can i bribe you?

oh

my gawd...

life happens, right?

starting a new job was apparently much more tiring than i expected it to be...or rather time-consuming. b/c it's not like i haven't been baking...i've actually been baking quite a lot! especially after finding out that my new co-workers love to eat almost as much as i do! and baked goods go so nicely with one's tea time (which one of my co-workers religiously observes every day). =)

and this is a recipe i would definitely recommend for your afternoon tea...or morning coffee...or mid-morning second cup of coffee...or nightcap. it's that versatile and that good!

i was craving me some cinnamon bread. you know...the proper kind made with yeast and a beautiful swirl in the center a la sunmaid raisin girl. but i was tired after work...and all this eating meant i had to go work off them calories! and i'm sorry but when i am craving something...I WANT IT NOW.

i do not want to have to weigh the ingredients, knead the dough, proof the dough, go through a second rise AND wait for it to bake! and i was pleasantly surprised by how much i liked this recipe (although i had to make it twice!). the first time i made it for the MIL and uh, she liked it so much that she kept eating it without offering us any!! (which btw is very unlike the MIL).

so here ya go...

just be sure to make two just in case your MIL is anything like mine!

cinnamon swirl bread

(www.bhg.com) <-- that was a pleasant surprise too!

NOTE: this is the time to bust out the fancy cinnamon! and the first time, it was quite tasty even without the overnight rest. and i've used both whole and skim milk with no noticeable difference in the texture or taste.

1 1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/3 cup canola oil

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease / flour the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan.
2. in a small bowl, combine 1/3 cup of sugar with the pecans and cinnamon. set aside.
3. in a large bowl, combine the remaining cup of sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. whisk to combine.
4. in a medium bowl, beat egg with fork and add in the milk and oil.
5. add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just moistened. (the batter will be lumpy.)
6. pour half of the batter into the loaf pan. sprinkle 2/3rds of the cinnamon mixture over the top. pour the remaining half of the batter on top and sprinkle with the remainder of the cinnamon mixture on top. draw a butter knife through the batter in a circular motion - up and down the length of the batter.
7. bake for 45 to 50 minutes until a wooden toothpick comes out clean.
8. cool on rack for 10 minutes. remove from pan. cool completely on wire rack and wrap to store bread overnight before slicing.

yippee...whoopie!

if you've been in a whole foods recently, you'll know that they've added whoopie pies to the temptations surrounding the check-out line. and in a weak moment, we caved and bought one.

but the cake was so dry! and the filling...mush! it wasn't even sweet! what an absolute waste of calories...s i g h...oh well. at least the ones at whole foods were no longer a temptation...=P

but i couldn't get them out of my head! a fluffy little chocolate cake filled with a soft sweet filling...

SALVATION!
(and i must say...the mint buttercream was just pure genius.)

whoopie pies

(from the nytimes)

note: i used natural cocoa since the recipe called for baking soda. and i used a small ice cream scoop (maybe 2 tablespoons of batter) and came out with 24 cakey cookies that were at least 2.5" in diameter and at least 1" tall. more than big enough imho...

mint buttercream
(you can get away with making half this recipe as this makes more buttercream than you'll need to fill the whoopie pies)

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 teapoon peppermint extract
1/4 cup whole milk

4-5 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted

1. cream butter until smooth.
2. add peppermint extract, milk and 3 cups of sugar. beat to combine.
3. slowly add more confectioner's sugar to taste and piping consistency.

a little bit of sunshine...

the weather in nyc has been ridiculously beautiful the past few days. alas my days of being a lady of leisure are over...(hand to forehead here)

but i did manage to catch a little bit of sunshine with these lemon coolers.

in the interest of full disclosure...i've never had a lemon cooler before because i don't normally reach for the cookies that are covered in powdered sugar. but the hubby requested them and so i went hunting for a recipe...

these were silly easy...and surprisingly quite tasty! sunshine lemon coolers
(adapted from here)

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/2 teaspoon water
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon unsweetened lemonade mix

1. preheat oven to 325 degrees. line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat.
2. cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. add the egg, vanilla and water and mix until smooth.
3. add in the salt, cake flour and baking powder. mix until the dough comes together.
4. drop by the teaspoon onto the baking sheets and flatten the cookies a bit with wet fingers.
5. bake for 15 - 18 minutes.
6. while the cookies are baking, mix the powdered sugar and lemonade mix in a plastic bag.
7. remove the cookies from the oven and while still hot, toss a few cookies in the powdered sugar mix until well coated. repeat until finished.

NOTE: i did think about refrigerating the dough for a bit as the dough seemed quite soft but the hubby's tummy did not want to wait and they came out perfectly fine.

labor of love...

ok

ok

ok...i know.

it's march 2nd and the last post was way back when in january.
(and yes, i wrote this on march 2nd and haven't had a chance to publish it yet...bad skimmy!)

trust me.

this cake is worth the wait...even if it was a labor of love.

2 days + one dozen eggs + 1lb of chocolate = bliss!

chocolate feather bed

(from here)

note: given the intense richness of this cake, i'd probably only make half the next time around since it takes such a small piece to transport you to the heavens.

not one you want to try...

these were originally on my list of to-make for the christmas gift baskets...except that in the haze of the holiday season, i bought all the ingredients for it and then never got around to making them.

perhaps that was a good thing...because these things are freakishly addictive!! the hubby has slowly worked a couple of pieces a day into his diet since discovering them and i'm desperately trying to forget that they're in the fridge right at this moment...


three-layer peppermint bark
via orangette

the first of many

...with many firsts!

i've always loved baking...

but in the beginning i started with cake mixes...(the horror!) not knowing that you could actually make them from scratch!

for anyone who hasn't made a cake a la betty crocker, they're idiot-proof. two eggs and some oil, mix it up and throw it in the oven. kinda hard to mess up...unless you decide to substitute sesame oil because mom forgot to buy more corn / canola oil.
s i g h...needless to say, that one ended up in the trash.

thankfully, this cake didn't turn out like the ill-fated sesame oil cake. i had a bunch of egg yolks left in the fridge and decided to try a bunch of new things all at once. normally, that would be a recipe for disaster but the cake gods were watching over me!

i've never made gold cake before or classic buttercream or worked with fondant. but it was ridiculously cold and snowing outside and i had some time to kill. ;) the fondant is actually satin ice, which made my first foray into the world of cake decorating stupidly easy. i couldn't tell you if it actually tastes good b/c we both peeled it off the cake. old habits die hard...

*warning: given the ingredients in this cake + frosting combo, i'd definitely apply the motto "everything in moderation" liberally...

gold cake

joy of cooking

2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
8 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice or grated lemon zest
3/4 cup milk

1. grease and flour three 9 x 2-inch round pans (or line the bottoms with parchment paper). preheat oven to 375 degrees.
   
2. sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt together three times.
3. in large bowl, beat the butter until creamy (about 30 seconds). gradually add the sugar to the butter on high speed until lightened in color and texture (about 2 to 4 minutes).
4. in another large bowl, beat the egg yolks, vanilla and lemon juice (or zest) together on high speed. beat the egg mixture into the butter mixture.
5. add the flour mixture to the butter/egg batter in three parts, alternating with the milk (beginning and ending with the flour). beat on low speed, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary.
6. divide the batter among the pans and bake until toothpick comes out clean (about 20 minutes). let cool in the pans on a rack for 10 minutes.
7. slide a thin knife around the cake to detach from pan. invert cake and peel off paper liners (if using). let cool right side up on the rack.

classic buttercream

joy of cooking

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 large eggs (or 5 large egg yolks), room temperature
3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1. in a heavy medium saucepan, cook the sugar, water and cream of tartar over medium heat until it begins to simmer while stirring. once it begins to simmer, stop stirring, cover and simmer for 2 minutes to dissolve the sugar.
2. uncover and wash any sugar crystals from the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush. cook, uncovered, until the syrup registers 238 degrees (soft-ball stage) on a candy thermometer.
3. meanwhile fill a wide, deep skillet with 1 inch of water and bring to a simmer. in a medium, heatproof bowl (preferably stainless steel), beat the eggs on high speed until thick and pale yellow.
4. just before the syrup is ready, begin beating the eggs again on medium speed. beating constantly, pour the hot syrup in a thin, steady stream into the eggs.
5. set the bowl in the skillet of simmer water and stir constantly with a whisk until the mixture registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. remove from the heat.
6. wash the beaters and then beat the hot mixture until it cools to room temperature.
7. add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time until the buttercream is smooth and spreadable.*

*note: if the mixture looks curdled at any time, continue beating until smooth. if the butter is added too quickly, the mixture may become soupy. refrigerate it briefly and then resume beating.

mocha buttercream
joy of cooking

dissolve 1 tablespoon instant coffee crystals or instant espresso powder into 1 1/2 teaspoons water. stir most of the mixture into the buttercream...adding the rest to taste.
melt 2 ounces of chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate and let cool to lukewarm.
add the melted chocolate to the coffee buttercream.

*note: since i only used the mocha buttercream for the filling, i divided this mocha buttercream recipe ny roughly a third.

let's end on a sweet note!

no stress
no snow
no drama
...in my kitchen anyways! (and that's where i'm hiding out next year during the holidays...)


i originally saw these on smitten kitchen and i had no idea what they were. ironically, they showed up in a gift basket later that week at work and i was sold. almond paste AND chocolate...good gawd, count me in!!


in the chaos of making these, i was also chugging out a couple of other baked goods at the same time (for the holiday gift baskets) and these are the only pictures i managed to take. but if this last picture is any inspiration...you'll get your bum into the kitchen now!


happy new year!

7 layer cookies
from smitten kitchen

my own notes...

1. i didn't bother to butter the wax paper...i used parchment paper with no problem.
2. i totally agree with evenly dividing the jam.
3. i actually found them harder to cut when frozen. frozen chocolate has a "snap" to it that just shattered every time i tried to cut it with a serrated knife. i got much cleaner cuts at room temperature using a sawing motion with a standard flat cleaver-type knife.

best of luck!