The Boys of Baking Volume IV: New Orleans Pralines

Hey everyone! In our latest edition of the Boys of Baking, Ryan joins his Grandmother and Aunt in New Orleans, Louisiana for some traditional holiday candy making.

Today's guest blog will trace the steps of making traditional New Orleans Pralines. Pralines are thought to have been a creation of a personal chef of 17th century French statesman César duc de Choiseul Comte du Plessis-Praslin. Some believe Plessis-Praslin would have the candies made for women he was courting. According to the story, he would put the sweets into individuals wrappings with his name "Praslin" on them and people eventually began to simply refer to the candies as Praslin's (Pralines). The original receipt used almonds, but when French settlers came to New Orleans, local Creole chefs began to substitute the almonds with the plentiful pecans that grew in southern Louisiana. Today's recipe is for Creole Pralines from a local New Orleans family.

New Orleans Pralines

1 cup sugar
1cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons of light Karo syrup
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons of butter
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 cup of pecans

1) Place the white sugar, brown sugar, Karo syrup, and heavy whipping cream in a sauce pan.
2) Dissolve the sugars, Karo syrup and heavy whipping cream over medium heat until it boils.
3) Continue cooking until candy thermometer registers to 228 Fahrenheit - stirring occasionally.
4) Once the temperature reaches 228 Fahrenheit, add the butter, vanilla extract and pecans.
5) Continue cooking over medium heat until it reaches 236 Fahrenheit.
6) Remove from heat
7) Cool to 225 Fahrenheit
8) Beat until sauce thickens - happens very quickly
9) VERY QUICKLY, drop candy on wax paper into 10 or 15 individual portions
11) Let cool
10) Sit back under your closest Magnolia tree with a cup of chicory coffee and a plate of your delicious Creole pralines and enjoy!

Tweet

Rootbeer Float Cake

My mother frequently laments that I never bake anything whenever I come home to visit. Because my brother is a rootbeer fanatic and veritable expert on all things root beer, I resolved to actually bake something on my last trip home and decided to try this Rootbeer Float Cake I'd seen on The Great Satan Pinterest as an homage to the end of summer.

For any of you who have attempted any recipes, sewing projects or, God forbid, DIY home improvements from Pinterest, you may be familiar with the infamous "Pinterest Fail" in which nothing ever comes out quite as pictured. Case in point, this will be the best chocolate bundt cake you've ever had. It will not taste like root beer.

Despite using rootbeer in both the frosting and the cake, there was unfortunately no discernable rootbeer flavor in the end product. However, this is BY FAR the moistest bundt cake I've ever had. Even after a couple of days the cake was still moist and fudgy, and I wouldn't hesitate to make this again to serve for any chocolate fiends. Similarly, the cake was awesome paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side, but just not what I was looking for.  If I made this again, I might try it with rootbeer extract instead to try to capture that summery flavor.

Alas, back to the Pinterest drawing board.

Rootbeer Float Cake
     from Brown Eyed Baker
2 cups root beer (do not use diet root beer)
1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1¼ cups granulated sugar
½ cup dark brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1¼ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs

Rootbeer Fudge Frosting
2 ounces dark chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
½ cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup root beer
2/3 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
2½ cups powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F*. Generously spray the inside of a 10-inch bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray, or butter the pan and dust with flour, shaking out the excess flour; set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, heat the root beer, cocoa powder and butter over medium heat until the butter is melted. Add the sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together.

4. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs until just beaten, then whisk them into the cooled cocoa mixture until combined. Gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture. The batter will be slightly lumpy, which is okay. Do not overbeat it, as it could cause the cake to be tough.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a small sharp knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Gently loosen the sides of the cake from the pan and turn it out onto the rack.

6. To make the Root Beer Fudge Frosting, put all of the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until the frosting is shiny and satiny, scraping the sides of the food processor a couple of times. (If you don’t have a food processor, simply throw it all into the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl using a hand mixer and mix on medium-low until combined and satiny smooth.)

7. Use a spatula to spread the fudge frosting over the cake in a thick layer. Let the frosting set before serving. Store leftovers wrapped well or in an airtight container at room temperature.
*Note: If you are using a dark, nonstick pan, heat the oven to 300 degrees F.
 

Tweet

White Chocolate Nutella Raspberry Bread Pudding

I know it may be Superbowl Sunday, but February 5th also happens to be World Nutella Day--a celebration that is a least as important in my book.

Nutella isn't as prevalent in the U.S. as it is overseas, but it's definitely starting to catch on, and once you've had a taste I promise you'll be scouring the shelves of your local grocery store for a jar to take home.  If you've never had the pleasure of tasting Nutella and wondered if you're missing out on something, the answer is yes. Sorry. With the consistency of peanut butter, but made from chocolate and hazelnut, Nutella is the perfect compliment to everything from fruit, to ice cream, to plain old toast.  And with no artificial colors or preservatives, it's arguably better for you than some of the other things you might be having with your breakfast.

Nutella holds a special place in my heart because it reminds me of noshing on warm Nutella crepes on the street corners of Paris, and I also have a weakness for anything hazelnut, so I may be just slightly biased. but seriously, try it. You can thank me next year when you're celebrating World Nutella Day :)

P.S. Guys, Valentine's Day is coming up and this is super easy to make, just saying...

A couple of notes: 1) This recipe calls for Brioche but I used Challah--any dense bread you can find will work. 2) The recipe below also calls for "tempering," this just means once the liquids have been heated, to add a little bit to the egg yolks and sugar in a separate bowl before combining all of it back into the cream mixture.  This simply heats the egg yolks a little bit to keep them from scrambling when you add them to the hot liquid.

Challaaaahhhh!

White Chocolate Nutella Raspberry Bread Pudding
     adapted from Todd English for HSN

1/2 loaf brioche cut into 1/2" cubes
6 oz. raspberries
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 vanilla bean scraped
6 oz. white chocolate
3 oz. Nutella
4 egg yolks
2 oz. sugar

Nutella Cream Sauce
4 oz. heavy cream
4 oz. Nutella

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place half of bread cubes into a 9x13 baking dish (or 9x9 for a denser pudding). Sprinkle over 6 oz. raspberries. Top with remaining bread cubes.

2. Heat milk, cream and vanilla in a pan over medium heat until just warm.  Temper hot liquids into the egg yolks and sugar then pour into the warm cream mixture.

3. Whisk Nutella and white chocolate into the cream mixture until melted, pour over bread cubes and raspberries. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, heat remaining cream and whisk in Nutella until melted. Pour sauce over finished pudding.

Tweet

Candyland

Once I discovered that it doesn't always take 9 years to make candy (if you're doing correctly), I guess maybe you could say I went a little overboard on the confectionaries.  But once I saw the gorge display of unique holiday chocolate barks in last month's issue of Martha Stewart Living, I couldn't wait to try out a few to finish off my holiday candy boxes.

I know it may be a little late for holiday cooking at this point, but just wait for that week-long lull between Christmas and New Year's when you've got nothing but piles of leftover dried fruit, nuts, and citrus falling down around you.  Then you'll be back :)

The basic recipe for this bark is super simple: just 1 pound of chopped dark, white or bittersweet chocolate depending on the recipe, and then whatever toppings your little heart desires.  Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler (or, let's be honest, a pan placed on top of another pan of simmering water) pour into prepared pans, top as desired, then pop them into the fridge to cool. And that's it. Srsly. 

A note on prep: there are also about a million ways to prepare these (...or at least 3) depending on the final look you're going for.  The easiest is simply to grease a cookie sheet or line it with a silicone baking mat, then break it into pieces by hand once it has cooled.  A great idea for gifting would be to line mini loaf pans with parchment then wrap the final product like homemade candy bars.  I just sprayed aluminum loaf pans with cooking spray, but I imagine you could also pour these into adorable holiday candy molds too.  See? A million ways.

Dried Cranberry, Pistachio and Toasted-Coconut White Chocolate Bark

1 lb white chocolate, chopped, melted and poured into prepared pans

1/4 cup each dried cranberries, roasted salted pistachios, large flake unsweetened coconut

Dried Cherry and Orange Zest Bittersweet Chocolate Bark

1 lb bittersweet chocolate, chopped, melted and poured into prepared pans

1/4 cup each dried cherries and finely grated orange zest

Each recipe fills 2 regular-sized loaf pans

Tweet

Minty Fresh

My oven runs hot. I know this. And yet I still manage to overbake my cookies. Every. Single. Time.  And, of course, this time was no exception. Though I suppose there's something to be said for consistency, I always seem to forget that cookies will continue to bake ever so slightly once removed from the oven.  Though not burnt, mine lost that delicious, right-out-of-the-oven-chewiness as they cooled in favor of a tougher, are-you-trying-to-make-biscotti-here-or-what?? texture.  So, even if you think your cookies might look like they may need to bake ever so slightly longer...DON'T.  Don't be like me, and pop them back into the oven for another two minutes even though you know your oven overcooks.  Sigh. 

These cookies are also an example of what happens when you have a driving urge to bake something but no real inspiration for ingredients or flavors combos--so you just make the recipe from the back of the Nestle Toll House chocolate chip package.  But not just any chocolate chips mind you, limited edition dark chocolate and mint chips.  Ooooohhh.  I couldn't help myself when I saw the holiday-themed bag in the store, and grabbed a pack before really thinking ahead to what I would do with this delicious find.  Luckily, Nestle is one step ahead and gives this recipe for Mint Chocolate Delights as well as another recipe for your standard chocolate chip cookie substituting the holiday morsels.

A couple of notes:  This dough is sticky like woah, so you may be better off to stir by hand rather than with electric beaters if you don't have a stand mixer. 

Mint Chocolate Delights
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) Nestle Toll House Dark Chocolate & Mint Morsels

1. Preheat oven to 325° F.

2. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by well-rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

3. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes or until cookies are puffed and centers are set. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 3 dozen

Tweet

Chocolate--STAT!

Believe it or not, although I'll be the first to own up to my own sweets obsession, I've never really been one of those girls (or guys) with the chocolate obsession.  Don't get me wrong, I love chocolate, but thankfully I've never suffered from the chocolate cravings that afflict so many others.  Except once.  And now I can completely commiserate.  It hit me hard and out of the blue, and I knew that one of the chocolate Dove squares my mother swears by just wasn't going to cut it.  I needed CHOCOLATE--warm, ooey, gooey, fudgey, chocolate.  And as usual, my old standby the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook did not disappoint.  It is so good in fact that it has been a favorite since the January 1944 issue of BH&G magazine.

This chocolate brownie pudding was everything I was looking for: comfortingly warm, deliciously rich and, most importantly, fast!  Honestly, the hardest part of this recipe was waiting for the finished product to cool on the countertop for a little bit so that the devilishly dark fudge sauce can come together.  That's right, this dessert even makes its own sauce.  Chocolate Heaven.

Feel free to add any of your favorite sundae toppings--walnuts, whipped topping or vanilla ice cream would all be great.  but for purists and chocoholics out there that need chocolate NOW, this chocolate brownie pudding is also just perfect as is in its unadultered chocolate glory.

Brownie Pudding

1 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

2 Tbs cooking oil

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8x2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a medium bowl stir together the flour, granulated sugar, 2 Tbs cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Stir in the milk, oil and vanilla. Stir in the walnuts, if using.

2. Pour batter into prepared pan. In a small bowl stir together the brown sugar and the 1/4 cup cocoa powder; stir in the boiling water. Slowly pour the mixture over the batter.

3. Bake for 40 minutes, cool on a wire rack for 45-60 minutes, serve warm. Top with vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Tweet

Hasty Pudding

Although my dad claims not to be a custard man ("Because of the texture"), for some reason this does not apply to pudding, of which he is a big fan. Every once in awhile my mom would make Jello-o Cook and Serve pudding, and my favorite part was always the skin. That's right, pudding skin. Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. You know that gelatinous, thicker top layer of pudding that forms as it cools in the refrigerator. That jiggly piece that clings to the very first spoonful. Guilty pleasure to the extreme.

If you've only ever eaten Snack Packs, you have no idea what I'm talking about and, sadly, have no idea what you're missing. But chocolate pudding, or any flavor of pudding for that matter, is ridiculously easy to make and you'll never go back to snack packs again. If you're totally grossed out by this pudding skin thing and absolutely MUST, then be sure to cover the puddings with plastic wrap before putting them in the fridge. Or just go ahead and eat it warm. With a spoon. From the pan. It's that good. Take that, Snack Pack.

So what do you think? Pudding skin; gross or delish? Also, this recipe is from my fave old standby cookbook, Better Homes and Gardens.

BH&G Chocolate Pudding
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbs cornstarch
2 2/3 cup milk
4 beaten egg yolks
1 Tbs butter or margarine
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. In a medium heavy saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa powder and cornstarch. Stir in the milk. Cook and stir mixture over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove pan from heat.

2. Gradually stir 1 cup of milk mixture into egg yolks. Add egg mixture back to milk mixture in pan. Bring milk mixture to a gentle boil; reduce heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more.

3. Remove pan from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla. Pour pudding into a bowl. If you absolutely must, cover surface of pudding with plastic wrap to prevent skin from forming. Serve warm or cold (do not stir during chilling).

Tweet

The Forest for the Cherries

Ever since my discovery of National Hot Tea Month, World Nutella Day and National Almond Day, I was curious to see what other days and months of the year were dedicated to food and drink. Apparently, EVERY day or month has also been dedicated in honor of food. Petitions to declare a commemorative event are introduced by constituents, trade associations, hobbyists, etc. and the Senate issues commemorative proclamations, which do not have the force of law. Some state legislatures and governors also proclaim special observances, which is, I guess, why there can be two National Guacamole Days. Who are these Congresspeople using their time and power to proclaim food holidays? I'll leave that investigative journalism for the professionals.

Some of these proclamations are obvious--March 17th is Corned Beef and Cabbage Day, for example. But some, like March 15th assigned as National Pears Hélène Day, just make me wonder. I don't wonder for too long, though, because as a food blogger this works out great for me. Endless inspiration! And this is why, dear readers, I would like to wish you a Happy Black Forest Cake Day, and bring you this recipe from Martha Stewart for Black Forest Cookies.

Black Forest Cake comes from--you guessed it--the Black Forest region of Germany. Though "black forest" these days can be used to refer to any combination of chocolate and cherry, the original cake ("Schwarzwälderkirschtorte" in German) may date from as early as the 16th century. The black forest region is known for its sour cherries and a double-distilled, clear cherry brandy called Kirsch, and the black forest cake is typically made from chocolate cake layered with these cherries and whipped cream. I've actually been looking for a recipe to use up some leftover heavy cream, so I used this opportunity to make homemade whipped cream for black forest cookie towers. For those of you also in the Washington, DC region cherry blossom festival season is kicking off, and these cherry-studded cookies would be a great addition to any festival parties you might be attending.

For a list of national food holidays, click here

Black Forest Cookies
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz semi- or bittersweet chocolate chopped (or chips)
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
12 oz semisweet chocolate chunks
1 1/2 cups dried cherries

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
2. Place chopped chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water; stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat; whisk in sugars, then eggs, until smooth.
3. Whisk in dry ingredients until just combined (do not overmix). Fold in chocolate chunks and cherries; press plastic wrap directly onto surface of the dough and refrigerate until firm, 30-45 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop mounds of dough equal to 2 level tablespoons about 2 inches apart on prepared sheets. Bake just until edges are firm (but not darkening) 11-13 minutes.

Tweet

Luck O' the Irish Cream

Because I'm so obsessed with St. Patrick's Day, you all get a two-for-one recipe special on the blog today! I'm one of those people that enjoys St. Patty's Day because they like to pretend they are more Irish than they actually are. This sense is buoyed by the fact that I have genetically inherited several Irish traits. For example, for a school project at age 11 I wrote a story about a family emigrating to escape the Irish potato famine (what kind of child writes about the potato famine?) Additionally, I have an unnatural love for potatoes and I actually enjoy boiled cabbage. I also love to drink. I can impersonate an Irish accent and can tell the difference between Irish and Scottish accents. I also own a thatched-roof dairy farm near the Cliffs of Moher where I raise my own sheep to produce artisanal cheeses. Okay, maybe not that last one. But I am Irish, I swear! In all honesty, my maternal grandmother's maiden name was Slattery (which is about as Irish as you can get, short of O'Slattery) but our nearest born-in-Ireland ancestor arrived in America roughly 150 years ago. Sooo we don't exactly have ties to the old country.

But that's what St. Patrick's Day is for! A day when everyone is Irish. And drunk. As for holiday recipes, I've purposefully avoided anything green but I have given in to making Irish Soda Bread. To balance out the fact that every food blogger and their mother will be making Irish Soda Bread today, I have also made Irish Cream Brownies. At least Irish Soda Bread actually has some Celtic ties, whereas corned beef is not truly Irish. But that's ok, on this day, no matter what your heritage, go ahead and dig out that hideously too tight green Abercrombie polo shirt from college, find the nearest "Irish pub" and raise a stein of green beer to St. Patrick. And, when you're hungover, line your tummy with yummy Irish Soda bread and remember that the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is still making it to work on time Wednesday morning.


Irish Soda Bread
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp salt
4 Tbs unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
2 cups golden raisins (or regular)
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbs heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs with a few large clumps remaining (may want to use hands). Fold in raisins.

2. In a bowl, whisk together the whole egg, buttermilk and baking soda. Pour egg mixture into the flour mixture; using a spatula, fold in, working in all directions and incorporating the crumbs at the bottom of the bowl, until dough just comes together (may need to add a couple more Tbs of buttermilk). With your hands, form the dough into a round, domed loaf about 8" in diameter. Gently life the dough from the bowl and transfer to the prepared sheet.

3. In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg yolk with cream; brush over the loaf. With a sharp knife, cut a cross 3/4" deep in the top center of the loaf. Bake, rotating halfway through, 55 min- 1hr 10 min.

Irish Cream Brownies
1 cup butter
4 oz unsweetened chocolate (Baker's brand)
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

Irish Cream Swirl
2 8-oz pkgs cream cheese (room temp)
1/3 cup sugar
3 Tbs Irish Cream liqueur

For the brownies: Place butter and chocolate in a medium saucepan and melt over low heat, stirring often. Remove from heat and let cool. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13x9 pan with foil coated with cooking spray.

Beat sugar and eggs together in a medium bowl with handmixer until light and fluffy (about 4 minutes). Add flour and sugar gradually. Fold in the melted chocolate mixture.

For the filling: Combine cream cheese and sugar in another medium bowl. Beat until creamy. Add egg and liqueur and beat.

Pour half of the chocolate mixture into the pan. Spread all of the cream cheese mixture over the chocolate (this may get messy, that's ok). Cover with the remaining chocolate mixture and smooth. If desired, swirl layers together with a knife for a marbled effect. Bake 30-40 minutes.

Tweet

C'est La V-Day

So, here it is. Valentine’s Day. Since the dawn of 1 February I’ve been debating the merits of a Valentine’s Day blog post. I guess because I’m one of those people that debates the merits of Valentine’s Day. Yes, I’m one of those people. When I’m with someone on Valentine’s Day I always enjoy whatever we do together, though I can never shake the feeling that it’s somehow cheapened by societally-imposed expectations, and when I’m alone, well, Hallmark does a great job of hitting that one home as well. I mean, I’m all for sharing a day together with the one you love, basking in each other’s doleful eyes, spoon-feeding each other from your respective overly priced desserts across a candlelit table and all that crap. But, I mean, why do we need to SET ASIDE a day for that? Shouldn’t we be doing this already??

But I digress.

I am doing a Valentine’s Day blog post because I have decided that it would be a disservice to have a blog devoted to baking and not participate in one of the few days devoted to all things sweet and sugary. I am also doing a Valentine’s Day post because it allows me to daydream once more about my one true love…France. On my last trip to Paris a friend and I got to spend an amazing three hours drinking wine and learning to make pastries from a French chef. The next time you are in Paris, I cannot recommend these classes highly enough. We even got to keep the recipes for all of our creations and I thought this would be the perfect occasion to break out the one for Moelleux au Chocolat. This literally translates to “Chocolate Softness.” Amazing, I know. Basically, they are individual chocolate lava cakes. In class we made them with (stick with me here) a banana-avocado sauce. Which I know sounds gross but really only tastes like banana and provides a striking green splash across the dark chocolate cakes—incredible. But, for the sake of St. Valentine, I thought I would try amending this to a pink strawberry banana sauce instead. Enjoy!

Moelleux au Chocolat
5 oz light brown sugar (2/3 cup)
5 oz butter (1 stick and 2 Tbs)
5 oz dark chocolate (70%)
6 eggs, beaten
2 oz flour (1/4 cup)
1 oz softened butter for the molds

1. Slowly melt the chocolate and butter in a casserole dish over a pan of simmering water.
2. Mix the flour and sugar together in a bowl.
3. Remove the melted chocolate from the heat and add the eggs, mix well and add the flour/sugar mixture, stirring to combine.
4. Pour the batter into buttered aluminum molds (the Reynolds ramekin-sized ones) and allow to chill for 1-2 hours.
5. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and cook for 10-12 minutes.

Strawberry Banana Sauce
Strawberries (about 1/2 pint)
1 ripe banana
2 Tbs sugar
Juice of ½ an orange
Juice of ½ a lemon

Add all ingredients to a blender and mix well, refrigerate until ready to use.
For the avocado banana sauce, simply substitute 1 ripe avocado for the strawberries.

Tweet

Mug Shot

Surfing the web I happened to come across what is possibly the most dangerous recipe I have ever seen. Not because it involves blow-torches or any other dangerous equipment, but because it is a recipe for a chocolate cake…an individual chocolate cake…which can be made in 5 minutes…in the microwave. As if you needed any more excuses to break your New Year’s weight loss resolutions. There is both an “easy” and an “easier” version of this recipe and I have included both (you’re welcome). These would also make great Valentine’s Day gifts for friends baked in cutesy holiday-themed mugs and wrapped in cellophane.

Easier Chocolate Mug Cake
9 Tbs hot chocolate powder mix
4 Tbs flour
1 egg
3 Tbs oil
3 Tbs water
pinch of salt
Chocolate chips (optional)

Easy Chocolate Mug Cake
4 Tbs cake or all-purpose flour
4 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs cocoa powder
1 egg
3 Tbs milk
3 Tbs oil
splash of vanilla
chocolate chips (optional)

Grease the inside of the mug with cooking spray. Measure and pour the dry ingredients into the mug and stir to combine. Add the egg and stir to combine. Measure and pour the remaining wet ingredients into the mug, stir to combine making sure that all dry ingredients are incorporated from the bottom of the mug, stir in chocolate chips if using. Microwave on HIGH for 3 minutes.

*NOTE: You may want to use a larger-than-average mug for this, as the cake does rise as it cooks

Tweet

Holy Crêpe!

Thanks to David Liebovitz (fabulous author and blogger on all things food and France) I found out just in time that today is World Nutella Day. Who knew? I guess nothing should really surprise me after the discovery of National Hot Tea Month. Frankly, Nutella always weirded me out a little bit growing up. I always just got the vibe that it was what hippie moms fed to their kids instead of peanut butter because they were afraid of the nitrate levels or something (no offense…) I wish someone would have converted me sooner because this stuff is amazing.

If you’ve never had Nutella, it’s a chocolate hazelnut spread that tastes basically like a straight shot of the filling from those Ferrer Rocher gold-wrapped truffles. Times ten. The jar advertises that you can spread it on everything from whole wheat bread, to bagels, waffles and English muffins. But if you’ve ever been to France or had the good fortune to discover a crêperie in your neighborhood, you know that Nutella’s true culinary soul mate is the crêpe. Corner crêpe stands in Paris are kind of like hot dog carts in the U.S.; ubiquitous and somewhere you can always get a decent snack for under $3. Also like the hot dog cart, each crêperie window will also have a menu of standards. Rather than half-smokes, brats and chips these always include the crêpe with butter and sugar (beurre et sucre), the ham and butter (jambon beurre), and of course…the crêpe Nutella.

Like ice cream cones and cream puffs, homemade crêpes can never be as good as the real thing (unless you are French, and then I am convinced that you are born with innate crêpemaking abilities) but because crêpes and Nutella are forever linked in my mind, in honor of World Nutella Day I just had to give it a shot. You can buy an actual crêpe pan (which of course I do not own) but the recipe I used from my old standby, the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook,actually makes mini crêpes and calls for a 6” skillet. You could certainly use a larger skillet if that’s all you have and simply add more batter. Also, if you’re like me and crêpeing alone, don’t worry; although the recipe makes at least 12 crêpes you can just freeze the leftovers to eat later. Overall I was pretty thrilled with these. But, then again, I can’t think of much that wouldn’t taste amazing slathered in chocolate hazelnut sauce.

Crêpes

2 eggs, beaten
1 ½ cups milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp cooking oil
¼ tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and beat until combined (recommend a hand mixer). Heat a lightly greased 6” skillet; remove from heat. Spoon in 2 tablespoons batter; lift and tilt skillet to spread batter. Return to heat; brown on 1 side only (approximately 1 minute on med-high heat). Invert onto paper towels; remove crêpe. Repeat with remaining batter, greasing skillet occasionally.

Tweet

Where have all the bake sales gone?

Next week I’m participating in what must be one of the oldest of those time honored traditions: the Bake Sale. After jumping at the chance to donate a baked good for this upcoming charity sale at work, I began to wonder when was the last time I’d even come into contact with a bake sale? And, no, Girl Scouts outside the supermarket don’t count. Short of church fellowship meetings and elementary school lobbies have bake sales gone the way of the lemonade stand? (And don’t even get me started on the extinction of the Cake Walk…) Anyways, as I eagerly plan what to provide for the sale I’m looking for any suggestions of bake sale favorites, as I’m guessing the charity planning committee will have more lemon bars than they know what to do with.

Tweet