueberries

1) combine egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk with a whisk. 2) add lemon juice and zest, and stir until mixture thickens. 3) fold in blueberries till just combined. 4) pour filling over cooled crust, and bake at 350F for 15 minutes, or until set. 5) remove and allow to cool to room temperature, then cool in the fridge for at least 1 hour prior to cutting. 6) cut in any shape you want. warning: these circles were a real pain to try and cut, and didn't come out as clean as i wanted. but hey, it happens.

7) then, give it to your hair stylist for her birthday - because she is awesome.

happy birthday, nika!

(yeah, this picture rocks.)

okay - off i go to get my hair cut finally. i am growing it back out and lord is it painful. if you ever need a cut, nika works at mitchell's in crossroads! tell her i sent you :)

update: nika is so good at cutting hair! -->

So Many Cookie Cups!

2011-10-02T21:11:00.000-04:00

okay, before delving into the wonderful world of cookie cups, we got two things to talk about. babies and turtles.

first things first: BABIES. i'm 1 week into my ob/gyn rotation at wakemed, and am currently "post-call" after my first 24 hour shift.

holy. freaking. god almighty.
i am so. so. tired.

literally, my whole body aches. i slept for a total of 2.5 hours during my call night, but was otherwise on my feet the entire time. i worked with two residents while i was there, both of them really smart women who are awesome at their jobs. i don't know how they manage it all, but they're pretty stoic. they've got the added stress of actually making decisions about patient care - that is a scary thought for me. as the med student, i get to pretend to come up with a plan that eventually has to get a stamp of approval from someone else. and since i know so little about obstetrics (though the learning curve is steep!), my stress comes from helping out the residents, getting things done in time, and learning in the process.

i did get to catch a few babies yesterday! which was awesome. my biggest fear was the little bugger slipping through my hands, but you'll be glad to know that i didn't drop a single one (cue: grinning).

anyway, in all my tiredness, i still wanted to make something to take into the resident lounge tomorrow. seems they've got a culture of bringing food -- someone brought cupcakes earlier this week, and someone else brought pumpkin marshmallow peeps. so, apparently everyone likes sugar - how can you go wrong?? since i'm about to pass out just writing this, i clearly had to find something that was easy to make. in come the TURTLES - turtle cookie cups, that is.

cookie cups are awesome and simple -- all you need is a cookie and a filling. they're insanely easy to make, especially if you're a slacker like me and buy refrigerated cookie dough. these days, the refrigerated aisles in groceries stores are stocked with a variety of pre-made doughs. gone are the boring days of just having sugar or chocolate chip cookies -- now they've got peanut butter cookies, oatmeal cookies, and best yet: turtle cookies. with a delicious mix of chocolate, caramel, and pecans, these turtles crawl all over your taste buds till your mouth is coated in its sweet salty goodness. i couldn't help myself, so i bought them, even though i had an inkling that they might not be the easiest to bake into cups (see below). either way, they turned out stellar.

turtle cookie cups (makes 24 mini cups)

refrigerated turtle cookie dough
24 Rolos, unwrapped (or any chocolate-caramel candies)

1) separate the cookie dough into 24 pieces (the dough came precut for 12 big cookies, so i just split them up. if you buy tubed cookie dough instead of the pull-aparts, just roll the dough into 1-inch balls). 2) place the pieces of cookie dough into an ungreased mini muffin pan - don't worry about shaping it to the tin, just make sure its not hanging over the edges. 3) bake at 325F for 12 minutes, or until the edges turn golden brown. 4) remove from the oven and press a Rolo into the center of the cup. the chocolate will melt a bit to fill the center! 5) allow to cool completely, then use a knife to loosen up the edges. twist the cups to help ease them out of the tin. then sink yo' teef.

you can use tons of other fillings for cookie cups - like these babies below that i made during my second year, that are just plain sugar cookie cups filled with milk chocolate and white chocolate pudding. mmmm :)

or, these sugar cookie cups with layers of peanut butter, chocolate chips, and banana slices, topped with a dollop of banana whipped cream pudding and chocolate shavings.

better yet, these throwback snickerdoodle cookie cups that are stuffed with a golden oreo truffle, topped with white chocolate and cinnamon. yeah, these were baked during the good ol' days of first year. so much time on my hands.

okay, enough salivating -- it's bed time. gotta prep for more babies!

Adios a la Playa

2011-09-21T17:15:00.002-04:00

sigh...

time to go back to raleigh. don't get me wrong, i love love love raleigh (in fact, it's america's BEST city!). but i gotta tell ya - i really love the beach too. and being on my family med rotation (hello, free weekends!) while at the beach - in september - well, it's been pretttttttty nice.

it's also been really fun working at coastal family med. since this practice runs the residency program for new hanover regional medical center, i got to work with tons of docs, from seasoned attendings to upper level residents. got to see a lot of doctoring styles, see a wide range of patients, and even get my hand on a few minor surgeries (yep - i circumcised a baby. make that two babies. marinate on THAT.)

so it was my last week at CFM, and as is my style, i decided to bake up a little something. nothing fancy, but surely tasty. i tried to make it as easily-gourmet as i could. the only equipment i brought from home were my baking pans and a filling pastry tip. ganked some slivered almonds from my mom, too. the rest, well:

no oil or eggs + being really cheap = soda pop cake using a 79c two-liter bottle of diet orange soda.
desire for a matching filling + i'm not thaaat cheap = orange marmalade filling.
no stand mixer = no fluffy frosting = went with an almond glaze.

so, here it is. try it with any variety of pop (how midwestern of me, "pop") and a matching jam and you are good to go!

orange-almond cupcakes with orange marmalade filling & almond glaze (makes 60 mini cupcakes)

1 box french vanilla cake mix
12 oz orange soda (yep - i used diet)
1/2 cup slivered almonds

1 cup orange marmalade

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp almond extract
2-4 tsp almond milk

whisk together the cake mix and orange soda.
fill mini cupcake liners 2/3 full.
decorate: take sliced almonds and insert them, pointy end down, into the batter in a flower formation. keep them close together and at a 45 degree angle - they'll flatten in the oven if you don't push them in half way or at a sturdy enough angle! if you start getting lazy, or run out of whole slices, decorate others with crushed almonds pressed slightly into the tops of the batter.
bake at 325F for 16-ish minutes. allow to cool completely.fill 'em up: fit a pastry bag with a filling tip (i used wilton 230*). fill with 1/2 cup orange marmalade. insert tip half way into cooled cupcake and squeeze, pulling up as you feel the cake expanding. allow some to drizzle over the top if you feel like it :) refill the piping bag as needed.
create the glaze: mix the sugar, almond extract, and milk (tsp at a time) until the desired consistency is reached.
drizzle over your cupcakes and enjoy!

* the thing about orange marmalade is that it still has the orange rind in it. that's all good and well and actually makes for a delish filling, but it gets caught in the wilton 230 tip like WHOA. if you're using a different jam or preserves without rinds, it won't be a problem. otherwise, think about a different tip!

i will say this about soda-pop cupcakes: combined with box cake mix, they tend to get reaaaal fluffy. and that can mean reaaaal airy and crumbly. they almost melt between your fingers, so letting them cool completely before filling is really important. even then, they might be a pain to eat in anything less than 1 bite. these cupcakes, however, have a gourmet look and feel and taste that would fool anyone into knowing they only took me an hour and a half, from start to clean-kitchen finish :)

ps: these pics were with the point and shoot. that'll be the nice thing about going home -- more play time with daddy's camera!

thanks again to the CFM family! i had a freakin' blast :)

Another Wedding!

2011-09-16T23:28:00.000-04:00

one of my bestest, brittany j. - wait, now it's brittany m. - is married! can't believe it. brittany and i grew closer during our senior year of college when we were on the same senior design team for our biomedical engineering project. now, we're "med school bffs." she's a riot - super real and super laid back, and i love her! i love her so much i went to a wesley foundation (methodist thing) shindig with her in college once, as a project for my religion class. those of you who know me, know that i get a little worked up around "very christian christians." not on purpose - i've just had some negative experiences in the past. but brittany's one of those people who helped me past the judgment. so much so that i hardly even remember that her now-husband is a pastor! drew = also very cool. he even took part of his congregation to the temple i go to! the two of them together are just a superb pair and i couldn't be happier for them :)

needless to say, when brittany asked me to be a bridesmaid, i was stoked. granted i was pretty bad at bridesmaid duties since we started rotations and all, but she's forgiving! at one point during all the planning, we talked about home-making cupcakes instead of having a wedding cake - as you can imagine, that got me real excited. my infatuation with cupcakes is endless. the plan included brittany whipping up a bajillion box-mix cupcakes and me coming through the day before the wedding to slather on all the frosting.

yeah. we did NOT do that.

brittany got her mind right and had someone else make the cupcakes. everyone else was right - it was kind of crazy to think we'd do all that the day before the wedding! so, brittany hired stephanie morris of "for cake's sake" to batter up 175 cupcakes for the big day. and there you have it - delicious, incredibly flavorful cupcakes adorned brittany's custom decorated cake stand. and they were a hit!

isn't this display cute?? notice: cake toppers = sammy the cat and aiden the dog. best. pets. ever.

lucky me there were a few leftover cupcakes, so i got to try each flavor: vanilla, lemon, red velvet with cream cheese, and chocolate with peanut butter. good thing, too, because they're all kind of my favorite flavors. is that possible? i mean "favorite" implies only 1, right? ... yeah, lets not over-analyze this. anything with sugar is my "favorite." that's 1 category, so it'll do. thanks, stephanie, for indulging all us sweet tooth's with your tasty creations!

me with the beautiful bride :)

congrats brittany and drew! love you both.

Parental Birthdays!

2011-09-11T19:14:00.000-04:00

it's been a birthday frenzy lately. my pops turned 50 in august and we threw him an awesome-sauce surprise party at the house. complete with all his favorite foods - indian street foods, mostly. and of course, nc state ice cream (go pack!). but, ma insisted we have a cake to cut too - so, sheila and i whipped up something reallllllly fast. its our "strawberry banana torte," with pre-baked layers that were assembled in a whopping 5 minutes before the cake cutting (you can kinda tell... we were a little sloppy). it's super easy to make, though! here's the down 'n dirty how-to:

mix up a box of cake mix with all the necessary ingredients, but add in 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas. bake in three round pans for 3 layers. you may consider 2 boxes of cake mix to make thicker layers than mine! for the filling, mix 2 tbsp honey with thawed cool whip. spread the mixture on each cooled layer of cake, topping with sliced strawberries that have been patted dry. stick it on a cake stand, hastily take a photo, and step back before you're attacked by all the kids oogling the cake with their hungry eyes!

on another note...

yesterday was ma's birthday! she's a year younger that my dad, hitting the big 4-9 yesterday :) i had a rushed day since i was in a wedding for an awesome couple (another post on that later!), but sheila helped me in the kitchen to make a birthday brunch. we channeled the post punk kitchen and made tofu omelets. then, for something sweet, we made these awesome vegan orange-berry muffins - but with blueberries instead of cranberries! they were delicious. a little crumbly, but it all ends up your mouth anyway so who cares :) the best part, is this awesome picture we took:

it was taken using the new canon t3i that we bought dad for his birthday (full circle!). it is SO much nicer for staging food pics - with the point and shoot, i have to hold my camera right next to the thing i want to focus on, to get that awesome fuzzy background effect. but with the big daddy canon, i can do whatever i want. thoughts on the photo?!

love baking for the family - hope they love it too :) happy birthday to my folks!