Orange Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Limoncello Gelee and Chocolate Florentines

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

This was my first challenge with the Daring Bakers, I am so excited to participate!  I have only ever had panna cotta from Trader Joe's and I loved it, so I couldn't wait to give this a try.  Panna cotta is ridiculously easy to make.  It's like making jello but with cream.  I actually did two recipes though, the first was David Lebovitz's Buttermilk Panna Cotta.  It was a bit watery and not what I had expected so I thought I would try again. 

I wanted to make a gelee to go with the panna cotta, and I found a great recipe for Limoncello gelee and thought an orange vanilla panna cotta would go nicely.  The panna cotta was easy peasy as was the gelee.  However.  Do not, I repeat, do not, try and pour the gelee onto the panna cotta while it is still piping hot.  A more experienced baker (or someone with a little common sense) would not do this, but I did and completely ruined one of the desserts since the panna cotta literally collapsed under the gelee.  Oops?  I then waited until the gelee was almost room temp and even then poured it in over a spoon.  All was well.

This was delicious.  Super creamy with so much vanilla flavour.  I have never baked with vanilla beans before but they are so much more intense then extract.  The gelee was also delightful, great lemon flavour with plenty of booziness.  I would totally make this again, maybe I'll even successfully unmold it from a ramekin next time.

Onto the Florentines.  These are a pain in the arse to make.  Well, the recipe I went with anyways, which was Martha's chocolate Florentines.  No doubt they look lovely when done, but you have to time it just right and be quick about it to get the cookie off the pan and onto the rolling pin to shape it.  Too early and you ruin it's circular shape (if it had that to begin with, mine quite often turned into odd flying saucer like shapes), too late and it cracks.

I liked these cookies, but not enough for the amount of time involved.  What can I say, I'm lazy and if I put this much time into something it should be spectacular.  That said, the lovely dessert I came up with using the Florentines which worked was delightful.  Behold: chocolate Florentines with coffee liqueur whipped cream drizzled in salted caramel sauce.  Yum!

I also served the (many) broken pieces of Florentine on vanilla ice cream also topped with salted caramel sauce.  This might be my favourite sundae topping ever.



Orange Panna Cotta
from FoodNetwork.com

1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
3 tablespoons water
4 cups heavy cream, or a combination of cream with milk or buttermilk
3/4 cup sugar
6 wide strips fresh orange peel (orange part only-no white pith)
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let soak 10 minutes (do not stir).
Meanwhile, heat the cream, sugar, orange peel, and vanilla in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, to dissolve the sugar. As soon as it simmers, turn off the heat and add the gelatin mixture, stirring to dissolve the gelatin. (If the gelatin doesn’t completely dissolve in 3 minutes, return to the heat and warm gently until dissolved.)
Strain the mixture into a pitcher to remove the vanilla bean and orange rind. Pour the mixture into 6 to 8 ramekins or dessert cups, or into 1 larger dish. Chill, uncovered, at least 3 hours.
To unmold, dip the cups in hot water for 10 seconds, then turn the panna cottas out onto dessert plates (or, simply serve in the cups or by the spoonful).

Limoncello Gelee
from Martha Stewart
1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon (from two 1/4-ounce envelopes) unflavored gelatin
3 tablespoons cold water
3/4 cup Prosecco (Italian sparkling wine)
3/4 cup limoncello (Italian lemon liqueur)
1/2 cup sparkling water
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Sprinkle gelatin over cold water in a small bowl. Let stand until softened, about 5 minutes. Heat Prosecco, limoncello, sparkling water, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Add lemon juice and softened gelatin, and whisk until gelatin dissolves. Pour mixture over panna cotta and refrigerate until set, at least 45 minutes.

Chocolate Florentines
from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

Makes 5 dozen (in a perfect world)

1 3/4 cups (about 5 ounces) sliced almonds
3 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 tablespoons milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with nonstick baking mats or parchment paper, set aside.  Spread almonds in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet; toast in oven until lightly golden and fragrant, about 10 min.  Transfer to a clean work surface.  While the nuts are still warm, roll a rolling pin back and forth over nuts to finely crush them.  Let cool completely, then place in a bowl.  Add cocoa, and whisk to combine; set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine milk, sugar, corn syrup, butter, and salt.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, and cook until mixture registers 220 degrees F on a candy thermometer.  Add reserved salmond0cooa mixture, and stir to combine.  Transfer mixture to a medium bowl to cool slightly.

Drop batter by rounded teaspoons, about 3 inches apart, onto prepared baking sheets.  Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are fragrant and small, tight bubbles emerge from the center, 15 to 20 min.  Have a rolling pin ready.  As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, use an offset spatula to lift cookies, one at a time, and drape them over the rolling pin.  Let stand until set.  Repeat with the remaining batter. 

Guava Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

The February challenge over at Have the Cake was to make a Romeo and Juliet cake.  Romeo and Juliet refers to the pairing of guava paste and cheese, so I thought a guava cake with cream cheese frosting sounded delicious.  I did cupcakes because, well, I love cupcakes and they're easier to share.

Most recipes I could find for guava cakes used guava nectar, but I did find one that uses guava paste as a layer in the middle of the cupcakes.  I used my go-to cream cheese frosting from Baked Explorations, I decorated some with a swirl of guava paste and some just piped with frosting.  The cupcakes turned out pretty good, the cake is quite dense, like a pound cake which isn't my favourite (I'm more of a sponge cake type of girl), but my husband loved it.  I don't think I cut the guava paste thin enough so it didn't quite melt into the ribbons I had envisioned, but it tasted great nonetheless.  Next time I'll use a more standard yellow cake recipe and slice the guava paste as thin as I possibly can.

Guava Cupcakes
from Food.com

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
10 ounces guava paste, sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.  Sift flour and baking powder together in a separate bowl, set aside.
In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Add eggs, one by one, beating thoroughly.
Add applesauce and vanilla, and mix well.
Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture until fully blended.
Place a scoop of the batter (I used a small ice cream scoop) in each lined cup and smooth it to fill the bottom.
Top each with a few slices of guava paste
Top with another scoop of cake batter and smooth out over the guava paste, so the cups are about 3/4 full
Bake for 23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (except for the guava paste).



For the Cream Cheese Filling:
From Baked Explorations

3 cups confectioners' sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Sift the confectioners' sugar into a medium bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until is completely smooth.  Add the cream cheese and beat until combined.

Add the confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat until smooth.  Be careful not to overbeat the filling, or it will lose structure.  (The filling can be made 1 day ahead. Cover the bowl tightly and put it in the refrigerator.  Let the filling soften at room temperature before using.) 

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Chocolate Wafer Sandwich Cookies with Vanilla and Chocolate Filling

I made these tasty little sandwich cookies with the February Dessert Wars challenge in mind.  The theme was dark chocolate and hearts, and I thought these cookies would work nicely.  The wafers are quite crisp, which I normally don't care for, but with the soft sweet cream filling the combination is perfect.  I did hearts for the chocolate cream filling and circles for the vanilla cream.

If you want perfectly round and heart shaped (or whatever shape you're using) wafers, you need to follow Martha's very anal instructions of chill, roll, chill, cut, chill, bake.  This ensures the dough will for the most part keep it's shape during the baking.  Both fillings were delicious, I was a little dubious of the vanilla since it uses vegetable shortening, which for some reason skeeves me out, but it was excellent, but I did prefer it chilled in the fridge so it didn't all squish out of the cookie after taking a bite.  The chocolate cream filling is simply heavenly.

Chocolate Wafer Sandwich Cookies
from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook

Makes about 2 dozen sandwich cookies

1¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and both sugars on medium sped until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla; beat to combine. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture, and beat to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Turn out the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, and divide in half. With floured hands, shape each piece into a flattened rectangle, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
Place one rectangle of dough on a lightly floured work surface. Roll out dough to a scant 1/8-inch thickness, stopping every so often to release the dough by running an offset spatula underneath. You should end up with a rectangle that’s about 14 by 11 inches. Transfer dough to a prepared baking sheet, and freeze until very firm, about 30 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place one rectangle of dough on a clean work surface. Working quickly, cut out rounds using a 2-inch cookie cutter. (If the dough begins to soften too much, return to the freezer for a few minutes.) Using a wide metal spatula, transfer rounds to a parchment-lined baking sheets, about 1½ inches apart. Gather together remaining scraps, reroll, and cut out more rounds. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Repeat with the remaining rectangle of dough.
Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until the centers of the cookies feel firm when lightly pressed, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Using an offset spatula, spread 1 tablespoon desired filling onto the flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, keeping the flat sides down. Unfilled cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Once filled, cookies are best eaten the day they are made, but they can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Vanilla Cream Filling
Makes enough to fill 2 dozen sandwich cookies

1 1/3 (5 1/3 ounces) confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all ingredients. Beat on medium-high speed until fluffy and light, 3 to 4 minutes. Use immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Let soften at room temperature before using.

Chocolate Cream Filling
4 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (1 cup)
3/4 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup (half of one 14-ounce can) sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Melt chocolates in a heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) simmering water, stirring occasionally.  Add condensed milk, butter, and extract; stir to combine.  Continue to stir over simmering water until all ingredients are smooth, 2 minutes.  Remove from heat, and set aside to cool slightly.

The February Dessert Wars Prize Package Includes:

Whisk  and cupcake necklace from Moon & Star Designs

The Smartshopper Electronic Grocery List Organizer

Beanilla  Sampler Pack of Vanilla Beans

Lenox Personalized Musical Cupcake

1,000 ideas for Decorating Cupcakes, Cookies & Cakes

Endless Vanilla and Cinnamon Extract

Unlimited Layers: A Recipe for Turning Your Passion into Profits

Organic Valley $50 Gift Certificate

Organic Prairie $50 Gift Certificate

Theme Kitchen $50 Gift Certificate

BEKA Cookware Crepe Pan 

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Caramel Toffee Pecan Icebox Cream Pie

I have been craving a cream pie for weeks and was determined to make one last weekend, but I just couldn't find one in my recipe books.  Then I discovered that cream pies are often called icebox pies (is that an American thing?).  Ahhhh.

I made this caramel toffee pecan icebox pie from The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook.  O. M. G.  Talk about decadent.  The crust is a shortbread base with plenty of toasted pecans, and the filling.  Sweet lord, the filling.  It's vanilla caramels, cream, cream cheese, and whipped cream.  All this topped with pecans and chopped Heath (Skor) bars.  If you're on a diet run away from this post as fast as you can.

If you have an immediate craving for cream pie, know that you're supposed to refrigerate this over night.  I did not (quelle surprise).  I made it in the morning and served it in the evening and it was perfectly firm.

Caramel Toffee Pecan Icebox Pie
from Magnolia Bakery

Crust:
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup chopped toasted pecans
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into small pieces

Filling:
12 ounces vanilla caramels (I used Kraft, sold in 14 oz bags so I get to eat the leftover 2 oz)
3 tablespoons heavy cream
3/4 pound (one and a half 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks

Garnish:
1/3 cup chopped Heath Bars (or Skor Bars for the Canadians)
1/3 cup chopped toasted pecans

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. 
To make crust: In a medium size bowl, combine flour, sugar, and pecans.  Using a pastry blender, blend in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Press into bottom of a 9-inch pie dish.  Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly golden.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temp, about 45 minutes.
To make the filling: in a medium size saucepan over low heat, melt caramels with the 3 tablespoons of cream, stirring occasionally until smooth.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temp, about 30 minutes.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Add the cooled caramel and beat well.
In a separate bowl, beat the 3/4 cup of heavy cream until stiff peaks form.  Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until well blended and no streaks of cream remain.  Spoon the filling into the cooled crust.
To garnish, sprinkle Heath bar pieces and pecans around the edge of the pie.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight in the fridge before serving.

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Vanilla Cupcakes

I posted about this fantastically delicious yellow cake recipe in my recent Cake Pops post but I had to share it again.  I love a nice simple yellow cake, but a good recipe seems hard to come by.  They often turn out really dense and tough.  I admit to loving yellow boxed cake, but I really wanted to find a good go-to- from scratch recipe.

I found this recipe in Nick Malgieri's Bake which is a fantastic book.  His yellow cake is moist and buttery, just perfect.  I made the recipe into cupcakes for the kid's to decorate for Valentine's Day, but of course snuck plenty for myself.  :)

The frosting I used was from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen's blog, she adds corn syrup to her basic buttercream and it was delicious and very easy to spread. And my little boy helped me with decorating. :)

Basic Yellow Cake
from Nick Malgieri

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, at room temp
3/4 cup milk
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract


Set a rack at the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.  Prepare 2 muffin pans with either 24 liners or butter them generously.

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.  Whisk eggs and milk together, set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.  Beat in vanilla extract.  Scrape down sides with rubber spatula.
On low speed add 1/4 of the flour mixture until it is absorbed.  Increase speed to medium low and beat in 1/3 of milk mixture.  Repeat this, including change of speed 2 more times. Scrape bowl and beat in remaining 1/4 of flour mixture.  Scrape again, increase speed to medium and continuously beat the batter for 3 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pan(s) and smooth top. Bake cupcake about 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean. Cool completely before frosting.


Vanilla Buttercream
from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen
(she has a great tutorial of making this buttercream, go check it out!)

1 cup salted butter, softened to room temperature
2 tablespoons milk (2% or whole)
1 teaspoon vanilla 2 or more tablespoons corn syrup
4 cups powdered sugar

Put butter, milk, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Mix on low speed until it just starts to come together, about a minute. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Increase to medium low speed and beat for about another minute. 

Add 4 cups powdered sugar. Beat on low speed until sugar is just barely incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and increase speed slowly to medium. Beat for about a minute.
At this point, you want to check your consistency. This is very important because if your frosting is too thick, it will not spread well. If your spatula does not glide through the frosting, add about a tablespoon of corn syrup and beat on medium for about 30 seconds.

Add another tablespoon of corn syrup and beat on medium for 30 seconds. Repeat until the frosting seems to be of a good spreadable consistency. 
Once you get your frosting to a good, spreadable consistency, increase mixer speed to medium high and beat for one minute. This will get your frosting nice and fluffy. 

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Mocha Cupcakes

I have wanted to make these mocha cupcakes from Martha's Cupcakes book for a while now, and have never really had a good reason to (I know, does one really need a reason to make cupcakes?).  I didn't want to make them just for my family since there is quite a bit of espresso powder in them, and while I'm sure each cupcake probably doesn't have that much the last thing I need is a toddler hopped up on sugar and caffeine.

We were hosting a Valentine's Day party for my kid's playgroup last week and I thought here is a good opportunity to make these since the kids have their own cupcakes for decorating and the Moms should appreciate a fancier cupcake.

The cupcake itself is delightful.  I'm not sure it actually has that much coffee flavour, but in terms of a good, moist chocolate cupcake it's bang on.  The coffee really seemed to bring out the chocolate flavours.  I had a major fail with the seven minute frosting for some reason.  I tried it twice and it failed twice.  No idea why, I've made seven minute successfully plenty of times, but whatever.  I did a coffee Swiss meringue buttercream instead.

Mocha Cupcakes
from Martha Stewart’s Cupcake Book

For the cupcakes:

2 1/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
3/4 cup freshly brewed espresso
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder (not instant coffee)

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.
Whisk together cake flour and cocoa. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter until smooth and light. Add the brown sugar and eggs; beat until fluffy, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add the vanilla, baking soda, and salt; beat to combine thoroughly.
Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of sour cream, and beating until just combined after each. Mix together brewed espresso and espresso powder; add to batter, and beat until smooth.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, about 22 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely be¬fore removing cupcakes.


For the frosting: (this didn't work out for me but I'm sure it would have tasted delightful)
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2/3 cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
6 large egg whites, room temperature
2 tablespoons pure coffee extract

Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar with the water and corn syrup in a small saucepan; clip a candy thermometer to side of pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Continue boiling, without stirring, until syrup reaches 230°F (110°C).
Meanwhile, in the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk egg whites on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. With mixer running, add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, beating to combine.
As soon as sugar syrup reaches 230°F (110°C), remove from the heat. With mixer on medium-low speed, pour syrup down side of bowl in a slow, steady stream. Raise speed to medium-high; whisk until mixture is completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl) and stiff (but not dry) peaks form, about 7 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons coffee extract, whisking to combine. Use immediately.

The Frosting I used:

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

 from thefoodnetwork.com

• 4 large egg whites (1/2 cup)
• 1 cup sugar
• Pinch salt
• 12 ounces (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp espresso 

Place egg whites, sugar and salt in medium-sized heatproof mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk gently and constantly until egg whites are hot (about 140 degrees) and sugar is dissolved, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and whip by machine until thick and cooled, about 5 minutes. Beat in butter and continue beating until buttercream is smooth and spreadable. Use immediately or refrigerate, covered, for up to 5 days. Before using, bring buttercream to room temperature and beat smooth by machine. Beat in vanilla and espresso, a little at a time, and continue beating until buttercream is smooth, about 2 minutes longer.

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Monkey Bubble Bread

I have never had monkey, or bubble bread before, but after making this recipe I foresee eating this many many times in the near future.  Monkey bread is kind of like sticky buns but in one big cake that you pull apart.  Each ball is coated in yummy sugary cinnamon deliciousness.

I used the recipe from Baked Explorations, and I don't know if all monkey bread is this good, but I doubt I'll ever find out since I'll never bother with another recipe.  My husband said he prefers cinnamon buns.  He's crazy.  My son was all excited about eating "monkey food" and is still asking for it several days later.

The recipe isn't at all hard, but it is rather time consuming.  You need to let the dough rise an hour, then form into balls, coat in butter, sugar, and cinnamon, assemble in a bundt pan, and then let it rise another hour before you can bake it.  Leftovers are great cold or you can warm them again in the oven.  It's quite a site to behold when you take it out of the bundt pan, with lovely syrup dripping down, I highly recommend this if you have guests over.

Monkey Bubble Bread
from Baked Explorations

Ingredients

For the Monkey Bubble Bread

1 1/4 cups whole milk

2 teaspoons instant yeast

4 cups all purpose flour

5 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the Cinnamon Sugar Coating

1 1/4 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Make the Monkey Bubble Bread

Generously spray the inside of a 10-inch Bundt pan with non stick cooking spray.

In a small saucepan, warm your milk to slightly above room temperature, then remove it from the heat, add the yeast, and whisk to dissolve. ( Do not warm it beyond 110 degrees F or you will kill the yeast).

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the flour, sugar, and salt until combined.

In a small bowl, beat the egg with a fork and add it to the dry ingredients.  Mix on low speed until combined.

Keeping the mixer on low, slowly stream in the milk until combined.  Add the melted butter and mix until the dough comes together.  Replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook attachment.  Continue to mix on medium speed until the dough becomes silky and tacky,but not sticky, 8-10 minutes.  The dough should mound together and easily come off the bottom of the mixing bowl.  ( If the dough is too wet, add some flour.  If it is too dry, add a tiny bit of water. )

Spray the bottom and sides of a large bowl with cooking spray.  Place the dough in the bowl and roll it around to make sure it is completely covered in oil.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a dish towel and let it rest in a warm area until the dough has doubled in size, approximately 1 hour.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Use your clean hands to push down and deflate the dough. Remove it from the bowl and pat it into a rough circle approximately 8 inches diameter.  Use a bench knife or serrated knife to cut dough into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces ( about 1/2 oz each )- alternatively, use your hands to pinch apart the dough.  Roll the pieces into balls ( they don't have to be perfectly round).  Place the balls on the sheet pan ( you will get about 60 pieces in all).  Cover the balls lightly with plastic wrap.

Make the Cinnamon Sugar Coating

In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon.  Place the melted butter in a separate bowl.

Assemble the Bread

Remove the plastic wrap from the dough balls and dip one ball in the melted butter.  Let the excess butter drip back into the bowl, roll the ball in the brown sugar mixture, and place it in the Bundt pan.  Continue this process with each ball, until you have several layers, arranging them as if you are building a brick wall.

Wrap the Bundt pan tightly in plastic wrap.  Set it in a warm area of the house for about 1 hour, or until the dough balls have doubled in size and appear puffy.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Remove the plastic and bake the Bundt until the top layer is deep brown and the caramel coating begins to bubble around the edges, about 30 minutes.

Cool the bread for 5 minutes, then turn it out directly onto a platter and serve warm.  Should you have any leftovers ( this is rare), simply reheat them in a 300 degree oven until warm to the touch

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Linzer Hearts

I wanted to make a few cute things for my kid's Valentine's parties last week, something a little more for the Moms.  I have had a little set of Linzer cookie cutters for a few years and hadn't used them so I thought I would try them out and use the heart cutout. 

I used the recipe that came with the cookie cutters, and they turned out okay.  They were insanely sweet, I would probably use reduced sugar preserves next time.  The orange extract added a nice flavour, and even though they didn't hold their shape and much as I had hoped they were pretty cute!

If you don't have Linzer cookie cutters and don't plan to make Linzer cookies often, you could just use a heart shaped cutter and make little sandwich cookies.  

Linzer Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon orange extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 jar raspberry jam
powdered sugar for dusting

Sift the flour and set aside. 
In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream butter, sugar, and orange extract.  Stir one cup of flour in at a time, mixing well. 
Chill the dough for at least two hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Roll out half of the dough to 1/4-inch thick and cut with the plain cutter.  Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and chill for another 30 minutes, then bake for 12 minutes.
Roll out the other half of the dough and use the heart cutout to make the tops of the cookies.  Chill for the 30 minutes, then bake for 12 minutes.

Once the tops and bottoms have cooled completely dust the tops with powdered sugar.  Spread about 2 teaspoons of jam on each cookie bottom and place the tops over bottoms to create a sandwich.

Vanilla Cake Pops

I have long wanted to make cake pops.  Cake, frosting, and chocolate, sounds dreamy doesn't it?  But while I love to bake, I'm a really horrible cake decorator so I was a little nervous to give these a try.  I think they turned out rather cute, not anything like Bakerella's cake pops, but cute in a shabby chic kind of way.

Most cake pop recipes use boxed cake recipes and canned frosting, but I wanted to do it from scratch (would you expect anything less? haha).  I used my new favourite yellow cake recipe by Nick Malgieri.  I often find yellow cake recipes to be dry and dense.  Not this one.  It's moist, buttery, and perfect.  For frosting I used vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream.  I did two different coatings, one was melted Guittard vanilla white chocolate chips and the other was Guittard semi-sweet chocolate chips.  I wasn't terribly pleased with the decorations, the white cake pops got a milk chocolate drizzle, and the dark ones got white fondant polka dots.

In all honesty I loved these a lot less than I thought I would.  I read somewhere that cake pops were going to be the new cupcake.  Well cupcakes, I'm pretty sure you have nothing to worry about.  They are a little too sweet for me and I'm not entirely sure I like the texture, maybe I used too much frosting?  That said, the kids LOVED them.  I made them for a playgroup's Valentine's Day party and they were a huge hit.  Especially with my kid who keeps asking "where's the lillypops??" :)

Cake Pops

Basic Yellow Cake
from Nick Malgieri

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, at room temp
3/4 cup milk
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract


Set a rack at the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.  Butter and line the bottom of two 9x2-inch round cake pans.

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.  Whisk eggs and milk together, set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.  Beat in vanilla extract.  Scrape down sides with rubber spatula.
On low speed add 1/4 of the flour mixture until it is absorbed.  Increase speed to medium low and beat in 1/3 of milk mixture.  Repeat this, including change of speed 2 more times. Scrape bowl and beat in remaining 1/4 of flour mixture.  Scrape again, increase speed to medium and continuously beat the batter for 3 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pan(s) and smooth top. Bake cake(s) about 20 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean. Cool in pan on a rack for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack, remove paper and let cool completely.


Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

 from thefoodnetwork.com

• 4 large egg whites (1/2 cup)
• 1 cup sugar
• Pinch salt
• 12 ounces (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla

Place egg whites, sugar and salt in medium-sized heatproof mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk gently and constantly until egg whites are hot (about 140 degrees) and sugar is dissolved, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and whip by machine until thick and cooled, about 5 minutes. Beat in butter and continue beating until buttercream is smooth and spreadable. Use immediately or refrigerate, covered, for up to 5 days. Before using, bring buttercream to room temperature and beat smooth by machine. Beat in vanilla, a little at a time, and continue beating until buttercream is smooth, about 2 minutes longer (always flavor buttercream immediately before using it).

Putting together the Cake Pops

from Bakerella

Lollipop sticks (you can find these at Michael's)

Decorations (I used a fondant writer for the polka dots, sprinkles, nonpariels, and edible glitter would also be fun ideas)

1. When the cake has cooled completely, crumble it into pieces with your hands, the crumbs should be pea-sized or smaller.  Mix the frosting and cake together in a large bowl until the cake is moist.  Start with about 1 cup of frosting and try rolling it into a ball about the size of a quarter.  If the ball falls apart add 1/4 cup more frosting and try again.
2. Form the cake and frosting mixture into balls with the hands and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Chill in refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
3. Melt a small amount of chocolate in a double boiler and dip each stick about 1/2-inch into the melted chocolate, then stick about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way through the cake ball.  If it starts to crumble just reshape.
4. Place the finished balls onto a sheet of parchment paper and put in the freezer for about 30 minutes or longer.
5. Melt chocolate in a double boiler or VERY carefully in the microwave.
6. Remove the cake pops one at a time from the refrigerator and dip them into the melted candy. Rotate them as the candy drips off to thoroughly coat. 
7. If you're using decorations that stick on do this before the chocolate dries, so pretty much right away.
8. Place the finished pops on parchment paper until thoroughly cool.

Linked to Sweet Tooth Friday 
and Sweets for a Saturday 

Banana Whoopie Pies

First let me say hello to my new followers and thanks for all the wonderful comments!  Also a big thank you to Jamie Lacey who takes most of my baking photos, she does such a fabulous job!

Now on to the whoopie pies.  I love whoopie pies.  Cake and loads of frosting in a convenient sandwich, what's not to love?  I made some glorious cream cheese frosting last week, intending to use it for some red velvet whoopie pies I was making, which were a colossal fail.  So I thought banana whoopie pies would work just as well with the frosting.

I used my Mom's banana bread recipe for the cakes.  Banana bread recipes are like chocolate chip cookie recipes in that everyone swears theirs (or their Mom's) is the best.  Well this one is, really.  It tasted delightful with the frosting, which I got from Baked Explorations.  This is honestly the BEST cream cheese frosting I have had.  I usually whip frosting quite a bit, and the recipe recommended not to over beat so it doesn't lose its structure.  My other favourite cream cheese frosting recipe tends to be a bit runny, but this would be perfect for piping.  I finished it off with some chopped walnuts around the sides.  Yum!

For the Pies:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 bananas, mashed
1 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on medium-high speed cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Mix in bananas and vanilla until well combined.

Add the flour mixture alternating with the milk, in five additions, starting and ending with flour.  Mix until just combined.  If using a whoopie pie pan fill cavities about 2/3 full, if not spoon heaping tablespoons of batter onto parchment lined baking sheets, about 1.5 inches apart.  Bake for 10 minutes or until an inserted cake tester comes out clean.

For the Cream Cheese Filling:
From Baked Explorations

3 cups confectioners' sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Sift the confectioners' sugar into a medium bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until is completely smooth.  Add the cream cheese and beat until combined.

Add the confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat until smooth.  Be careful not to overbeat the filling, or it will lose structure.  (The filling can be made 1 day ahead. Cover the bowl tightly and put it in the refrigerator.  Let the filling soften at room temperature before using.)

Assemble the Whoopie Pies

Use an ice cream scoop or a tablespoon to drop a large dollop of filling onto the flat side of the cookie.  Place another cookie, flat side down, on top of the filling.   Press down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edges of the cookie.  If desired, roll edges in finely chopped walnuts.  Put the whoopie pies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm up before serving.

The whoopie pies will keep for up to 3 days on a parchment-lined baking sheet covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator.

Linked to Sweet Tooth Friday 
and Sweets for a Saturday 
and Seasonal Sunday

Vanilla Buttermilk Waffles

Sometimes you're just in the mood for waffles.  Lovely little squares for butter and syrup to collect in, mmm, waffles are such a nice way to start the day.  I typically make pancakes for weekend breakfasts, but we thought we would give the Clinton St. Baking Co. waffles a go.  It uses the base recipe for their pancakes (which are pure heaven) with a few additional ingredients.  I loved them,  they were crisp on the outside, cakey on the inside, with a lovely mild orange flavour.

The recipe was a little strange, calling itself buttermilk waffles but there was no buttermilk in the recipe (?).  I assumed this was a typo and used buttermilk instead of milk for the pancakes.  

Vanilla Buttermilk Waffles
from Clinton St. Baking Co.

Pancake batter (use batter recipe for Neil's Pancakes)
NOTE: I used buttermilk in place of milk for the pancake recipe
1 tablespoon clarified butter
1 tablespoon canola oil, plus more for waffle iron
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange extract

Make the pancake better, lightly fold in clarified butter, oil, vanilla, and orange extract.  Preheat waffle iron to 350 degrees F, according to manufacturers instructions.
Once waffle iron is ready, spray with nonstick oil.  Cook for 3 1/2 minutes or until waffle is golden brown with a  nice crust and crunchy texture.  Serve with whatever toppings you like!

Linked to Sweet Tooth Friday 
and Sweets for a Saturday

Salted Caramel Sauce

If chocolate is the love of my life than caramel is a close second.  Caramel sauce is divine on everything from ice cream, to brownies, to pancakes.  I made Magnolia's caramel sauce a few month's back, and it was tasty, but missing something.  That something was salt.  

Today I made David Lebovitz's rich salty caramel sauce, and it is truly a delight.  I could probably eat the entire batch with a spoon, but I won't.  Not all of it anyways.  Caramel sauce is super easy to make, it just takes correct timing.  You want the butter/sugar mixture to be very browned but not burnt, and that can happen very quickly so you need to keep close watch.  I upped the salt to 1/4 teaspoon, and would probably use 1/2 teaspoon next time.  I adore salty and sweet combinations.

Rich Caramel Sauce

from  David Lebovitz

1/2 cup unsalted or salted butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt, or more to taste.

In a large saucepan or a Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat.  Add the sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar begins to caramelize, then turns dark amber in colour and begins to foam a bit (it should smell and look like it's just on the verge of burning).  Remove from heat and slowly and carefully add in the cream (the mixture will bubble vigorously), whisking constantly until all of the cream is added.

Return the pan to med-low heat and stir until the sauce is smooth, about 1 minute.(this took about 5 minutes for me).  Then stir in vanilla and salt. 

Remove from the heat and allow to cool, then taste, and add more salt, if desired..

The caramel can be stored for up to two weeks in the refrigerator. Rewarm before serving.

Linked to: Sweet for a Saturday #3

Norwegian Cinnamon Buns

Saturday morning is my favourite time of the whole week.  It's the first morning in five days that my husband isn't rushing to get out the door for work and my kids get to spend some quality time with him.  It's time for just the four of us to reconnect after a hectic week and just relax. 

It's also my free day.  Even though I cheat quite often, Saturday is my day to eat whatever I whenever I want.  If I feel like chocolate before breakfast, then that's what I have.  And so I usually make a calorie-laden brunch, typically pancakes or waffles.  But this week, I was in the mood for cinnamon buns.  Actually I was last week too but I killed the yeast and gave up.

This week they turned out just lovely.  I used Nigella's Norwegian cinnamon recipe, we had made her Schnecken (essentially German cinnamon buns) in the past and they turned out well so I though I would give these a go.  One note: I did need to add about an extra 1/4 cup flour to the dough since it turned out quite sticky.  I found another blogger who had made these and she had the same problem.

Norwegian Cinnamon Buns 
from Nigella Lawson

For the dough:
4 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
½ tsp salt
scant 3 tablespoons (3 1/4-ounce packages) of rapid-rise yeast or 3 tablespoons fresh yeast
scant 1/2 cup butter
1 2/3 cups milk
2 eggs

For the filling:
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
1 egg, beaten, to glaze

Roasting  pan approximately 13 x 10, lined with baking parchment bottom and sides

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a large bowl. Melt the butter and whisk it into milk and eggs, then stir it into the flour mixture. Mix to combine and then knead the dough either by hand or using the dough hook of a food mixer until its smooth and springy. (I actually had to add a good 1/4 cup extra flour at this point this the dough was way too sticky). Form into a ball, place in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic warp and leave it to rise for about 25 minutes.

Take one-third of the dough and roll it or stretch it to fit your tin; this will form the bottom of each bun when it has cooked. Roll out the rest of the dough on a lightly floured surface, aiming to get a rectangle of roughly 20x10 inches. Mix the filling ingredients in a small bowl and then spread the rectangle with the buttery cinnamon mixture. Try to get even coverage on the whole of the dough.

Roll it up from the longest side until you have a giant sausage. Cut the roll into 3/4-inch slices which should make about 20 rounds. Sit in rounds in lines of top of the dough in the tin, swirly cut-side up. Don’t worry if they don’t fit snugly together as they will swell and become puffy when they prove. Brush them with egg and let them rise again for about 15 minutes to let them get duly puffy.
Put in the hot oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, by which time the buns will have risen and will be golden brown in colour. Don’t worry it they catch in places. Remove them from the tin and leave to cool slightly on a rack-it’s easy just to pick up the whole sheet of parchment and transfer them like that-before letting people tear them off, to eat warm.

Makes 20

Linked to Sweets for a Saturday #3 
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Grasshopper Bars

 Years ago boozy cocktails with my girlfriends was a nightly event.  One of my favourite drinks was the grasshopper, which is cream, creme de cacao, and creme de menthe.  When browsing through Baked Explorations and I found the recipe for grasshopper bars, my inner party girl insisted that I make these.  And ooooh are they tasty.  A rich brownie base, with a glorious minty buttercream, topped with a chocolate glaze.

This recipe does take some time, so set several hours aside since you need to assemble each layer on it's own and each requires cooling time.  They're so worth it though.  The buttercream used is a new one for me, it basically calls for you to make your own condensed milk and add butter to that.  It's glorious. Glorious I tell you.

 Grasshopper Bars
Makes 24 brownies,  from Baked Explorations


For the Brownie Base:
3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp dark unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Sharfenberger)
5 oz good quality dark chocolate (60-72%), coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into 1 inch cubes
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325.

Butter the sides and bottom of a glass or light-colored metal 9x13 inch pan.  Line the bottom with a sheet of parchment paper and butter the parchment.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder.

Configure a large double boiler.  Place the chocolate and the butter in the bowl of the double boiler and stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and combined.  Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add both sugars.  Whisk the sugars until completely combined.  Remove the bowl from the pan.  Wait until the mixture is at room temperature

Add three eggs to the chocolate/butter mixture and whisk until just combined.  Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not overbeat the batter or your brownies will be cakey.

Sprinkle the flour/cocoa/salt mix over the chocolate.  Using a spatula (do NOT use a whisk) fold the dry ingredients into the wet until there is just a trace amount of the flour/cocoa mix visible.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top with an offset spatula, and bake for approximately 12-15 minutes, rotating halfway through the baking time. The brownies should be just a tad underdone (about 1 minute from being cooked completely).  A toothpick inserted in the brownies at an angle should yield a few loose crumbs.  (I like my brownies quite underdone so I removed them after about 10 minutes, but it's up to your preference). Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the pan while you make the creme de menthe filling.

For the Buttercream
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour
3/4 cup milk
2 tbsp heavy cream
1 1/2 stick butter, softened but still cool, cut into small cubes
3 tbsp creme de menthe
1 tsp peppermint extract

In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the sugar and flour together.  Add the milk and cream and cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally until the mixture comes to a boil and has thickened, 5-7 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Beat on high until cool.  Reduce the speed to low and add the butter and mix until thoroughly incorporated. increase the speed to medium-high and beat until filling is light and fluffy.

Add the creme de menthe and peppermint extract and mix until combined. If the filling is too soft, chill slightly in the refrigerator and then mix again until it is the proper consistency.  If the filling is too firm, place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and re-mix to proper consistency.  Spread the filling evenly across the top of the brownie layer and place the pan in the refrigerator, for a minimum of 45 minutes while you make the chocolate glaze. 

For the Chocolate Glaze
6 oz good quality dark chocolate (60-72%) coarsely chopped
1 tsp light corn syrup
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, cut into cubes

In a large non-reactive metal bowl, combine the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter.  Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is completely smooth.  Remove the bowl from the pan and stir vigorously for 1 minute to release excess heat.

Pour the mixture over the chilled creme de menthe layer and use an offset spatula to spread it into an even layer.  Place the pan back in the refrigerator for 1 hour, until the glaze hardens.

Linked to Sweets for a Saturday #3
and Sweet Tooth Friday