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!

anything with a british accent...

if i had watched love actually before getting married, i swear i would have found me a cute british boy to whisper sweet nothings in my ear...the english just get some things so right. rpatz, anyone??


this toffee is another one of those things that the english just got so right...
really simple ingredients that chemistry changes into something magical! the toffee is firm but not so tough that you would crack a filling. i had made this recipe for a dinner party on saturday but the hubby kept going back into the fridge that by the time the dinner party rolled around, i almost had to make another batch!!


english toffee

1 lb unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoon water
1 cup slivered almonds
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1 cup lightly toasted pecans, finely chopped

1. melt three-fourths of the chocolate in a microwave oven at half power for 2-3 minutes. after melting, stir in the remaining chocolate and set aside. line a large jelly roll with heavy duty foil and butter the foil.
2. melt the butter with the salt in a heavy 3 QT saucepan over medium heat. slowly add the sugar, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. add the water about halfway through this process.
3. after all the sugar is added, begin testing the mixture to see if the sugar is dissolved. place a drop of the mixture on wax paper. allow it to cool before rubbing it between your fingers to make sure it doesn't feel grainy. continue to cook until all the sugar has dissolved, testing intermittently. (the mixture will most likely be boiling by this point.)
4. when the sugar has dissolved, add the almonds and increase the heat to medium high. cook to the hard crack stage (310 - 320 degrees) stirring constantly to prevent the candy from burning on the bottom. when it is done, the candy should be a medium-amber color.
5. remove from heat and pour into the prepared pan, spreading as evenly as possible with an offset spatula. set the pan on a cooling rack. after 2-3 minutes, pour reserved chocolate on top and spread evenly. sprinkle with chopped nuts and press them gently into the chocolate to set.
6. allow the toffee to harden 6-8 hours (but preferably overnight). break into pieces using a sharp knife. store in an airtight container in a cool place.

mommy...where does sushi come from?

...sometimes from a H U G E fish!


we had lunch today with a couple of our most favorite people in the world at one of the most delicious places in the tri-state area. life doesn't get much better than that!

they were holding a tuna cutting performance and i wasn't quite sure what to expect. apparently, a fish is worth 10x more if it is caught before it begins its migration. by the time the fish has migrated, it has lost much of its fatty goodness...and that would just be a sin!!


freakin' amazing...totally worth having to park at trader joe's and walk over!!

the holiday decorations are already up...

can you believe it?!

i happened to catch the martha stewart show one day while she was making these cookies and i was hooked. i had to make them.

i know nothing about martha's stock scandal nor do i have an opinion on it...but dayam, that woman knows cookies. i think i made these on at least *3* separate occassions last holiday season...and it takes a lot to remake a recipe when your stack of to-make recipes keeps spilling over onto the floor!

especially when these require quite a bit of work to make...the dough is incredibly sticky, uses an ingredient i use NO WHERE else and requires two hours to chill. i hate having to wait longer for goodness in my belly!!

but gawd, these are worth it!! (i also double the recipe to minize the pain...)

chewy chocolate gingerbread cookies

from martha stewart

7 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate*
1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup unsulfered molasses

1 teapoon baking soda

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1. chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks and set aside. in a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and cocoa.
2. in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened (about 4 minutes). add brown sugar and beat until combined. add molasses and beat until combined.
3. in a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons of boiling water. beat half of the flour mixture into the butter mixture. beat in baking soda mixture and then add the remaining flour mixture. mix in chocolate. turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap. pat dough out to about 1 inch thick and seal with plastic wrap. refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
4. preheat oven to 325 degrees. line two baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats. roll dough into 2-inch balls. place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. refrigerate for 20 minutes. roll dough balls into granulated sugar and return to baking sheets. transfer to oven and bake for about 18 minutes until surfaces crack slightly. let cool 5 minutes and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

NOTE: if you have to get these into your belly quickly, you can use chocolate chips instead. they don't have the same texture and you won't get the small pieces that will just melt into the batter but they're still pretty darn good. =)

the only time i watch scary movies...

without a doubt when the leaves change color and the weather turns cooler, this is the hubby's favorite time of year. it also means that his favorite holiday is approaching...and he gets to pick one scary movie to watch and we make spooky halloween cookies.


sadly, i was out of town for the week leading up to halloween so we made them a day late but enjoyed them none the less! cutout sugar cookies are a challenge...too much butter or soft dough and the cookie ends up looking like a blob with no semblance of the cutter. but not enough butter or sugar and the cookie tastes like bland dough.


i came across this recipe last year and LOVE it. it's a bit of a pain to roll quickly and keep the dough chilled at the same time but the end result is worth it!

sugar cookies
by alton brown

3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (my addition)

powdered sugar for rolling out dough

1. sift together flour, baking soda and salt. set aside.
   
2. place butter and sugar in the bowl of a mixer and beat until light in color.
   
3. add egg, milk and vanilla extract and beat to combine. put mixer on low speed and gradually add the flour, beating until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl.
4. divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper (or plastic wrap) and refrigerate for 2 hours.
5. preheat oven to 375 degrees.
6. sprinkle powdered sugar on the surface where you will roll out the dough. remove 1 pack of dough and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness. move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. if dough has warmed during rolling, place a cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill.
7. cut into desired shape and place 1-inch apart on lined baking sheet.
8. bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges. (rotate cookie sheets halfway through baking time.)
9. let sit for 2 minutes after removing from oven and then move to wire rack to cool completely.

fake royal icing
(note: fake because the recipe does not contain egg whites.)

1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 tablespoon milk
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1. combine all the ingredients until smooth.
2. divide and color!