Sweets

Eating the Bible: Clouds of Obscurity

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

In Exodus chapter 20 God appears to Moses and the Israelites from within/behind a cloud. This begs the question of why God didn’t simply reveal himself.

I remember one morning in Sunday School when I was younger being asked, “What do you think God looks like?” There were the expected pictures drawn of a man with a long beard or drawings resembling the pictures of Jesus popular in the U.S. One boy drew a picture of a cloud and I drew Light (or at least attempted to).

I have never pictured God to be in human form. And I’ve never been able to really describe what I think God looks like. To me, God doesn’t resemble anything of this Earth – God doesn’t have a tangible form. The closest I can come is “Light.”

To accompany this passage Rena created a “Thick Cloud Pavlova” by adding 3 tbsp cocoa powder to the egg whites. As I couldn’t find my cocoa powder (fun fact: it was in the make shift pantry in my laundry room) I decided to use cinnamon to darken the “cloud”. We absolutely love the spice the cinnamon gives to the delicate pavlova. A pavlova is similar to a meringue, the main difference being the cornstarch folded in before baking. The cornstarch creates a marshmallow-like consistency inside of a light and crunchy exterior.

Pavlova Steps

Cinnamon Pavlova

Ingredients:

  • 4 large egg whites
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 C sugar
  • 1 tsp white vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tbsp corn starch
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
  2. In a large bowl beat egg whites with a pinch of salt. (Use either a hand mixer or stand mixer.) Once stiff peaks are reached slowly add the sugar, vinegar, and vanilla – constantly beating.
  3. Once the sugar is dissolved gently fold in the corn starch and cinnamon.
  4. Pile the egg whites onto the parchment paper, forming a 7″ circle with a well in the center.
  5. Bake undisturbed for 1 1/2 hours. Turn off the oven and slightly crack the door. Allow pavlova to cool completely.
  6. Fill the well with whipped cream and fresh berries.

*This recipe is adapted from Eating the Bible by Rena Rossner*

Cinnamon Pavlova

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. 

Eating the Bible: Dark, Dark Nights

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

Chapter 10 of Exodus is littered with references to darkness – three of the plagues the affect the Egyptians involve the dark (locuts the block the sun, darkness, and death of the first born at night). These plagues serve as a reminder that God controls the Light.

And they obscured the face of all the land, and the land became darkened. Exodus 10:15

I chose this passage to remind us that even in moments of darkness we can look to God to bring the Light. Darkness, and Fear, can test one’s will. During Lent we’re strengthening our faith in God and strengthening our ability to fight the Darkness.

Rena created these adorable Hidden Treasure Midnight Brownies made with dark chocolate and golden sprinkles inside. I interpret these sprinkles as the light that can be found in the dark and that out of the dark there will always be light.

Hidden Treasure Midnight Brownies

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick butter
  • 3/4 C dark chocolate chips
  • 1/2 C flour
  • 1 1/2 C powdered sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • sprinkles

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and grease a muffin tin.
  2. Melt together butter and chocolate using whatever method you prefer (microwave, double boiler, etc).
  3. To the chocolate add the flour and sugar. Use an electric hand mixer to combine.
  4. Beat together eggs and egg yolks and add to the chocolate and mix until combined.
  5. Fill muffin cups halfway, top with sprinkles, then spoon over remaining batter.
  6. Bake 8-10 minutes until edges are set and the centers still soft. Let cool 2 minutes before gently removing from the pan.

*This recipe is adapted from Eating the Bible by Rena Rossner*

Midnight Brownies

As you can see, I didn’t get the “lava cake” effect Rena achieved. I think I over baked my brownie-muffins. However, the dark chocolate brownie was a perfect texture of crusty on top and fudgy in the center. The sprinkles I added, although not visible provided a gentle crunch factor to the brownie.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. 

#BundtBakers: Spice

~ lk529 ~ 22 Comments
BundtBakers

I am happy to announce that I have joined another group of bloggers. #BundtBakers is a group of bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bundts with a common ingredient or theme. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme or ingredient. This month’s host is Deepti from Baking Yummies.

Stuart was not thrilled that I signed up for a baking group. He has been complaining that there are too many sweets around the house. Normally that wouldn’t really be a true statement but it seems 2014 has brought with it the “need to bake” with the Olympics, Valentine’s Day, cookies for bowling that turned into rice krispie treats for us, Mardi Gras, and Pi Day there really have been a lot of goodies on our counter. Including sweets from his mom and aunt!

I even think he was trying to sabotage my participation efforts by hiding the bundt pan above the refrigerator. (Note: I’m 4’11”) And “knowing” that I do my baking when he is out training for a race or playing golf it could become impossible for me to make my cake!

Luckily I have a little step stool that I bought my freshman year of college to help me get up in my bed, which we raised to put the mini-fridge underneath. This little stool has been with me since and has even come in handing reserving a parking space during football weekends!

For my first bundt I am making one of my busia’s recipes. Apple Bundt Cake. But to follow the theme of spice I added 1 tbsp of cinnamon to the batter. The baking time of 1:20 was almost torturous – the aromas of baking apples and cinnamon – but that’s nothing compared to the hour you must allow it to cool before making the sauce which finishes off the cake with a glaze of heavenly brown sugar.

P.S. – Stuart, although telling me he was mad at me, greatly enjoyed this cake!

Fresh Apple Cake

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 C vegetable oil
  • 1 3/4 C sugar
  • 4 medium eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 3 C four
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 2 C chopped peeled apples
  • 1/2 C butter
  • 1/2 C brown sugar
  • 2 tsp milk

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a bundt pan.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer beat oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
  3. In a large bowl sift flour and mix with baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
  4. Add flour to egg mixture in 3 batches, making sure each addition is combined. With a spatula, fold in the chopped apples.
  5. Pour batter in prepared bundt pan and bake 1 hour 20 minutes. Let cool 1 hour.
  6. In a small sauce pan bring butter, brown sugar, and milk to a boil. Let boil for two minutes. Spoon over bundt pan and spread until cake is covered.

Apple Bundt Cake

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, send an email to Stacy at foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com or ask to join our private Facebook group. This is a purely administrative group. All recipe and photographs can be found on our individual blogs or on our Pinterest board.

And don’t forget to take a peek at what other talented bakers have baked this month:

Orange Cardamom Mini Bundt Cakes by Alice at Hip Foodie Mom

Cinnamon Roll Bundt Cake by Tara at Noshing With The Nolands

Sweet Potato Pound Cake by Renee at Magnolia Days

Rum & Ginger Grapefruit Cake by Kelly at Passion Kneaded

Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake by Kathya at Basic N Delicious

Spiced Applesauce Bundt Cake with Brown Sugar Rum Glaze by Lauren at From Gate to Plate

Saffron and Tahitian Vanilla Infused Bundt Cake by Laura at The Spiced Life

Honey and Beer Spiced Bundt Cake by Felice at All That’s Left Are The Crumbs

Saffron Vanilla Bean and Orange Mini Bundt Cake by Deepti at Bakingyummies

Peach and Spiced Tea Bundt Cake by Stacy at Food Lust People Love

Lemon Marshmallow Pie

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

As both a nerd and foodie there’s no day better than a “holiday” that celebrates both – Pi Day! March 14th is Pi Day. Why? Pi is an irrational constant with an infinite number of digits, the value of which is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Rounding to the hundredth’s place, Pi = 3.14. Hence, March 14 (3/14) is Pi Day! (Fun fact, it’s also Albert Einstein’s birthday.)

That being said, pies are not my favorite form of dessert. Well, not the traditional pies. I have a liking issue with warm fruit, so I don’t partake in America’s favorite Apple or Berry.

As I’ve mentioned before, my favorite pie is Key Lime. It’s served chilled and has a perfect balance of tart and sweet. The same can be said for this lemon marshmallow pie. And only three ingredients (four if you count the fresh fruit for garnish) separate you from a bright dessert. A dessert that will make you forget about winter’s extended stay and think you’ve just experienced a perfect spring day. With only five minutes of prep work required there isn’t any excuse to not try this pie. True, you could always make your own pie crust and lemon curd and probably marshmallow creme but I prefer to take the lazy way out. 😉

Lemon Marshmallow Pie

Ingredients:

  • 2 jars (10 oz) lemon curd
  • 1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme
  • 1 graham cracker pie crust

Steps:

  1. Using a hand mixer whip lemon curd and marshmallow creme until blended. Pour pie filling into pie crust.
  2. Refrigerate a few hours before serving with fresh berries.

*This recipe is adapted from Deborah at http://www.tasteandtellblog.com/lemon-marshmallow-tart/*

Lemon Marshmallow Pie

Mardi Gras Ice Cream

~ lk529 ~ 7 Comments

As a food blogger I feel obligated to present a dish on Fat Tuesday. I’ve never really celebrated Mardi Gras in all it’s glory and never had a King’s Cake until a few weeks ago when a coworker brought one into the office. As luck would have it I found the plastic baby – which means I’m responsible for bringing in next year’s cake. Unfortunately for them we’ll have moved to Ohio by then. So I thought I’d bake a treat and bring it in this year. And of course blog about it – two birds, one stone.

I was hoping to find something simple and these King’s Cake Bars caught my eye. Unfortunately my execution of said bars was abysmal. I think I over mixed the dough for the base and I managed to forget both the vanilla and cinnamon in the cream cheese filling. I used a smaller casserole dish than recommended so my baking time was considerably longer (2x as long!) and came out domed which caused the glaze to run down to the sides of the casserole dish. But, it did flatten out once it cooled. And even though I sprayed the pan and the dough is almost half butter it would not come up.

After the frustration subsided, I thought it’d be fun to make an ice cream. The cream cheese filling reminded me of cheese cake (cream cheese, egg, sugar) so I decided to try a cheese cake ice cream base with cinnamon. I garnished the ice cream with purple, green, and yellow sprinkles to play up the holiday. (I was too nervous to stir sprinkles into the ice cream machine for fear of resulting in streaky brown coloring.)

I have to admit, I was worried I messed up this recipe too. I used too small of a pot and didn’t temper the eggs enough so my custard had a few lumps. But, I decided to strain it and keep going. I’m glad I did because this ice cream is so delicious – it’s rich and creamy with great flavor from the cinnamon.

Cinnamon Cheese Cake Ice Cream

Ingredients:

  • 2 C half-and-half
  • 1/2 C heavy whipping cream
  • 1 C milk
  • 1 1/4 C sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature and cubed
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Steps:

  1. Heat the half-and-half, cream, and milk in a large saucepan over medium heat until it reaches 175 degrees F, but do not let boil. Whisk in sugar until dissolved.
  2. In a small bowl whisk eggs. Take about 1/4 C of the hot milk mixture and whisk into eggs to temper them. Constantly whisking, add eggs to milk. Cook over low heat, whisking, until the mixture thickens and reaches 160 degrees F.
  3. Pour custard through a fine strainer (I opted to line mine with a coffee filter, but I don’t think it was necessary) into a glass bowl. Whisk in the cream cheese until melted and smooth.
  4. Place the bowl of custard in a bowl of ice water to cool and stir for two minutes. (Don’t let the water into the custard.) Stir in vanilla and cinnamon. Remove from ice bath, cover, and place in fridge overnight.
  5. Follow ice cream maker instructions and freeze.

This recipe is modified from Taste of Home.

Mardi Gras Ice Cream Mardi Gras Ice Cream 2

Chocolate Chip Cookies

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

On Tuesday nights I partake in a bowling league. Collectively, we are not the best team, but we do know how to have fun! Our team “uniform” are Hawaiian shirts, last year we made tie-dye shirts!

If you’re at all familiar with bowling, you may have heard the term “beer frame” thrown around. A beer frame is when all members except one bowl a strike in the same frame. That singleton is then responsible for buying a pitcher of beer for the group.

Instead of beer frames, we do cookie frames. And I fell on the sword, so the next week I was charged with bringing in cookies. My evening for cookie bringing was the same evening of the ice storm so I actually got an extra week to prepare. It’s a good thing too because the cookies I tried making that Monday night were a complete fail. I was following a recipe for heart cookies out of a massive cookie cookbook. Something about this recipe was off – the “dough” ended up as more “sand”. So I scrapped the idea and made Rice Krispie Treats instead. Much to my husband’s dismay those treats never left the house.

So this week I had to try again. I opted instead to follow a supposedly fool proof recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies. This recipe actually comes from the sonographer at my doctor’s office. She has it memorized and jotted it down for me when my husband informed her of my previous cookie fail. She says she’s put many variations on the recipe using nuts, coconut, etc.

When it comes to cookies, chocolate chips are not my favorite. I lean towards thin crispy cookies, like my Busia’s oatmeal lace cookies that I haven’t even attempted and my mom has mastered. These cookies were enjoyably addicting – I think it’s the salt in the batter! By the time I got around to photographing these there were only 5 left!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 2 sticks butter, room temperature
  • 1 C sugar
  • 1 C brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 C flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 bag chocolate chips

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In the bottom of a stand mixer cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until combined.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture in 3 batches.
  4. Fold in chocolate chips.
  5. Drop tablespoon-sized dollops of batter onto a greased cookie sheet. This recipe made 3 dozen cookies.
  6. Bake 10-14 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Red Velvet Puppy Chow

~ lk529 ~ 4 Comments

Red Velvet Puppy Chow 3

One of Stuart’s childhood (and college) favorite sweets at the holidays (or anytime) was puppy chow. There a many varieties of puppy chow – or monkey munch, or muddy buddies – but all involve chocolate and powdered sugar. I’ve never made puppy chow, and can’t remember ever having it growing up. I think my first introduction to this addicting sweet cereal mix was through Stuart when his mom brought him a gallon size bag full during a college visit.

Place the puppy chow in individual baggies and send them to school with your kids on Friday, February 14th!This Valentine’s Day version uses red velvet cake mix and Valentine colored M&Ms.

Red Velvet Puppy Chow

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 C white chocolate chips
  • 1/4 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 5 C rice Chex® cereal
  • 1 C red velvet cake mix (use boxed mix or make your own!)
  • 1/2 C powdered sugar
  • 1 1/4 C Valentine colored M&Ms®

Steps:

  1. Melt together white and semi-sweet chocolate until smooth. (I did this in a double boiler, but you can do it in the microwave too – just keep an eye on it and stir often.)
  2. Place cereal in a large bowl. Gently fold melted chocolate over the cereal until coated.
  3. In a large plastic bag combine cake mix and powdered sugar. Place chocolate coated cereal in bag and shake until completely coated. Spread out onto a baking sheet and let cool.

*This recipe is modified from Lizzy Mae at http://www.yourcupofcake.com/2013/01/red-velvet-puppy-chow.html*

Red Velvet Puppy Chow 2

Red Velvet Puppy Chow 1

Olympic Ring Cupcake Display

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

The Opening Ceremony of the XXII Winter Olympics is tonight at 7:30/6:30C. If you are having a watching party I have the perfect display for your dessert table. I know there are many wonderful Olympics-related food ideas on Pinterest – hopefully this post will add me to the party!

I used two different boxes of cake mix for this project – one chocolate and one white. I really did this because that’s what I happened to have in my cupboard, but I firmly recommend following suit. Not only does it offer your guests options, but it makes it much easier to place the cupcakes prior to frosting.

Olympic Rings Cupcake Display (pre-frosting)

Make a double batch of butter cream (single recipe listed below) and divide evenly into four bowls. Color the frosting in red, blue, yellow, and green. Frost the respective rings appropriately. YOU WILL HAVE LEFT OVER FROSTING! Combine the left over red, blue, and green along with 3/8 C of cocoa powder. Now you have chocolate butter cream frosting for the black ring. I opted to not create black frosting because I find it to be unappetizing, additionally black frosting tends to stain mouths, hands, etc.

If you want to avoid dying frosting, you can easily use plain frosting and then use respective sprinkles – in which case I approve of using black! 😉

Olympics Rings Cupcake Display

Butter Cream Frosting

Ingredients:

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 3 C powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Steps:

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment beat butter. Add in powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Beat until combined. (If frosting doesn’t come together, add just a little bit of milk at a time until a smooth texture is reached.)

*This recipe comes from my friend Kate*

Caramel Popcorn

~ lk529 ~ 5 Comments

You know those popcorn tins you get around the holidays? There’s that regular butter popcorn, that takes up the most room, then there’s cheddar popcorn, and finally everyone’s favorite, caramel covered popcorn.

This recipe for caramel popcorn is almost identical. And without the preservatives! I don’t know if that really makes it healthier… it is still full of sugar, butter, and more sugar.

Caramel Popcorn

Ingredients:

  • canola oil, enough to coat bottom of pot
  • 1/2 C popcorn kernels
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1/2 C brown sugar
  • 1/8 C corn syrup
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda

Steps:

  1. Put canola oil in pot along with 2-3 kernels of popcorn. Cover and stand by. Once you hear the kernels pop, add the 1/2 C of popcorn. Cover and cook over medium heat until popping slows. Gently shake the pop during the popping process so as not to burn the popcorn at the bottom. Remove from heat and remain covered until popping has ceased, unless you want to be pelted with popcorn. (If you have another method of popping popcorn, feel free to use it.)
  2. Melt together butter, sugar, syrup, salt, and vanilla. You can do this either over the stove top or in the microwave for 2 minutes. Whisk until combined and add in the baking soda.
  3. Pour caramel over cooked popcorn. Toss until popcorn is completely coated.
  4. Cover popcorn and microwave for 1:30 min. Toss and microwave for another 1:30. Spread popcorn out on a wax paper lined surface and allow to cool. Break apart clumps if desired.

*This recipe is modified from Brenda at http://www.afarmgirlsdabbles.com/2013/12/23/moms-microwave-caramel-popcorn-recipe/*

Caramel Popcorn 1 Caramel Popcorn 2 Caramel Popcorn 3 Caramel Popcorn 4

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

Today is my husband’s birthday! Some of his coworker’s know I’m a food (mostly) blogger and are always complaining that Stuart doesn’t bring in enough leftovers at lunch for everyone. So today I’m sending him to work with cupcakes!

I wanted to make them from scratch instead of using a box. I was trying to decide what flavor profile to do and decided to go with a play on his favorite candy bar: the Almond Joy. The frosting recipe called for coconut extract, but because I have a coconut allergy I didn’t want to buy a bottle to use 1/4 tsp. I looked up how to make my own, but doing so requires a fresh coconut. I decided to substitute vanilla extract, and trust that the coconut milk used to make the frosting will keep the coconut flavor alive. They’re additionally topped with shredded coconut (and an almond).

If you notice, the title of this blog post is Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting, not Coconut. That’s because I typed up the post before I made the frosting. The frosting did not turn out well. The texture was all off – it wasn’t smooth and almost looked like glitter.

So I switched it up and decided to go with peanut butter frosting. (It’s a good thing I got the new glass KitchenAid bowl for Christmas so I didn’t have to do dishes in between frostings, thanks parents!) I asked, “Can I just pretend Reese’s are your favorite candy?” “Yes, I like Reese’s!” Also, instead of pretending to be perfect, you get to know my Plan B secret! I followed the frosting recipe I used on my Caramel Filled Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Caramel Frosting, omitting the caramel.

Chocolate Cupcakes Peanut Butter Frosting

Chocolate Cupcakes with Coconut Peanut Butter Frosting

Ingredients for cupcake:

  • 2/3 C cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 C butter, melted
  • 1/3 C vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/3 C sugar
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1/2 C heavy cream
  • 1 3/4 C flour

Ingredients for frosting:

  • 1 C salted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/4 C canned coconut milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 C powdered sugar
  • 1/2 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 C powdered sugar
  • 1/8 C + 1 tsp milk
  • 1/4 C peanut butter

Steps:

  1. Boil 1 C of water in the microwave. Mix together cocoa powder and baking soda. Whisk in the boiling water and whisk until the mixture no longer bubbles and is smooth. Set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, beat melted butter, oil, vanilla, sugar, and salt with a hand mixer. Add in the two eggs and beat until combined. Repeat with the egg yolks. Add the cocoa mixture and heavy cream. Once combined add in the flour in batches, mixing after each addition.
  3. Pour cupcake batter into 2 dozen cupcake tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes clean when inserted. Let cool.
  4. Make the frosting: Using a stand mixer, beat the butter and coconut milk until fluffy. Mix in the extract. Slowly add in the powdered sugar until a frosting is made! In a stand mixer beat together sugar, butter, and milk. When combined fully add in the peanut butter.
  5. Top cooled cupcakes with frosting. Top with shredded coconut and an almond, if desired.

*The cupcake recipe is adapted from Jaclyn at http://www.cookingclassy.com/2013/02/chocolate-cupcakes-with-coconut-frosting-almonds-almond-joy-cupcakes/*

Chocolate Cupcakes Peanut Butter Frosting