I Dream of Baking

Low Fat Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2012-02-01T22:15:00.000-08:00

Personally, I have been trying to change my eating habits. With the start of a new year, this is important for many of us, I'm sure...

So to help everyone along this journey who is struggling with dessert cravings, I have an excellent option!
I recently made some oatmeal cookies, substituting some unhealthy ingredients for healthier options...

For example, by using applesauce instead of butter, you are able to save on both calories and fat, but still keep a delicious moistness.
In addition, there's only one egg in the recipe, but the dough still holds well even after baking!

To boost the healthiness, you can add more raisins, nuts, or anything else! Yummy options include sliced almonds, flax seeds, craisins (dried crnaberries), or even cheat and use chocolate chips ;)

Go ahead, try this quick and easy recipe! The cookies will store in an airtight container for 1-2 weeks.

Low Fat Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp butter, room temperature
1/4 c plain apple sauce
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups quick cooking oats
Optional (1/2 cup of nuts, dried fruit, etc. or a combination)*
*I used 1/4 cup of sliced almonds and 11/4 cup of dried cranberries

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or grease with cooking spray).
2) Combine dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon) in a bowl
3) Cream brown and white sugars with the butter. Mix in the egg and extract.
4) Stir in oats and the flour mixture.
5) Add cranberries, nuts, or even chocolate chips!
6) Drop cookie dough in tablespoon sized drops, about half an inch away from each other onto the lined baking sheets.
7) Bake for 9-12 minutes. The cookies will not be perfectly browned because of the lack of butter, but they should be lightly golden brown on the edges and bottom. Wait a few minutes before removing from the sheets.
8) After baking, cool completely and enjoy!

'Till Next Time,

Ruby

Almond Biscotti

2012-01-04T14:22:00.000-08:00

It's the beginning of a new year, and I have taken a resolution to continuously posting recipes and ideas for my readers. Today, I am introducing you to a cookie or biscuit like creation called biscotti.

Biscotti can be flavored in a number of ways, from adding plain vanilla to chopped dried cherries. It pairs very well with a hot drink like coffee or milk tea, because the cookie itself is crunchy in texture. Biscotti is a twice baked cookie, which means that after the dough is baked once, it is taken out of the oven and placed back in to be baked once more.

Almond Biscotti

Recipe Adapted from Food.com

Ingredients:

2 cups All-Purpose Flour

1 cup Sugar (white)

1 tsp Baking powder

¼ tsp Salt

3 large Eggs

1 stick Unsalted butter, melted

2 tsp Vanilla

1 cup Whole almonds (toasted and chopped)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 325°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2) Combine dry ingredients and set aside.

3) Whisk eggs and flavorings together. Mix in melted butter and almonds.

4) Add in dry ingredients and mix everything well. The dough will be very sticky, but don’t worry!

5) Divide the dough into half, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

6) Shape dough into two loaves (10 in long, 5 in wide). Use wet hands so the dough does not stick.

7) Bake about 45-50 minutes, until loaves and lightly golden.

8) Remove from oven and cool on racks for 15 minutes.

9) Use a serrated knife to cut loaves into ½ inch wide wedges.

10)Lay slices down onto the baking trays and baked again for 25-30 minutes, until golden in color.

11)Cool completely before storing. They taste even better a day or two later! Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

2011-11-20T21:14:00.000-08:00

A while back, someone requested I make some cupcakes. I wanted them to be special, so I decided to make some cupcakes baked with cookie dough in them. They turned out wonderful, but I learned some lessons.

1) It is best to bake them a little less (maybe 5-6 min) than you would normally for cupcakes, only if you want the "cookie dough" taste to them. If you want the dough in the cupcakes to bake a bit more, leave them in the oven like you would normally.

2) Roll about a teaspoon of cookie dough and drop it in to cupcake liners.

3) You will need to pour less batter because the cookie dough will take up more space.

4) Use any recipe of cookie dough that you love...normally, chocolate chip cookie dough is the best. You can even use premade dough!

5) For the frosting, I used regular buttercream frosting and sprinkled it with chocolate chips. However, you could try some cookie dough frosting.

6) If you are worried about eggs in the recipe for cookie dough, try going to the link above, which also includes an egg-less cookie dough recipe.

7) Enjoy!

Where Have I Been?

2011-09-01T20:46:00.000-07:00

It's been such a long time and I've missed posting on this dear blog of mine. It's been busy since I posted last time. There's been a lot of chaos, adventures, and drama. But all is well, and my sister and I are doing good. So let me just update you on what's been going on. Have I stopped making desserts?

Not unless you think cakes and cupcakes aren't desserts...

Like these beautiful floral-themed cupcakes I made for my youngest sister:\

Chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, decorated with buttercream frosting using a star tip.

These sugar cookies were baked and decorated into flower shapes using royal icing:

And finally, a dessert table is not complete without cheesecake:

New York Cheesecake, graham cracker crust, with a bittersweet chcolate topping.

That's all for now..it's good to be back and I hope you enjoyed reading =)

'Till Next Time,

Ruby (Your Fellow Baker)

SMS (Hosting) Peanut Praline

2011-05-22T17:26:00.000-07:00

I was honored to be one of the last host(ess) for the Sweet Melissa Sundays Baking group! It's been a while since I posted, but since summer is rolling around, I plan on putting up a number of new posts!

Today's SMS recipe was peanut praline...I used the penaut brittle recipe in the Sweet Melissa Baking book, and processed them in the food processor to make the praline.

I was glad to have all these ingredients on hand: vanilla, butter, sugar, corn syrup, salt, baking soda, and of course, peanuts!

The first step involved making the sugar/syrup mixture. Once brought to a boil, and cooked up to a certain temperature, the mixture was ready to sit and cool down.

Once set after cooling, I broke the pieces of the brittle.

It would have been easy for me to eat all of this, but if you ever make peanut brittle, be sure to process it in the food processor!

Peanut praline + ice cream = party in my mouth!

*note: please do not plagarize pictures without permission*

Also, check out the other bakers' links here!

I'm Craving Caramel Corn....(plus how to pop your own popcorn!)

2011-02-26T21:20:00.000-08:00

That's right. The title says it all: caramel corn cravings are set in. Though I made the batch in the pictures just a while ago, I don't think I make caramel corn enough times to satisfy my caramel corn cravings!

This way to eat corn is possibly the best ever. Sweet, a little salty, crunchy or gooey, any way you eat caramel corn is absolutely addicting.

(You can eat these by the handful, trust me)

Anyways, there's really no need to go buy a bag of those pre-made caramel corn when you can easily make a batch for yoursleves in no time! There's only a few steps involved....

To make your own popcorn:

You will Need:

Oil, Corn Kernels, Salt, Pot with Lid

(2 qts popcorn- 3 tbsp oil, 1/4 cup kernels)

1) Pour 3 tbsp oil in a pot; set over med-high heat. Drop two kernels into the oil. Wait until they pop- be careful, don't burn yourself!

2) Pour 1/4 cup of kernels into the pot- cover with lid. Turn the heat off for a minute. Turn the heat back to med-high and wait as kernels begin to pop.

3) When you hear that familiar pop-pop-poppity-pop, allow a little steam to escape. When the popping slows down, they popcorn is ready! Pour into a bowl, sprinkle with salt, and eat! Or make more popcorn and turn it into caramel corn (better choice!).

Some awesome caramel corn recipes:

Amish Friend's Caramel Corn

Simply Recipes- Caramel Corn

So go now...turn this beautiful white popcorn...

...into golden, crunchy, delicious caramel corn

Tips:

bake longer for crunchier corn;

watch out for hot kernels popping;

don't use margarine if a recipe calls for is- use real butter! You'll thank me later :)

So tell me...what are you craving at the moment?

Vanilla, Sugar, and Cookies in the Rain

2011-01-03T22:04:00.000-08:00

California has an unusual number of rainy days, but it is refreshing, I have to say...it's the perfect weather to bake in! If I lived in a rainy area, I'd be ocnstantly baking- sugar and the oven heat are so comforting in the rain, don't you think? So a while back, I made these sugar vanilla cookies and they turned out great!

I was looking for something easy, quick, and simple...

Something classic, sweet, and chewy

Really, what are you waiting for? Scroll down to the bottom for some sugar cookie recipes!

Simply Recipes

Epicurious

Alton Brown (FoodNetwork)

Till Next Time,

Your Fellow Baker (Ruby)

CSN Winner + Upcoming Posts

2010-11-14T21:21:00.000-08:00

Okay, I left this off until the end of the weekend...but can you blame me? It's an exciting thing to pick the winner of my first contest!

So the winner is number 5, TracieTrump! I will be contacting you so check your email!
*whew* that's over with...hopefully there will be more giveaways in the future for more chances =)

As for upcoming posts, I have a few planned..sweet walnut and almond bakhlava and buttery, melt-in-you-mouth sugar cookies are to be posted soon!

$40 CSN Giftcard Giveaway!

2010-11-02T13:43:00.000-07:00

CONTEST CLOSED AS OF FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2010- MIDNIGHT- PTZ.
Thanks to everyone who participated!

I love giveaways (even if I never actually win anything for entering). But giving away is always good, so I'm going to giveaway a little something. You can have a chance to enter to win $40 worth of products from the CSN stores!

~~CSN stores have literally everything you can image: a~~ ~~drop leaf table, a coffeemaker, or a baking dish. They have 200 online stores where you can shop for any item you might need.~~

~~So they offered to allow me to give YOU $40 to use in any of their stores*. All you have to do is enter.~~

~~RULES~~

~~1. Become a follower.~~
~~2. Leave a comment saying you are a follower.~~
~~3. If you are already a follower, then let me know one item you wish to purchase as a comment.~~
~~4. Make sure I can contact you through your profile (leave an email address, link to your blog, etc).~~
~~5. Winner will be chosen randomly~~
6. Deadline: Friday, November 12, 2010 at midnight (Pacific Time Zone)
~~7. Winner to be announced that following weekend (November 13 or 14)~~

~~Extra Entry~~

~~1. Become a fan on the~~ ~~I Dream of Baking FanPage~~.
~~2. Leave your second comment about any item you would like to buy.~~

~~And that's all you have to do. Follow. Comment. One of you wins $40!~~

~~*Shipping is not included in this*~~

Till Next Time,

Ruby (Your Fellow Baker!)

Fudgy Chocolate Cake from Spago

2010-10-12T21:53:00.000-07:00

I know I've been on a break, but I am here with this recipe from the Spago Chocolate Book. This recipe is perfect for chocolate lovers (but vanilla fans like myself can also enjoy this!). It's a moist, scrumptious cake that is to be enjoyed on any chilly day. Don't deprive yourself of trying this recipe out.

Recipe slightly adapted from the Spago Chocolate Book:

You will Need-
10-in bundt pan (pound cake pan works well too)
Vegetable oil spray

Ingredients-
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
12 oz. bittersweet chocolate (cut in small pieces)
8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter (cut into small pieces)
2 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tbls vanilla extract
2 cups cold brewed coffee

*Note: I chose to omit the coffee, you can do the same and it will turn out fine*

Method:

1- Place rack in cneter of over; preheat to 350 degrees F. Coat ban with vegetable oil spray. If the pan has no non-stick coating, dust it with flour and tap out the excess.
2- Sift flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3- In a medium heatproof bowl over pan of simmering water, melt chocolate and butter. Stir occasionally until almost completely melted; turn off heat and let it melt all the way.
4- In a large bown under an electric mixer, whip eggs. Gradually pour in the sugar, continuing to beat. Raise the speed until all sugar is incorporated. On low speed, add the melted chocolate/butter, vanilla, and mix well.
5-Alternate between flour mixture and coffee (beginning and ending with flour mixture)- if omitting coffee, simply add flour in small scoopfulls on low speed. Turn the speed to high, making sure to scrape the edges of the bowl.
6- Pour batter into pan; tap pan to level batter. Bakie about an hour, testing it with a cake tester or toothpick (it should come out clean). Cool on rack for 15 minutes; invert onto platter.
7- Cut up slices, serve with fresh whipped cream and strawberries. Mmm....enjoy!

To see an easy chocolate melting technique, click on this post

You can't go resist a slice of this beauty. It's moist, chocolately, and pictures just beautifully. Go on, try it!

'Til Next Time,

Your Fellow Baker Ruby

Baked Alaska

2010-08-27T18:14:00.000-07:00

Hello Fellow Bakers,

~~We are sorry to say that this post has no pictures because our August 2010 Daring Bakers challenge did not go as well as we had planned.~~ You see, we were super excited to make baked Alaska, a dessert dish consisting of cake topped with ice cream, then covered in meringue and baked at a high temperature. We did make the ice cream and the brown butter pound cake, ~~it did not come together very well.~~ It was just a matter of time, following directions, and learning to work with meringue.

What happened was...on the day of the assembly for the baked Alaska, the meringue was made a bit too early. Because of the heat, or maybe just the amount of time I waited, the meringue lost its air, and became too soupy. Thus, the ice cream and cake could not be covered in the meringue as it kept sliding down. It was very disheartening to realize that after 8 egg whites, 2 sticks of brown butter, and more wonderful goodness, the delightful dessert did not work out.

Well, we learn and live...and in the kitchen, you can never allow soupy meringue to get the best of you. Nope, not even if it makes you cry a little to see your hard work go to waste.

Updated: September 1, 2010-
Good news! The meringue worked! And it turned out pretty. Pretty yummy. Mhm..

Baked Alaska: The Daring Bakers

The August 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Elissa of 17 and Baking. For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alaska or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The sources for Elissa’s challenge were Gourmet magazine and David Lebovitz’s “The Perfect Scoop”.

Vanilla Ice Cream
1 cup (250ml) whole milk
A pinch of salt
3/4 cup (165g) sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise OR 2 teaspoons (10ml) pure vanilla extract
2 cups (500ml) heavy (approx 35% butterfat) cream
5 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract

1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan until the liquid steams. Scrape out the seeds of the vanilla bean with a paring knife and add to the milk, along with the bean pod. Cover, remove from heat, and let infuse for an hour. (If you do not have a vanilla bean, simply heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan until the liquid steams, then let cool to room temperature.)
2. Set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2 litre) bowl inside a large bowl partially filled with water and ice. Put a strainer on top of the smaller bowl and pour in the cream.
3. In another bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks together. Reheat the milk in the medium saucepan until warmed, and then gradually pour ¼ cup warmed milk into the yolks, constantly whisking to keep the eggs from scrambling. Once the yolks are warmed, scrape the yolk and milk mixture back into the saucepan of warmed milk and cook over low heat. Stir constantly and scrape the bottom with a spatula until the mixture thickens into a custard which thinly coats the back of the spatula.
4. Strain the custard into the heavy cream and stir the mixture until cooled. Add the vanilla extract (1 teaspoon [5ml] if you are using a vanilla bean; 3 teaspoons [15ml] if you are not using a vanilla bean) and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, preferably overnight.
5. Remove the vanilla bean and freeze in an ice cream maker.

Brown Butter Pound Cake
19 tablespoons (9.5 oz) (275g) unsalted (sweet) butter
2 cups (200g) sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring) (See “Note” section for cake flour substitution)
1 teaspoon (5g) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt
1/2 cup (110g) packed light brown sugar
1/3 (75g) cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C and put a rack in the center. Butter and flour a 9”x9” (23cmx23cm) square pan.
2. Place the butter in a 10” (25cm) skillet over medium heat. Brown the butter until the milk solids are a dark chocolate brown and the butter smells nutty. (Don’t take your eyes off the butter in case it burns.) Pour into a shallow bowl and chill in the freezer until just congealed, 15-30 minutes.
3. Whisk together cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Beat the brown butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well, and then the vanilla extract.
5. Stir in the flour mixture at low speed until just combined.
6. Scrape the batter into the greased and floured 9”x9” (23cmx23cm) square pan. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula and rap the pan on the counter. Bake until golden brown on top and when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
7. Cool in the pan 10 minutes. Run a knife along the edge and invert right-side-up onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Meringue
8 large egg whites
½ teaspoon (3g) cream of tartar
½ teaspoon (3g) salt
1 cup (220g) sugar
Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt on high speed in an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Beat in the sugar gradually in a slow stream until stiff peaks form.

Assembly Instructions
1. Line four 4” (10cm) diameter tea cups with plastic wrap, so that plastic wrap covers all the sides and hangs over the edge. Fill to the top with ice cream. Cover the top with the overhanging plastic wrap and freeze for several hours, or until solid.
2. Level the top of the brown butter pound cake with a serrated knife or with a cake leveler. Cut out four 4” (10cm) diameter circles from the cake. Discard the scraps or use for another purpose.
3. Make the meringue (see above.)
4. Unwrap the ice cream “cups” and invert on top of a cake round. Trim any extra cake if necessary.

5. Pipe the meringue over the ice cream and cake, or smooth it over with a spatula, so that none of the ice cream or cake is exposed. Freeze for one hour or up to a day.
6. Burn the tips of the meringue with a cooking blow torch. Or, bake the meringue-topped Baked Alaskas on a rimmed baking sheet in a 500°F/260°C oven for 5 minutes until lightly golden. Serve immediately.

Till Next Time,

Your Fellow Bakers

Sweet Almond Cake

2010-08-23T23:10:00.001-07:00

We love, love, love almond cake. It's a perfect flavor that goes perfectly with a cup of tea. Or you can just scarf it down hot. Whatever way you eat it, almond cake is delicious.

This Sunday's Sweet Melissa Bakers' Katie chose Sweet Almond Cake with Lemon Curd and Lemon Mascarpone Cheese Frosting. Long title, simply delicious.

While it was not our first time making almond cake, it was our first time trying out lemon curd. And we were excited. Believe us, lemon is always good. But there was something in it...maybe the eggs- that did not pair well with the lemon for us. Though it is just wonderful that everyone else seems to love it! So we did not add that to the cake. And we chose to leave out the frosting because we knew the cake would taste wonderful without it.

It involved 12 egg whites, 2 cups of sugar, 2 sticks of browned butter, and a total of 3 cups of almond + all purpose flour. Yep, there was nothing to hate about this cake.

Though we did not add as many egg white as were called for, the cake turned out wonderfully. It was rich, had a beautiful almond flavor, and the browned butter was divine.

We also chose to add a coconut-almond topping (which tastes good with just about any cake flavor) in the middle of the two layers. Go check out the other SMS bakers here!

World of Pierogi- The Daring Cooks

2010-08-17T21:32:00.000-07:00

Pierogi. Ever heard of it? We sure haven't...at least, not until we went on to the Daring Kitchen website and saw August's challenge. Pierogi- little dumplings that are made of potato, flour, or bread. They have endless filling combinations; really, you can fill them up with just about anything edible, as long as the flavor combinations are yummy!

The August 2010 Daring Cooks' Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n' Bites and Anula of Anula's Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale.

Our dough had some problems...At first we decided to roll out the dough, and cut out circles. But the dough stuck onto the board (yes, it was well floured!). Maybe there wasn't enough flour in the mixture? Second, every time we rolled, the circle of dough just shrunk back. Eventually, though, it cooperated with us.

We decided to just roll little dough balls out instead of cutting them out. It worked perfectly. Then we prepared the fillings- and we did use both savory and sweet fillings. For the savory, we chose potato and ground beef (this recipe is not included) and for the sweet, chocolate hazelnut spread mixed with walnuts (recipe below).

Traditionally, pierogi is boiled, and then one can pan fry them, but- you may have noticed by now we always have to changed one thing or another on any recipe we're following. So we deep fried them instead for two reasons. One- we've been meaning to make Nutella wontons for a while, and this seemed like it could work, and two- everything tastes good if it's fried.

They fried quite nicely, but if you are planning to fry these, be sure to serve them hot. When they cool, they do not taste as good, and become a bit chewy in texture.

Still, both were a success. If we had to choose one as a winner, it would be the Nutella pierogi! Definitely, Nutella and walnuts in deep fried dough..it's a gorgeous combination. As a bonus, as soon as the pierogi is done frying, YOU CAN SMELL THE CHOCOLATE! The scent just magically drifts up to your nose.

Nutella Nut Pierogi

powdered sugar

Dough

2 cups flour

1 egg

1 cup warm water

1 tsp salt

Filling

5 tbsp Nutella (or any chocolate hazelnut spread)

1/4 cup chopped walnuts or hazelnuts.

Optional- sliced bananas (one slice per circle of dough)

1) Mix flour, salt, and egg together. Make a well in the center of the mixture.

2) Add water slowly, using hands to stir the dough.

3) Be sure to add only as much water as needed; the dough should be soft and should not stick to your hands as you need it. Add more flour or water as necessary.

4) When dough is ready, flour a work surface. Break the dough into 1-1 1/2 in. pieces and roll them to make them smooth (you should have about 30)

5) Roll each dough piece into a circle. Fill each circle with a small drop of the Nutella and nut mixture.

6) Fold each circle in half, pressing down on the edges with a fork. Be sure to secure these edges.

7) Heat oil in a pot (remember these will be deep-fried). Drop a test piece of dough. If it rises slowly, then the oil is ready*. Fry the pierogi in batches, depending on how big your frying pot is.

8)Once they are golden-brown, remove from oil. Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes on a plate covered with a napkin- this will drain the excess oil out as well- then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

*If the dough piece pops up quickly, the oil is too hot!

Till Next Time,

Your Fellow Bakers (fryers?)

SMS- Chocolate Peppermint Meringues

2010-08-01T21:40:00.000-07:00

FINALLY- we are able to get a chance to bake with the other SMS members. And what a wonderful opportunity this was. Meringues are possibly one of the best dessert items in the world. There's nothing to hate about them- their light, airy textures..their sweet taste that can be flavored with just about anything..or the many ways you can decorate and serve them.

Kelly chose this Sunday's recipe, so go take a look to find out how to make these! Instead of making a sandwich with two meringues, we just dipped the bottoms into bittersweet chocolate.

They were enjoyed by everyone who ate them! Really, truly, if you have not had yourself a meringue, go eat one now. Experience the way a perfectly baked meringue can melt in your mouth- bliss.

If you hadn't noticed, we piped a few stars/flowers that are just adorable- they ended up baking much faster as well.

On a side note, look at the cute hats down below! They were made as little hair clips :)

(Last two pictures were taken by Mehwish ^.^) And go take a look at the other posts about this HERE!

Very Berry Cake- Perfect for Summer Afternoons

2010-07-27T11:20:00.001-07:00

Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries...Berries practically scream SUMMER at you. They are the fruit of the summer. Though they taste delicious alone, freshly picked off a bush, or even with whipped cream, they can taste just as fantastic baked into a cake.

The most normal vanilla cake can be transformed if you just add a cup of blueberries or strawberries to the batter. Better yet, add them to your frosting- they'll stay fresh that way and still taste amazing. That's just what we did.

Either pureed, cut into chunks, or whole, berries in frosting are irresistible. Combine that with cake, and you've got the perfect dessert for a summer afternoon with a glass of lemonade. Mmm...

To make this very berry cake:

Bake a 9-inch double layer vanilla, lemon, or strawberry cake.
Use 1 1/2 cups of frosting, and combine with a cup of chopped berries of your choice (we used strawberries).
Spread in the middle of the two layers. Cover the whole cake with frosting or more whipped cream.

Need a few recipes for berry cakes? Try this strawberry shortcake or this blueberry cake.

Till Next Time,

Your Fellow Bakers

A Surprise Cake

2010-07-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

We made a big white cake as a surprise the other day...And by big, we mean, BIG. We're talking about a 6-layered, cream filled jumbo cake. It was pure white and looked fluffy as a cloud.

People said they would skip lunch just to eat this cake. Yep. That's what they said. They also said they could not afford to take a full slice, so don't try to put those two statements together. But the cake managed to disappear at the end of the party anyways...

Why....? Because it was a six layered, cream filled, RAINBOW CAKE.

It was beautiful, it tasted wonderful, and it was the center of the dessert table. What more can you ask for in a cake?

This rainbow cake was one of the easiest cakes we've made- dye the batter, bake the cakes, stack them, and frost. Simple method, awesome results.

We strongly urge you now to go and spend a few hours creating a colorful cake for your best friends. They will love you all the more for it.

More summer desserts to come...

Till Next Time,

Your Fellow Bakers

It's Been a While...Why?

2010-07-02T11:36:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since we posted, but that's because things got a little too busy. While we did not stop cooking or baking, we just could not find time to post about it all. Now that summer is here, we are planning to continue. So just to let you know, this is what was going on....

We held a black, white, and red themed graduation party. Did anyone ever mention how much fun it is to party plan? Guest of honor: Ruby xD

We made a black and white cake....

We made two or three dozen mini cheesecakes....

We served Chinese food....

And we gave out party favors in Chinese takeout boxes...

As exhausting as this party was, it was well worth the effort put in. Nothing beats spending time with your dearest friends at the time of graduation. So what's next? College!

We would also like to thank our awesome (best) friend Mehwish, who took the pictures at the party, and was amazing enough to put together all the pictures into a CD. Thank you! You can expect a guest post by her sometime soon =D

SMS- Orange Chocolate Macaroons

2010-06-15T20:43:00.001-07:00

Coconut, coconut, coconut...
As coconut lovers, we have no problem posting recipes that include coconut. As you probably have noticed, there do seem to be quite a few recipes and posts on here about coconut.

It just so happened that Ellen of Blue Tree Green Heart chose a coconut recipe as well! We welcome all coconut recipes..and this might be one to try again. Coconut macaroons with chocolate and orange. Mmm...Though the recipe chosen had orange zest and chocolate, we chose the alternate: lemon.

Lemon and coconut pair together very nicely. The tartness of the lemon zest and juice which we added had a nice contrast to the sugary coconut.
Best of all, there was no machinery involved! That's right, no mixers, beaters, etc. Everything was mixed by hand, and then the mixture was formed into balls using an ice cream scoop. After baking, we tried them out. The bottoms of the macaroons, while still warm, were gooey (in a good way!) from the syrup formed by the sugar and lemon juice. We did bake them for about 30 minutes or so, and kept checking on them so they didn't burn. They we slightly crunchy, soft in the center, and very yummy.

Ellen has the recipe posted! If you want the lemon version, omit the chocolate and orange, and add the zest and juice of one lemon to the mixture.

Try out this recipe, let us know what you think!

Till Next Time,

Your Fellow Bakers

Gluten and Flour Free Peanut Butter Cookies

2010-06-09T21:07:00.000-07:00

Usually, the best recipes involve complicated steps. They are worth trying out, and sometimes you may even make them over and over again. You know those steps where you need to sift dry ingredients, mix 1/3 at a time, or bake for a couple of intervals-sometimes it can be too much.

But when you find those special recipes that only require a few steps, a few ingredients...and it turns out fabulous-this is one of those recipes. There's no creaming butter, no sifting flours, etc. In fact, there's only FOUR ingredients in this recipe. F-O-U-R. And just about as many steps to making them.

This recipe, found here, is super simple and very quick. It's one of those recipes you can try out immediately, and enjoy right away. The cookies, though a bit on the crumbly side, are not too sweet, big on the peanut butter flavor, and perfect for a snack.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter, chunky or smooth

1 cup sugar- 1/2 brown, 1/2 white

1 egg

1 tsp baking soda

Directions:

1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet, either with butter or non stick spray.

2- Combine peanut butter and sugars. Mix well. Add egg and baking soda. Mix well again.

3- Roll dough into balls (about size of walnuts). Press down with fork to create a crisscross pattern.

4- Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly brown.

5- Enjoy after cooling- do not attempt to lift while hot as they will crumble.

We hope you enjoy this recipe..and really, trust us on the waiting part. They don't taste nearly as good when they're super hot ;) Now..go and make these!

Till Next Time,

Your Fellow Bakers

SMS- Coconut Custard Pie

2010-05-30T18:45:00.000-07:00

It's our turn to post for Sweet Melissa Sundays! We chose Coconut Custard Pie, because our family loves coconut- and who can resist a custard pie?

The recipe was super simple- everything for the custard was made in a blender and just poured in. It's even easier if you happen to use pre-made pie dough (though the recipe actually calls for All Butter Pie Dough).

Besides the baking time, everything was made fairly quickly- and it all turned out wonderfully delicious! The custard was sweet, creamy, and did not have an overwhelming coconut taste. The only thing a bit off was how the crust turned a bit soggy due to the custard, but it worked. Don't mix in the coconut with the custard mix; place the coconut directly onto the pre-baked pie shell, and then pour in the custard. Recipe follows!

Coconut Custard Pie Recipe

Ingredients

Pie crust:

1 pre-baked 9-in. pie shell

Coconut custard filling:

3 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

2/3 tsp. cornstarch

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 cup heavy cream

2/3 cup whole milk

1 tbs pure vanilla extract

pinch ground cinnamon

Pinch freshly ground nutmeg

1 cup sweetened coconut

1 1/2 tbs unsalted butter at room temp.

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2.In a blender, pulse the eggs until pale yellow(15 sec.)

3. Add sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Pulse for another 15 sec.

4. Add heavy cream, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pulse blend for 30 seconds more.

5. Sprinkle coconut evenly over bottom of pre-baked pie shell.

6. Pour in the custard.

7. Dot the top with small pieces of butter.

8. Bake for 50-55 min or until golden and set.

9. remove to a wire rack to cool.

It's best served warm, but it taste great cold as well!

This pie keeps for 3 days refrigerated and tightly wrapped in plastic wrap (if it is not finished by then).

On a side note, look how our first try at macarons turned out! They formed beautiful feet, and had super smooth domes.

Thanks so much for baking with us! Go take a look at other members!

Till Next Time,

Your Fellow Bakers

DB: Piece Montee (Croquembouche)

2010-05-29T22:44:00.000-07:00

This month's Daring Bakers challenge was simply a lot of fun to make, and the recipes provided did not trouble us at all. Everything went smoothly from start to finish!

Now you're probably wondering what the title means....literally, it means a mounted piece- of what exactly? Cream puffs! This French dessert (sometimes served as wedding cakes in France) consists of cream puffs and a glaze which holds them all up in a lofty tower.

Though we are posting a bit late, this was completed on time, and everything was made in a day! That's how simple everything was in the recipes. Try it out, you won't regret it!

The May 2010 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Cat of Little Miss Cupcake. Cat challenged everyone to make a piece montee, or croquembouche, based on recipes from Peter Kump's Baking School in Manhattan and Nick Malgieri.

So pictured above is our tiny little Piece Montee: All the cream puffs are filled with vanilla creme, and it's all held together by hard caramel. First time making cream puffs as well as trying to decorate with hard caramel..it turned out pretty well...What do you think?

All recipes can be found HERE!

SMS- Butterscotch Pralines (Brittle)

2010-05-23T21:58:00.000-07:00

Butterscotch pralines: YUM. ADDICTING. SWEET. CRUNCHY.
These are some words that come to mind when you think of butterscotch pralines. And these pralines were exactly as delicious as their name sounds.

A combination of sugar, butterscotch candy, and nuts, this candy was a great choice picked by Tessa of the Cookin' Chemist. Thank you Tessa! Find the recipe on her blog.

Since it was our first time attempting pralines or any sort of candy, the recipe was a challenge. Our butterscotch morsels wouldn't melt in the mixer, so we melted them on the stove. We used cashew nuts instead of pecans- can you tell we never have pecans on hand when we need them?The pralines were scooped out perfectly onto the foil, but after a few seconds they ran into each other. And then...they didn't set!

So we turned the oven on, placed the tray in, and waited for everything to melt. Again, we cooled it, dared to touch it, and- it was hard! Into our mouths it went, but it turned out sticky and chewy. Back into the oven went the tray, and this time, it was left in their until it turned amber and bubbly and it frightened us that we may have left it a bit too long. But alas, the pralines were done- for good this time. We broke up pieces, snapped a few pictures, and came to post this on Sunday...but the computer wouldn't work. So it's finally going up today.

Lesson learned: temperature is so key in making this: check the temperature!

Till Next Time,

Your Fellow Bakers

Tutorial- Chocolate Leaves and Designs

2010-05-19T21:55:00.001-07:00

As promised, quite a while ago in this post, the chocolate leaf and design tutorial is here! We had some camera troubles, which is why this post is coming up so late- but to make up for that, here is a step-by-step photo tutorial on how to make use of chocolate!

Now, we're not professionals, and we're not saying we know everything about chocolate art, but we're just here to show you what we know. And so...brace yourselves...and grab that bag of chocolate chips!

Step by Step Tutorial

You will need:

Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

A sauce pan of simmering water

Spoons, knife, and tweezers

Ziploc bag and Wax Paper

Directions:
Start with a small saucepan of simmering water, heated on medium-low flame.

Place a bowl in the saucepan, and pour about 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips into the bowl. Begin stirring with a spoon, and make sure to press down on any lumps. Because this is being heated over hot water, there shouldn't be any burnt chocolate or hard lumps.

Once all the chocolate is melted, take a clean spoonful of chocolate- lay it flat on some wax paper. Turn the stove off, but leave the bowl in the saucepan.

Take one mint leaf and place it down on the chocolate, veined-side touching the chocolate. Gently press onto the leaf to make sure all the surface of the leaf is covered in chocolate.

Use the end of a knife to lift the leaf carefully (make sure it doesn't roll into itself), and lay it down on the wax paper, chocolate side facing up.

Leave in the fridge for 2-3 hours, until the chocolate has set and hardened. Take a pair of tweezers, or even a knife, and carefully peel of the leaf- being careful not to break the chocolate or tear the leaf.

And there you go...chocolate mint leaves! This can be done with any leaves with distinct vine shapes on them.

Now..with all that leftover chocolate....

Take a Ziploc bag, and fill it with the chocolate. Cut a tiny hole at the bottom corner of the bag. Twist the top- the chocolate will ooze out so be careful!

Make any design you want on wax paper- swirls, flowers, leaves, letters, etc.

Yes, it can become awfully messy, but it's so much fun!

Again, like the leaves, leave the wax paper in the fridge for a few hours, and use a tweezers to lift designs- or slowly peel away the paper from the designs- but use tweezers to handle the designs. The heat from your hand can easily melt the deigns, so be careful!

We hope this helps you a little in your chocolate adventures....

Till Next Time,

Your Fellow Bakers

Stacked Red Sauce and Grilled Chicken Enchiladas

2010-05-15T17:36:00.000-07:00

This month's Daring Cook's challenge was delcious, and so much fun to make: enchiladas.

Instead of the regular enchiadas that are normally rolled and covered in sauce, we had to stack them, and use any enchilada sauce along with it.

Our hosts this month, Barbara of Barbara Bakes and Bunnee of Anna+Food have chosen a delicious stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada recipe in honor of Cinco de Mayo! The recipe, featuring a homemade enchilada sauce was found on http://www.finecooking.com/ and written by Robb Walsh.

We used store-bought corn tortillas, and lightly fried them. We kept all the tortillas stacked in a large napkin to soak the oil, and keep them moist. We made a red sauce for the enchilada instead of the green one, and poured a bit between each tortilla, along with layering some Monterey Jack cheese. It was a bit like making lasagna, but it is a technique that will be used again because the enchiladas were moist and they cooked well, instead of drying up.

Finally, we served the enchiladas with Mexican rice, grilled peppers and chicken, salsa, and sour cream. It was a very succesful meal! To get the recipe for everything click here. And below is our red sauce recipe

Enchilada Red Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

One 14-oz can of tomato sauce

A half tbsp of tomato paste

3-4 tbsp water, depending on how thick you want it

4-5 tbsp hot or mild sauce (packets from fast food places work well!)

A pinch of salt and sugar

Directions:

1- Mix tomato sauce, hot sauce, sugar, and salt together.

2- Dissolve tomato paste in water

3- Mix tomato paste and water into the sauce

4- Add more hot sauce if needed (you won't be able to taste much of the heat because of the tortillas and cheese).

Till Next Time,

Your Fellow Bakers (cooks)

5- Use in enchilada dish, and also serve as a side dipping sauce.

SMS- Orange Blueberry Muffins with Pecan Crumble

2010-05-10T10:04:00.000-07:00

Finally a chance to post about an SMS baking adventure! This Sunday's post was Orange Blueberry Muffins with Pecan Crumble. How delicious does that sound? It is, after all, an enticing combination of flavors.

Unfortunately, we did not have blueberries or pecans, so we had to improvise and use what we did have- bananas and walnuts. The title of the post should be "Orange and Banana Muffins with Walnut Crumble". But for confusions' sake, we won't change it. You could say, however, that we were inspired by our over ripe bananas and the urge to bake some banana bread- what can you say, it's a satisfaction to kill two birds with one stone =)

Our change to the recipe in the Sweet Melissa recipe book included switching the fruit, obviously, as well as the nuts in the crumb topping. The orange is still included in the recipe (zest, instead of juice). We baked them into mini muffins, and at the last moment, it hit us: the crumb topping! Luckily, the rest of the batter was put into a small pan, so before it was given a chance to fully bake, we whipped up some crumb topping, and tossed it onto the muffin-cake-dish, and allowed it to bake properly.

We found the muffins not to be too dense (switching the fruit may have been the cause of this), and they actually turned out light and fluffy; though we were a bit disappointed when we found the texture of the muffins to be different than banana bread (an excuse for another post sometime?).

One more thing to note is the pan size: the mini muffins turned out light and a bit dry, while the batter in the cake pan turned out moister than the muffins. They still taste wonderful- both the tiny muffins and the slice of banana muffin-cake with the crumb topping. It's perfect for breakfast, brunch, or a snack!

Also, be sure to check out other SMS members and thank you Chaya, for choosing this week's recipe- the recipe can be found on her blog.

Upcoming posts: Chocolate Decorating (and Chocolate Leaves) and Red Velvet Whoopie Pies!

Till Next Time,

Your Fellow Bakers

Kung Pao Chicken

2010-05-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

We always hear of people ordering takeout, and every time someone mentions it, we feel a pang of jealousy. Because keeping menus of a restaurant in your little drawer, pulling it out anytime to order one or two of your favorite dishes, and calling the restaurant to order....that sounds nice (no, it sounds awesome). But here in our house, if we want something from a restaurant, we go out for it (there is a plus side to this, no dishes!). The only thing that's ever ordered as "takeout" is probably pizza (yeah, that probably doesn't count).

Who doesn't like Chinese food? We can't think of anyone who despises or refuses to eat it. This Kung Pao chicken recipe is so versatile; the main ingredient: chicken- can be replaced with anything (shrimp, beef, vegetables, you name it) and it will still taste great.

The recipe is pretty easy to follow, and there's not much that can go wrong- except for over frying the garlic, and then having the ginger splatter across the kitchen tiles- not like that ever happened, nope...

Basic steps were to cut and marinate the chicken, stir-fry the chicken, stir-fry garlic, ginger, chilies, and the rest of the ingredients, add the sauce, etc. Detailed recipe follows.

Do's and Dont's:
Do add the chilies, they add flavor
Don't be afraid of the chilies, their spiciness is not released into the dish (seeing as how the recipe calls for the removal of the seeds anyways)
Don't forget to marinate the chicken! Very important step.
Do serve with hot steamed rice or green onion bread.
Do enjoy =)

Kung Pao Chicken adapted from Rasa Malaysia

Ingredients

1 1/2 boneless and skinless chicken breast

3 tbsp roasted peanuts

8 dried red chilies, seeds removed and cut in half

3 tbsp cooking oil

1/2 tsp ginger paste (or a few slices of fresh ginger)

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 stalk green onion (scallion)

Marinate

1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp oil
1 tsp rice vinegar

Sauce
1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp water
1 tsp corn starch

Directions

1- Cut chicken into cubes, rinse, pat dry, and marinate for half and hour
2- Mix the ingredients for the sauce, and place aside
3- Heat a tbsp of oil in a wok, and stir fry the chicken until it's nearly cooked. Remove chicken from wok and place aside.
4- Clean wok and add remaining oil. Heat oil slightly before adding garlic and ginger.
5- Quickly add dried red chilies, and stir-fry until the chilies become aromatic.
6- Add chicken, stir, and then allow chicken to cook thoroughly.
7- Stir in roasted peanuts, and then pour in the sauce.
8- Allow the sauce to coat everything before finally adding the scallions.
9- Be sure to serve it hot!

Printable Recipe Here

Till Next Time,

Your Fellow Bakers (cooks)

DB- Traditional British Pudding

2010-04-27T21:31:00.000-07:00

Lately we've been trying out not only many new recipes, but also many different ways to make desserts and such. April's Daring Bakers challenge included a process of cooking that seemed different that any method we've tried before: steaming.

When we read "British pudding", you know what we SoCal girls thought of? Not the traditional dish that we later learned about. No, the first thing that came to mind was the custard-like pudding which comes in vanilla, tapioca, or chocolate flavorings- you know the kind in the plastic cups?

However new and intimidating this experience seemed, it turned out wonderful, and there wasn't any more effort involved than, say, making a cheesecake from scratch.

The April 2010 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.

We did make a few changes in the recipe, mainly because ours was sweet instead of savory, and also because we had no suet, lard, or Crisco on hand. We stuck to basic butter.

We made our pudding almost like a pound cake, and it was flavored with pineapple juice and brown sugar. Mmm....The cake was moist (clearly because of steaming it), sweet, and full of good flavor. We served it two ways, one with a pineapple-brown sugar syrup (which the pudding obviously soaked up), and the other with a salty-sweet caramel sauce.

To make British Pudding (with our changes)

Brown Sugar Pineapple Pudding

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour (or all purpose with 1 1/2 tsp baking powder)

3/4 cup butter

2 eggs

A dash or two of vanilla extract

1/4 cup white granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

a few tablespoons of water

Optional for glaze: 1 tbsp brown sugar with 5 tbsp pineapple juice

Other material you will need

Some butter for greasing

heat proof bowl (ceramic or Pyrex both work)

a pot

boiling water

foil

string

Method

1) Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla.

2) Add sifted flour a half cup at a time until just mixed.

3) Add a tablespoon of water at a time until it reaches a good consistency, like cookie dough batter.

4) Grease bowl with extra butter. Add glaze mixture if wanted, then place dough in bowl, and smooth out.

5) Put greased foil on top of bowl, pinch the foil shut, and secure with string.

6) Place the bowl in the pot, and pour in boiling water. Allow water to simmer, then cover pot for 2 hours.

7) Be careful taking out the bowl from the hot water. When the bowl is cool enough to handle, slide a knife around the sides of the bowl to loosen pudding.

8) Serve with desired sauce, syrup, custard, or whipped cream.

Printable Recipe Here

Thank you Esther for a great challenge! Also check out the other Daring Bakers' posts here.

Till Next Time,

Your Fellow Bakers

Sprinkles, Cupcakes, and Upcoming Plans

2010-04-19T20:03:00.000-07:00

Our minds are filled with so many ideas and recipes to try out, but there's so little time, it seems!
Really, how many recipes have you browsed through, wishing you had enough time to try them all out- and leave all the dishwashing to someone else? How many ideas do you (bloggers and bakers alike) have that thrill you when you think of them? Well, we have ideas and plans of our own-*this train of though will continue after the main post*

Yes, we will get back to the topic in the title- sprinkles and cupcakes. You know those times when you just can't decide how to decorate a blank canvas of cupcakes(cakers block?)? Well, these sorts of times aren't rare. And today we'll give out some quick and simple ways to decorate cupcakes, so that cakers block can become..er...unblocked. ^_^

So get out a box of rainbow sprinkles, a freshly baked batch of cupcakes, and whip up some frosting. It's time to make these adorable cupcakes!

The cupcakes shown in this post are all chocolate, hence the white frosting. The contrast in the colors makes it very striking, especially if you're planning on using these sprinkles.

Cupcake #1 was decorated using a star tip, with the frosting being medium/thin consistency, which allowed the spikes to form.

Cupcake #2 is explained below. Take a flat frosted cupcake and a bowl of sprinkles.

Rotate the cupcakes edges into the sprinkles, creating a ring around it.

It should look like this:

Cupcake #3 was also decorated using a star tip (Wilton's size 16 or 18) and the frosting is just swirled around.

This one took more frosting than the rest- but just look at it! The big frosting swirl was made by using Wilton's 2D (drop flower tip). And that's about it. Lovable, fun, and easy to make!

Now to continue the though above. One of the ideas we have planned is to do a series of baking posts titled Rainbow of Baked Goods, where we will make desserts in all the colors of the rainbow. The rainbow sprinkles in this post did not have anything to do with this idea- we promise! Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, brown, black, gold!, silver!!, clear (that will be a challenge), etc.

What do you think? We want your opinions!

DC- Brunswick Stew

2010-04-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

The second Daring Cooks Challenge has arrived! And it's gone already? Yep, we're now anticipating the next challenge.

The 2010 April Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Wolf of Wolf's Den. She chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make Brunswick Stew. Wolf chose recipes for her challenge from the Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook by Matt Lee and Ted Lee, and from the Callaway, Virginia Ruritan Club.

Brunswick Stew, a classic Southern dish, is not something we've tried, or even heard of, before this challenge. Maybe it's because we're here in the West Coast? But thank you, Wolf of Wolf's Den, for choosing such a great dish to try.

There were two versions to try, one of them being a long one, and the other being a shortened one. We stuck to the short version, but only because there wasn't time to make the long version.

The long version must have tasted great as well, but we liked this one because it was simple to make, and tasted wonderful.

What's that? You want the recipe? Ok, fine...

Brunswick Stew (Version 2)

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds of stewed meat (it can be chicken, turkey, etc) with broth *note this recipe asks for the meats to be cooked before beginning to make the stew*

3 medium potatoes, diced

2 medium diced onions

2 medium ripe crushed tomatoes (this was a fun part, just take the tomatoes and crush them in your hand)

3 cups frozen corn

1 1/2 cups frozen Lima beans

1/4 cup butter

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp poultry seasoning

dash of red pepper

Tomato juice (we used sauce instead)

2 diced carrots, optional

Directions

Mix all ingredients together until it's hot and bubbly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add tomato juice to taste. Cook until all vegetables are tender. Serve hot.

Notes

This recipe serves 10. Reviews from others say it makes quite a lot. We halved the recipe, used a mix of frozen vegetables, chicken, tomatoes, seasoning, and tomato sauce with water (instead of the tomato juice).

Enjoy =)

Printable Recipe

Till Next Time,

Your fellow cooks (and bakers).

SMS- Chocolate Malted Layer Cake

2010-04-11T13:17:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Malted Layer Cake. A long name for a simply divine chocolate cake. This week's recipe was chosen by Nicole of Sweet Tooth.

We're glad she chose this recipe because we know you're probably wondering when the chocolate-related posts were going to come. Fear not, it's here! The recipe for both the cake and frosting can be found in the Sweet Melissa Baking Book.

The cake turned out excellent, as many tasters told us (we did not eat the entire cake by ourselves; that would have been selfish). The cake itself had a rich, chocolate flavor, even though we did leave out the coffee (and used milk and water as substitutes).

But look for yourselves. How much chocolate went into this cake?

Chocolate.

More chocolate.

The frosting/icing/whatever you wanna call it- shouldn't be forgotten either. This frosting was one of the easiest icings we have ever worked with. It went on the cake so smoothly, you would have though it was magic. Perhaps it was the butter? Whatever the secret was, the frosting was something many people loved.

They also liked the filling- crushed whoppers and more icing. And now all the cake is gone.

But be sure to check out the other SMS Bakers for more malt cake posts!

Till Next Time,

Your Fellow Bakers

SMS- Pecan Shortbread Cookies

2010-04-05T16:48:00.001-07:00

Earthquakes, camping in 28 degree weather, and more...what a weekend it has been! But today after a gloomy and rainy morning, the sun shone. And that meant cookie baking time.

After various SMS members wrote about their crumbly cookies, we feared for how our cookies would turn out. However many mistakes we made (mentioned later on, scroll down), the cookies tasted fantastic.

Thanks to Lara for choosing this Sunday's recipe. It was pecan shortbread cookies, a favorite in this house of ours! But..the dilemma here was that we did not have pecans on hand. So it would be a lie to go ahead and pretend that pecans were used in this recipe. And we're not going to lie to you. So we will tell you that we made a few changes (but good ones!).

Instead of pecans, we used almonds. And added some coconut just because.

And mistake number one: forgetting to add the sugar to the butter and salt- don't worry, it was added later :)

The oven was preheated a bit too late, and waiting for it to preheat must have warmed and melted the butter quite a bit.

So the cookies ended up a bit flat, unlike most shortbread cookies. But keep in mind that the taste was still good!

And they looked nice with powdered sugar. Who doesn't like powdered sugar?

Lesson learned- prepare and follow directions.

Results: flat but delicious almond and coconut shortbread cookies. Sorry if the title was misleading in any way.

Till Next Time,

Your Fellow Bakers

Coconut Macaroons (Meringues?)

2010-04-01T10:10:00.001-07:00

Would you call these delicious, light-as-air, crisp cookies meringues or macaroons? That is a question we have not been able to answer. Coconut macaroons are chewy and soft. Meringues are crisp and delicate. So what does that make these? Macaringues? Coconut Meringues will do for now.

These may be the most addicting meringue ever. Ever.

Basically it's a meringue with coconut mixed in (you know how meringues have been flavored with all kinds of stuff like cocoa, lime, coffee, fruits, peppermints? This one has actual coconut added).

These are great for sugar and coconut cravings ;) Meringues can be a bit intimidating for people, but if you follow the directions, they can't turn out so bad...

Here's a few tips to remember:

Beat the egg whites as long as directions tell- don't beat them any longer or shorter. Proper egg whites will be stiff and form peaks (at least for this recipe).

If the egg white don't appear smooth, they were beaten too long (not good, they won't bake properly)

When adding sugar, be careful not to over mix, or the egg white will begin to lose their shape.

For more tips, go here or here.

To make coconut meringues:

Ingredients:

3 large egg whites

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut (or more if you like)

Take a plain meringue recipe. If you have a tried and trusted one, use it. If not, follow the recipe adapted from Martha Stewart's peppermint meringues below.

1) Preheat oven to 175 deg F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2) Place egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl (one that comes with an electric mixer), and place this over a pan of simmering water. Stir gently until the sugar dissolves, and the mixture is warm

3) Place mixture under an electric mixer. Beat with the whisk attachment until the mixture forms stiff peaks.

4) Carefully mix coconut in- do not over mix!

5) Spoon out dollops of mixture-pastry bags are normally used, but the coconut would get stuck in it, so stick to spooning it out.

6) Bake for about 1 hour and 40 min- do not let the meringues brown, just make sure they are crisp.

Visit our fanpage on Facebook for better pictures and more!

Till Next Time,

Your Fellow Bakers

DBakers- Orange Tian

2010-03-27T22:07:00.000-07:00

Today's..or rather, tonight's posting will be for the Daring Baker's Challenge. Don't confuse this with the Daring Kitchen's Challenge posted earlier! This month's hostess decided to make an orange tian, a dessert with layers of citrus goodness.

The 2010 March Daring Baker's challenge was hosted by Jennifer of Chocolate Shavings. She chose Orange Tian as the challenge for this month, a dessert based on a recipe from Alain Ducasse's Cooking School in Paris.

The results were fantastic, though it took quite a bit of work (which was done over a total of 3 days) to have the end product. The bottom layer is pate sablee (cookie), topped with orange marmalade, then whipped cream, then orange segments, and finally, orange caramel sauce.
It was a very citrusy dessert, which is perfect for spring weather!

The above pic is a mini tian made with leftover ingredients- a chocolate mint tutorial will be coming up!

Here is the final product! Can you see all the layers? Count them. ^_^

Orange segmenting...can be harder than one expects it to be.

Another final shot of the end product. Recipe for the tian can be found here.

Till Next Time,

Your Fellow Bakers

SMS- Caramel Apple Pies (Mini!)

2010-03-22T22:20:00.000-07:00

First off, we'd like to say sorry for the last post for Sweet Melissa Sundays- but it is here!

As for the picture above, we just wanted to make a little note of the joy of grating one's own spices. Above is nutmeg, a spice used often in apple pies and more...and grating it into the pot of simmering apples is just too much fun not to mention on here =D

This week's recipe was titled Double Crusted Caramel Apple Pie...but we decided to make them mini apple pies instead- a big family size pie is great, but just look at these adorable mini pies!

This was our final product:

Below is just a recap of what went on as the pies were being made.

Firs are the apples. We will mention a little itty bitty mistake that was made here. We used tart apples, Braeburn to be exact, and did not expect them to turn out so...well, sour.

While some may like their pies sweet and tart, we like them plain sweet...with a bit of spice. So that was our mistake (for not tasting the apples before hand).

Nevertheless, the dough came out great, and we used a cup for the measurement.

Finally, the apples and dough went into cupcake trays. Note also that the apples have a coating of more than just sugar- that's right, we added cinnamon and nutmeg as well ^.^

And there you are...mini apple pies, baked to an almost perfection. We're positive they would have tasted 75 times better had the apples been sweeter.

Thank you Susan from Baking with Susan, who chose this Sunday's recipe. The apple pie's recipe can be found on her blog.

Till Next Time,

Your Fellow Bakers

Daring Cooks- Risotto

2010-03-18T12:23:00.001-07:00

Today's post will be a quick one, but it is a new type of post. It's not about baking or sweets- but that post will be up soon! Today's post is for the Daring Kitchen's Daring Cooks Challenge.

The 2010 March Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Eleanor of MelbournefoodGeek and Jess of Jessthebaker. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make risotto. The various components of their challenge recipe are based on input from the Australian Masterchef cookbook and the cookbook Moorish by Gred Malouf.

This was our first time trying risotto- up until now, we only cooked with Asian rices. So the results were okay for our first time...The rice had to be cooked carefully, with stages of pouring liquids, waiting for the rice to absorb it, and then repeating. That is what gets the rice to become smooth, creamy, and Risotto-like.

So we made the chicken stock and base; then we decided to stick to a plain Risotto- because it was our first time. Here are some shots of what went on last night:

Onions and leeks....there's something oddly peaceful about chopping vegetables.

Sauteing the rice in onion and olive oil.

And finally...the finale- we served the risotto with tilalpia filets and asparagus. So there you go. Challenge number one of the Daring Cooks completed =)

Till Next Time,

You Fellow Bakers (and cooks)

Sweet Melissa Sundays--Carrot Cake!

2010-03-14T15:27:00.000-07:00

This was our first Sunday participating in Sweet Melissa Sundays , and to our happy surprise, the recipe was carrot cake! The cake was simple to make, and worked well with us when we decorated it- not crumbly or sticky- just perfect. We made it into three layers, then slathered it with cream cheese frosting, and decorated with orange and green frosting. At the moment, the scraps are being eaten (the actual cake will be taken to a family gathering tonight).

Eggs were beaten; sugar and other ingredients were added.

Three sizes of carrot cake- what more can you ask for?

Lastly, you can't have carrot cake without carrots made of frosting! The best way to eat veggies ;) This was so much fun to make, and it was surprsingly easy. We can't wait for next week's recipe!

Till Next Time,

Your Fellow Bakers

Cheesecakes Deserve to be the Center of Attention?

2010-03-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

Speaking from experience, we can easily say that a lot of work can go into making a cheescake. You need to make a crust, the filling, boil water to bake it in, and make sure it doesn't end up cracking. But the look on people's faces when they take a bite is priceless, and that makes up for all the effort.

A classic New York style cheesecake is a favorite of many people, but sometimes, more than just a snow-white cheescake is needed. If you know what we mean, sometimes the cheesecake, however wonderful it may taste, needs some spicing up.

We were looking through some dessert cookbooks, and found an idea which basically used apple pie filling spooned over the top. Well, the idea was fantastic and we want to share it because all cheesecakes deserve to be dressed up!

Before we begin, let us give a few quick ideas. In times when you don't know what to put on a cheescake, and that smooth, white surface just glares at you, try these ideas:

chocolate! You can't go wrong with chocolate. Melt some chocolate with a bit of milk, whisk it together on low heat, and drizzle it on.
fruit- strawberries, blueberries, peaches, apples, you can't go wrong! Fruit will taste best with a cheesecake if the cheesecake has some flavors that complement the fruits you're adding- plan ahead for this one!
caramel: just drizzle it on, and it will immediately catch your attention.
whipped cream- a cheesecake can never go wrong with a bit of whipped cream- never.

So in order to make this Caramel Apple Cheesecake Topping, you will need:

2 cups cold water

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

a pinch of salt

About 8 cups of peeled, sliced baking apples (Granny Smith apples suggested)

Caramel sauce- make it or buy it

1 New York Style cheesecake- make it or buy it ;)

Optional sliced almonds

Directions for topping

1- In a large saucepan, mix together water, sugar, vanilla, and spices. Boil, and continue to boil for about 5 minutes, until mixture is thickened.

2- Add apples; return to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. Apples should be tender. Then cool for about an hour, and mixture should thicken.

3- You can either take a slice of cheesecake, spoon the topping, caramel, and almonds over the top, and serve; Or do it family style like we did.

Now, if you're making it the cheesecake yourself: Add to your crust a sprinkling of cinnamon.

Then bake the cheesecake as you normally would.

Drizzle caramel over the cheesecake after removing it from the pan. You can leave it like this, as suggested above, and just finish with some almonds. Or...

And finally, top with the apple mixture, RIGHT BEFORE SERVING. If you put the topping way before serving, the cheesecake will soak in the syrup, become soggy, and all your efforts will have gone to waste. So please wait just before serving. Sprinkle almonds on top, and you're done! A classic cheescake with a twist that will be loved!

Quick Post...Cinna-Naan?

2010-02-26T21:56:00.000-08:00

Hello, fellow bakers! Today's post is going to be a bit unsual because..well, it's not something very common. In fact, there many be no such thing until now (more on this in a bit). However, there is good news! The item we will be talking about was inspired by a love of cinnamon. And sugar. And anything not considered good for one's health (food wise!). That's right, dessert. More specifically, cinnamon rolls.

Who can resist a warm, gooey, chewy, sticky, soft, sweet, cinnamonny roll smothered in white sugar icing? Not many people (and for those who can, we can make you change your mind). Now, let's get back to topic.

You're probably wondering what the title means. Yes, it's unsual and probably never even heard of before. That's because it was made up- by us. If you are no longer wondering, it is probably because you scrolled down to take a peek at the pictures=D No, it's fine, go look. Like here:

How amazing does this look? This is what Cinna-Naan is. It's a traditional naan (bread) spiced up with cinnamon, sweetened with sugar, and devoured in minutes.

To make Cinna-Naan:

Take traditional naan dough (recipe can be found on the website mentioned below), and mix in extra sugar and add cinnamon (enough so that when you go to mix it into the dough, it shows up in swirls-like in the cereal)

Then you can bake each dough piece according to directions. Immediately after baking, smother the naan in butter and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. Make (or buy) icing, and drizzle it while the naan is still hot. This way, you will have the joy of seeing the icing melt.

Cut into pieces and eat alone or with this fruit salsa, which is basically any fruit you have on hand, cut up into pieces and tossed with a bit of cinnamon and-yes, what do you think- sugar. You can omit the sugar if you wish to only have the natural sweetness of the fruits. Above we used apple, peaches, cinnamon, and sugar. Can you hear your stomachs growling? ;)

This recipe was created for a contest on Manjula's Kitchen, which is an amazing website full of Indian Vegetarian Recipes and Techniques. They had a contest asking for a variation of naan, and well, this is it. Hope you enjoyed...have fun baking!

Till next time,

Your Fellow Bakers

The (Nearly) Perfect Lemon Bars

2010-02-19T23:12:00.000-08:00

So a while ago we made lemon bars, out of the blue. We were sitting at home, minding our own businesses, when all of a sudden, an inspiration comes to us. Something tart, but sweet. Something crispy, but chewy. What are you imagining? We imagined lemon bars, of course.

One of the toughest things to do on the internet is to find the "perfect" recipe. After all, how many times can you possibly try one item (take the chocolate chip cookies, for example. The recipes are ENDLESS). Thankfully, people rate and review and this helps bakers like us and you. ^.^

So on to our hunt for a lemon bar recipe. Or rather, our debating which recipe to use. Well, we came across one of the popular recipes, Paula Deen's lemon bar recipe. Some who reviewed it said it wasn't tart enough like a lemon bar should be, but in our opinion, it had the perfect tartness. And of course, you can always add a little or take away something...Do you see ideas of future experimentation forming?

So...this is what happened:

How to Make Paula Deen's Lemon Bars

Mix butter, salt, sugar, and flour together (we did it by hand....it was easier, quicker, and much more fun) =)

Press the dough into rectangular pan and bake for about 20 minutes on 350 deg.

While the dough is baking, beat sugar, eggs, flour, and lemon juice (best choice would be fresh, but as we did not have such on hand, a good quality lemon juice from a bottle was the next choice). Pour this onto the baked shortbread crust. (This part was also fun) (And the batter tasted good before it was baked too) But that was our opinion ^-^

After baking, we were happily surprised at the results. We will explain this in the coming picture. Sprinkle powdered (confectioner's) sugar on top. Cut, and serve. They taste the best while they're slightly warmed, right on the day they're baked. Eat in the next two days, if they last that long....

Okay, so what surprised us was the top. Usually, lemon bars are gooey all the way, but this one's top baked to a crisp crust. And no, it was not due to over baking, but the recipe was meant for it to become like that.

Overall, the lemon bars were very, very, good. And also very, very, addicting. If we could change something next time, it would be the amount of butter. So much butter gets to be too much by the time you're on your third piece. Know what we mean?

There you go, lemon bars, Paula Deen's way. Enjoy your baking!

Chewy, Sweet, and Deliciously Addicting Blondies

2010-01-20T20:12:00.000-08:00

Southern California was just recently hit by a number of storms. While hail and rain were wreaking havoc on the streets, we were inside our cozy kitchen...baking blondies!

This was the first time we tried making blondies, and they turned out delicious.
We found a recipe a while ago, but nver thought of trying it out until now. Courtesy goes to Brown Eyed Baker.

This chewy, sweet, coconuty, and chocolaty creation left the entire house smelling like fresh-baked cookes. Not surprsingly, the batter also reminds one of chocolate chip cookie dough, and who doesn' like that? So yes, if anyone is wondering, the bowl was licked clean :)

Here is the recipe, with a few alternations made by us.

Coconut Crusted Chocolate Chip Blondies

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp salt

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted melted and cooled butter

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar (granulated)

1 large egg

4 drops almond extract*

1 cup + more for topping sweetened coconut flakes

1 cup chocolate chips

*vanilla extract can be used instead (about 1 tsp)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Simple Instructions

so you do not need to wait forever to eat these

1- Preheat oven to 350 deg F.

2- Spray 8 inch square pan with cooking spray.

3- Mix flour four and salt in a bowl and set aside.

4- Beat sugar and butter together until smooth and creamy.

5- Beat in egg and extract.

6- Slowly beat in flour and salt until just mixed.

7- Mix in coconut and chocolate chips.

8-Scrape batter into pan and spread out evenly.

9- Sprinkle extra coconut on top.

10- Bake for 30 min or until well set in the middle.

Before Baking:

After Baking:

Be sure to allow the blondies to cool before cuttting and serving.
Or simply put..make sure the blondies are well cooled so they do not end up melting while you cut them!

Ahem...Enjoy Baking =)

Basbousa..Have you heard of it?

2010-01-12T16:14:00.000-08:00

A few days ago we had an urge to bake something. And so we decided on basbousa. Now, you might be wondering, "What in the world is basbousa? " Or you may have actually heard of it and know exactly what a delicious and addicting sweet it is.

Anyways, basbousa is an Egyptian cake-like dessert that is drenched in flavored sugar syrup after it is baked.

Ours turned out well, but it would have been better if it was baked for a less amount of time. So the recipe is as follows given by a friend of ours.

Basbousa Recipe:

Materials you will need:

Mixing bowl, mixing spoon, measuring spoons, measuring cups, two 9x13 in. pans (glass, metal, or nonstick).

Ingredients for batter:

3 cups of semolina flour (fine quality is best)

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tblsp baking powder

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut

3 tblsp butter, melted or very softened

Yoghurt and/or milk (amount depends)

All you need to do is mix all these ingredients together except for the milk and/or yogurt. Once the ingredients are mixed, add yoghurt and/or miltk until the mixture reaches a cake batter-like consistency. We added a bit of both, but yogurt will create a better texture than the milk would. *note: unlike cake batter, we do not think this bowl should be licked ;)

It should look like this

After pouring into pan (greased with cooking spray or butter unless non-stick)
A fun and pretty way to decorate this is with almonds (sliced, chopped, whole, whatever you prefer)

Finally, bake for 25-35 minutes, or until set and golden-brown, as shown above.

Ingredients for Syrup:

1 cup sugar

2 cups water

2-3 drops essence of flavoring (rose, almond, vanilla, fresh lemon juice etc)

Simply mix these ingredient in a small pot (or saucepan) on medium to high heat until the syrup sticks to and coats the back of a spoon

It should not be too thick (like maple syrup) or too thin (like water).

Cut the cake into slices, then pur syrup over it. The cuts will help make sure the syrup is soaked into the cake.

And then...enjoy with company or you might end up eating the entire thing yourself.

***For those health concious, replace milk and yogurt with low-fat (but not fat-free), and honey can be used instead of sugar. ***

Magic of Meringues

2010-01-04T16:44:00.000-08:00

Meringues are one of the most amazing and delicate desserts out there. They look very complicated to make; and yes, the process can be a bit time-consuming, but the results are heavenly.

Meringues are a combination of sugars, egg whites, and flavorings of your choice. Often times, they will come in various colors, which give them a fun twist. Perhaps you have heard of menrigue chantilly....a fancy name for meringues with whipped cream.

Now...on to the ones created by us. Our first attempt at making these darlings was very succesful. They turned out perfect, crisp, and of course, sweet.

The basic process involved beating the life out of the egg whites, then carefully adding the sugars and folding the ingredients together. We didn't add flavors to this one, but maybe we'll try some vanilla in the future.

Anyways, once the filling was piped out of a piping bag, they were baked for a couple of hours until the moisture left them.

So...here are the results, after we dressed them up with a bit of chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and chocolate shavings. Can you say, "Yum?"

The beginning of a new journey

2010-01-03T10:23:00.000-08:00

Today is our first post...we begin with a mission in mind: to bake. With simple ingredients, we will create anything and everything we find ourselves craving. From coconut macaroons to pineapple upside down cake, from Devil's food cake to pecan pies, our minds are filled with ideas of so many things to bake.

So join us on our embarkment into the world of desserts, and we will share the joys and dreams of baking.

cited

Note: no plagiarism ;)