Vote for Your Favorite Flavor!

So many of you have read my blog over the weeks and I would like to reward you for all your hard effort by baking some cupcakes to celebrate Fall Break! Please vote on your favorite flavor and then we can all eat the winner Thursday!

Week Ten: White Chocolate Tiramisu Trifle

Sorry again about another schedule change but it just seemed too early to do pumpkin, I figured it would be more fitting closer to Thanksgiving.

As for this recipe, it turned out rather delightful. The one flaw was a trifle bowl. For those of you not familiar with trifles, they are made from various ingredients such as thick custards, whipped cream, pudding and sponge cakes. These are traditionally made as multiple layers of different fillings. Trifle bowls have a very particular shape. They are most often made of glass. They are tall bowls usually 10 inches wide with a large stand base. Trifles bowls are typically not hard to find, and usually not super expensive, but sadly I do not own one. This week I got a little inventive. I thought of just putting the trifle in one of my mixing bowls, but that wouldn’t look too great huh? So then I looked around and found my cake stand. It has a wooden base with a glass lid. I decided it would be perfect to turn the lid upside down and use that! So that is how this trifle came to be in my glass cake stand lid. On to more exciting things, the recipe!

So the ingredients are pretty basic:
1/2 cup hot brewed espresso
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons Kahlua
16 oz. mascarpone cheese (I decided to use cream cheese instead)
1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pint heavy cream
13 oz. store-bought angel food cake
1 1/2 oz. white chocolate

1.) Start by adding the white sugar to the espresso until fully dissolved. Then add 1/4 cup water and the Kahlua.
2.) Combine the cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla in a bowl and blend with electric mixer on low-speed. Gradually pour in the cream while mixing.
3.) Cut the cake into three equal layers. Place one layer in the bowl and then drizzle 1/3 of the espresso mixture onto the cake.
4.) Next spoon 1/3 of the cheese mixture on top of the cake and grate 1/3 of the white chocolate over the mixture. Repeat two more times until you have used all the ingredients.
5.) Refrigerate for at least four hours and enjoy!

I really like this recipe because it was simple and delicious. Trifles are great because they let you blend lots of flavors together. Since angel food cake is plain it makes for a great opportunity to add multiple different flavors and textures. The cream cheese mixture gets a little stiffer after sitting in the fridge and is still super creamy. It just tastes so light and delicious. I strongly suggest this recipe for any beginners. You should definitely try adding new ingredients too. Good luck!

Week Nine: Gluten Free Almond Cake

So this week I would like to share a recipe for a gluten-free cake. Gluten is most commonly found in wheat, barley, rye, malt and triticale. Corn, potatoes, rice, and tapioca are most the most commonly used substitutions for gluten. Gluten free is not just for people with allergies or coeliac disease. I actually really like the taste of gluten-free cakes. I have tried regular gluten-free cakes, but this recipe sounded delicious with the almond. This recipe originally called for orange zest and orange juice but orange is the one flavor that I really hate so I decided to do a little substitution and use raspberry flavoring instead. I really love baking because you can substitute for any tastes you don’t like and switch to what you do like. Its fun and exciting!

Recipe time!

1.) First things first, set the oven to 325º and grease a 10″ springform pan with cooking spray and then sprinkle it will rice flour.
2.) In a large bowl, whip three egg yolks with 2/3 cup white sugar until thick. This will take about five mintues. Then stir in 1/4 cup rice flour and then fold in 1 1/2 cup almond meal and 1 teaspoon raspberry extract.

3.) In a seperate bowl whip 3 egg whites until they can form a hard peak. Then fold in the almond mixture until well blended. Pour into the springform pan evenly.

4.) Bake 35 to 40 minutes. To check to make sure it is done insert a toothpick into the middle of the cake and make sure that it comes out clean.

This cake came out very very thin. I think that it doesn’r rise as well without wheat flour. That might by completely wrong but its my best guess. I also noticed that the batter itself was less than when you make a box of cake mix, so that might play a role in the size as well. This cake also tasted pretty thick and chewy compared to other gluten free cakes I have tried. I have always just used a mix since it is usually cheaper than buying the rice flour and almond meal but I felt that I should do it right for this, since buying a mix is not a challenge at all.

I hope that you will enjoy this recipe, especially if you are allergic to wheat! Have a great week!

Schedule Change!

Hello All,

I just wanted to let you know I will be deferring the Peppermint Dessert until after the Pumpkin Cake. I would like to complete a gluten free recipe this week in response to AJ’s request.

Recipe soon to follow!

Week Eight: Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce

When it is cold outside, bread pudding is the way to go. Its so moist and warm that it really warms up your entire body. I love eating bread pudding at restaurants because it is less work, but I like my own better because I control the ingredients. A lot of places add little things, mainly raisins, which I really hate. Even though I added raisins last week to my apple streusel I don’t add them most times. The recipe I used includes raisins, I just used a little less.

So here goes the recipe:
6 eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups sugar
4 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1 (1 pound) loaf of bread, better if it is day-old
1/2 cup golden raisins
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup whiskey

Begin by preheating the oven to 300º. 
Whip together the eggs and 1 1/2 cups of the white sugar. Mix in the milk, heavy cream, vanilla extract and cinnamon and whip together until smooth. 
Cut the bread into 1 inch cubes and layer them across the bottom of a medium sized baking dish and layer the raisins on top. Cover this with the whip from the last step and then allow it to become saturated.
Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown.
To make the sauce combine the butter, corn syrup, and remaining 1 1/2 cups of sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When it looks fully blended remove from heat and whisk in the whiskey. Serve the sauce warm over the bread pudding and enjoy!

I loke the phrase bake for X minutes, or until golden brown. I feel like every recipe I use tells me they want my dessert to be golden brown. What if I don’t want golden brown?? I like things to be cooked thoroughly but I really hate when things are burnt, so even if they are lightly browned I usually assume they are overdone. I end up eating everything below that top layer… It turns out well for both me and whoever is lucky enough to get to eat my leftovers. I have noticed that the same thing goes for my cupcakes. I hate icing but I know that most people like them so I always put icing on my cakes for everyone else but someone always ends up having to eat mine too… I only like the icing that is less sugary and more creamy. The whipped buttercream or cream cheese frosting is definitely the best way to go.

Week Seven: Apple Cobbler with Almond Streusel Topping

I would like to start off by saying that this is a little bit harder than most and definitely very time-consuming so make sure to plan properly. The topping does need to be chilled overnight so it will also take two days to complete. Even though it is hard, it is definitely worth the effort. The streusel topping was delicious and it was practically gone within minutes.

To begin with I am going to give you all the ingredients and then I will explain how to put it all together.
For the topping you need:
2 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 (2 1/2 sticks) margarine, or butter
1 cup vegetable shortening
4 ounces almond paste
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons almond extract

For the filling:
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
5 pounds Golden Delicious Apples
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 cups golden raisins, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes and drained
2 tablespoons brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.) To make the topping combine the sugar, margarine, vegetable shortening, and almond paste in a heavy-duty mixer. Blend until smooth. Add flour and almond extract and mix until combined. Form into a thick disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least for hours but overnight if possible.

2.) The recipe says to use a 15×10 inch 3-quart baking dish however I used a 9×13 inch 3-quart dish. Preheat the oven to 350°.
3.) Stir 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice in a large bowl or cold water. Peel and core the apples and then cut them into 1/2-inch-thick wedges and drop them into the lemon water.
4.) Mix the brown sugar and white sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Drain the apples well and add the sugar mixture. Add the raisins and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Stir in the brandy and vanilla. Then put the apples along the bottom of the baking dish. To put the streusel topping on top you need to use the large holes of a box grater and sprinkle the topping all over the apples. Make sure to be very delicate; if the topping is packed it will be too crunchy when baked.

5.) Bake until the topping is crisp and golden brown and the apples are tender. I let it cook 70 minutes as opposed to 60 like the recipe called for due to the size difference of my baking dish.
6.) Serve warm and enjoy!

This recipe calls for a lot of ingredients and tools that not every beginning baker may own, so substitutions may be required. If you do not own a grater I would recommend slicing the topping into very thin slivers. This may be highly time-consuming but still it is necessary.

 If you need to substitute the baking dish make sure that you use one that is flat enough and also big enough for the size of this dessert. If needed you could reduce the size of all ingredients proportionally and make a smaller dessert.

 Also, if you would like to change the fruit I recommend pears, apricots, peaches or plums, however many other options exist as well.

I love this dessert mainly for the topping. I really like almond flavor. I first ate this dessert at a dinner party at my mom’s best friends house. I asked her for the recipe and I was a little worried I wouldn’t be able to make it as delicious as her. To my surprise it turned out excellent and I highly recommend this. It is a little challenging, but I think anyone can do. Hopefully you get the opportunity to give it a shot!

Week Six: Customizable Cheesecake

So for this week I wanted to make a cheesecake, however I was not quite sure what flavors I wanted to add. The solution to this problem is a customizable cheesecake recipe.

I am going to provide you with the most basic cheesecake recipe and then you can just add any special ingredients that you are in the mood for. Basically, the start to any cheesecake is cream cheese. Simply blend 16 oz. of softened cream cheese, 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract. Then add 2 eggs and mix well. For the crust either use a pre-made crust or make one yourself. They are super simple to make. Combine 1 cup of crushed graham crackers with 3 tbsp. of melted butter and 3 tbsp. of sugar. Make sure to bake the crust for about 10 minutes.

Then you add the cream cheese mixture and bake between 35 and 40 minutes at 325° or 350° depending on altitude. Please keep in mind that all my recipes are made at one mile above sea level. Sometimes I add extra flour or less water or change the heat when baking, so just remember that all recipes are customizable.

After baking the cheesecake definitely refrigerate for a minimum of three hours, however I recommend overnight to ensure the best consistency.

This is the ultimate dessert. You can change so many different aspects of a cheesecake but this is what I find to be the simplest and also really delicious! Sometimes I like to make cheesecake minis in a cupcake pan. The best part with the mini ones is the crust. You can use the crust recipe from above, however I discovered a trick a couple of months ago to use a vanilla wafer as the crust. It fits perfect in the bottom of the pan, it is super simple, and tastes really great. Another added benefit to the mini cheesecakes is that you don’t need to cut the cake. It is perfect for work parties when I don’t want to bring a whole cheesecake and a whole mess in.