Havana Cupcakes

There are a lot of good recipes out there that are being overlooked by most home bakers for several reasons. A few of the reasons are exotic ingredients and special equipment requirements. However, this particular recipe was most likely overlooked due to the quantity. The original recipe makes 6 cakes, 8 inches in diameter.

Fiddling around with the calculator on conversions can get overwhelming, but I was so intrigued by the flavors I set out to convert this one. I finally worked to scale it down for about 1 1/2 dozen cupcakes.

The cupcake is made up of a chocolate sponge cake that envelops a nutty layer of hazelnuts and almond paste. The meld of texture and flavor is amazing. Fluffy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Chocolate, hazelnuts and almonds are tasty enough in the cake, but the fudge frosting is something to rave about as well. It reminds me of the type of topping you would put on brownies. Just swirl it on with the back of a spoon and it will settle smoothly on top of the cupcake.

Take note that the recipe does not include baking soda or baking powder, so the cupcakes do not rise like the standard. The liners can be filled close to the top without fear of spilling over.

Havana Cupcakes
adapted from Mastering the Art and Craft: Baking and Pastry

Ingredients/Nut Batter
1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter plus 2 tbs
3 eggs
1/2 cup plus 3 tbs finely gnd toasted hazelnuts
5 oz of almond paste
1/2 cup 2 tbs sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup plus 2 tbs bread flour
Pinch of salt

Ingredients /Chocolate Batter
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup finely gnd toasted hazelnuts
Pinch of salt
8 egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients/ Devils Fudge Icing & Topping
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 stick or 1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup plus 2 tbs corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup hot water
1 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp whipped cream stabilizer
2 tbs sugar
18 whole hazelnuts or almonds

Prepare pans by greasing the upper edge of the cavities and lining with cupcake papers. The first batter to make is the nut batter. Begin by pouring the ground hazelnuts into a bowl. Then sift in the flour and whisk together. Set aside.

Fill a the bowl of a stand mixer with the sugar, butter, almond paste, salt and vanilla. Using the paddle attachment, beat the ingredients together on medium speed for about 5 minutes. Be sure to stop occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. The end result will be a fluffy mixture that is light in color.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs together. Beat the eggs into the almond paste batter in 3 separate additions, running the mixer on medium speed for about 30 seconds each interval. Lastly, using a spatula, fold in the flour/hazelnut mixture. Set aside.

For the chocolate batter, whisk the salt and the ground hazelnuts together in a small bowl. Sift in the cocoa powder and cinnamon and whisk again. Set aside.

Pour the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whipping attachment, whip until soft peaks form.  At this point, continue to whip while slowly adding the sugar, until stiff peaks form. Stop the mixer and fold in the dry ingredients.  Lastly, stir in the vanilla extract. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare a piping bag with a large tip and fill with nut mixture.  Quickly scoop out a heaping tablespoon of the chocolate batter and place into cupcake cavity. Repeat process for 18 cupcake cavities. Then pipe a complete circle of nut batter on top of the chocolate batter of the 18.  Lastly, scoop out another heaping tablespoon of batter, placing it on top of the nut batter.  Smooth the top, insuring that the nut batter is completely covered.

Place pans in oven and bake until top is smooth and springs back when lightly pressed, about 25-30 minutes. Be sure to rotate pans halfway through the baking process. Once baked, place pans on a cooling rack for 5 minutes then transfer cupcakes to a rack to finish cooling.

Start making the icing by adding butter, cocoa powder, corn syrup vanilla and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer.  Beat at medium speed for about 5 minutes. Mixture should be very fluffy at this point. Stir in the hot water. Remove mixer bowl from stand and sift in 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar and stir with a wooden spoon. Repeat the process until all the sugar is blended. Adjust consistency to your liking by mixing in more confectioner sugar or hot water. Spoon icing on top of cooled cupcakes and smooth out with a spoon.

For the optional topping, whip heavy cream until thickened. Add stabilizer and sugar, then whip again until piping consistency is reached. Pipe a round shell on top of the center of the cupcake and then lightly press a nut on top of the whipped cream.

Tips and notes:
1. Dutch processed or regular cocoa is your choice. The recipe does not specify but I used Dutch.

2. Whipped egg whites do have a tendency to deflate as they sit, so act quickly.  The other option is to make half a batch and do 9 cupcakes at a time.  The nut batter can sit in the fridge while the first batch bakes.

3. There will be some nut batter left over, but the baked result is chewy enough to make for a good filling in a brownie or cookie as well, so feel free to experiment with what is left.
                               **LAST YEAR: Biscotti Aloha**

Alfredo Bread

My grandmother used to always make homemade bread.  Since I only eat plain bread when making sandwiches, homemade bread seems hardly worth the effort. Yet my attitude changes when I start considering making a more flavorful loaf such as this one.

This bread does have the added flavor of Alfredo sauce, Parmesan cheese, basil and parsley.  It is perfect for an Italian dinner and a nice change from garlic bread.  As you can see from the picture above, there is lots of cheesy goodness in this loaf.  I found it hard to hold off until dinner.  As it baked, it did release an ethereal scent throughout the house.  I got very hungry and impatient for it to finish baking. In addition, letting the loaf cool was even harder.

The next time you are in the mood to make bread, you may want to try this one.  There are only 2 sessions of rising time, totaling 1 1/2 hrs.  Forming the bread is basically the same method as a jelly roll, so it comes together pretty easily. This recipe makes two 9x5 loaves.

Alfredo Bread
adapted from Fleishmanns Yeast

Ingredients
1/4 cup Alfredo sauce
2 1/4 cup milk
2 tbs softened butter
3 tbs sugar
2 packets yeast (original, not rapid rise)
5-6 cups bread flour
1 tbs dried parsley
1 tsp dried basil
2 tsp salt
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Fill a saucepan with the milk and place over medium heat. Let heat up to a temperature of 100-110 degrees. Remove from heat.  Stir in sugar and yeast. Set aside until the surface becomes foamy.  This should take about 5-10 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the salt and 2 cups of flour.  Pour in the yeast mixture and add the butter.  Mix with beater blade until evenly distributed.  Continue to add the flour in 1 cup increments, mixing after each addition.  It should reach a soft dough stage once the 5th cup of flour has been blended in.

Take a medium size bowl and oil the interior and set aside.  The next step is kneading the dough.  If using a mixer with a dough hook, run your mixer on medium low speed for 4-5 minutes, adding flour a little at a time if needed. In order to do this step by hand, start by dusting a flat surface with flour. Place the dough on the surface and knead by hand for about 8-10 minutes.

Form dough into a ball and place it in prepared bowl.  Flip over to make sure surface is covered with oil.  Cover bowl lightly and set in a warm place to rise until doubled.  This should take about an hour.  During the rise time, prepare two 9x5 inch loaf pans by greasing the interior and set aside.

After the first rise is completed, remove the dough and punch down.  Place it back on the flat, floured surface and cut in half.  Put one half back in the bowl and keep the other half on the surface.  Roll out the half into a rectangle measuring 9x18.  Spread 2 tablespoons of Alfredo sauce on the surface of the rectangle.  Then sprinkle the dough with 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.  Follow that with a sprinkle of 1 1/2 tsp of dried parsley and then 1/2 tsp dried basil.

Starting with the short end, roll dough tightly into a cylinder, tugging the dough slightly after each turn. Pinch the end with the under lapping part of the dough and tuck in the short ends, pinching the same way.  Place the loaf seam sides down in the prepared pan.  Lightly cover this loaf and then prepare the second piece of dough the same way.  Let both loaves rise for another 30-40 minutes.  At the halfway point, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Once the loaves have completed the rise, place in oven and bake until golden brown on top.  Bake time is about 30-40 minutes.  Loaves are done when hollow sound is made when tapping on top.  Place pans on rack to cool for about 10-15 minutes then invert on rack.  Invert again so loaves are in upright position.  Let cool completely before slicing.

Tips and Notes:

1.  Do not worry that there is not a border left when topping the dough.  My loaves did not split at the seams when baked, so the dough border is not required.

2.  Do not pack in more toppings than noted, unless you want to form this into a pull apart bread rather than swirled loaves.  Pull apart bread is an idea, but the layers will present a problem with the alfredo/cheese filling sticking to the pan.  The cheese will form a crust on the pan that will be hard to clean. 
                                     **LAST YEAR: Lemon Tartlets***                                                 

Celtic Celebration Cake

With St. Patrick's Day coming up, I decided on something to celebrate the occasion. Ireland does have a rather rich history. I came across some very interesting facts, some you may know, some you may not. The famous ship the Titanic was built in Belfast. St. Patrick, the patron saint, was actually kidnapped when he was a boy.  Also, at one time the Shamrock was considered a rebellious symbol and Queen Victoria prohibited Irish regiments from wearing them on their uniforms.

Now, back to this cake. This two layer treat does have a jigger or two of liqueur combined with chocolate. The lighter layer includes white chocolate and creme de cacao.  The other layer is a combination of Irish cream and dark chocolate. The topping and filling is a fudgey chocolate recipe I used on another cake in the past, but ganache would also do quite well.  Regarding the texture, the cake is more on the fluffy side than dense and it is moist.

The inclusion of liqueurs in the ingredients does add a more decadent and sinful twist to something we already consider delicious--chocolate.  Also, I recognize St. Patrick's day as more as an adult holiday and this is a perfect fit.

Since this is like making 2 different cakes, you will need several medium size bowls. Also, a double boiler will need to be available for melting the different chocolates contained in this recipe.

This year you can have those cocktails or beer like you did last year.  However, pulling out this cake will mark the evening a little bit tastier and memorable for St. Patrick's day 2015.

Celtic Celebration Cake
by flourtrader

Ingredients/ Cake
2 oz  white chocolate
2 oz  unsweetened dark chocolate squares (Bakers brand)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup Irish cream and a little more for brushing on layer
1/2 cup clear (not dark) creme de cacao and a little more for brushing on layer
3 eggs
1 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter (softened)
2 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Ingredients/topping
(adapted from Southern Living)
3 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
2 tsp vanilla extract
1lb of butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare 2 nine inch cake pans by greasing the interior and then lining with parchment paper.  Then grease the surface of the parchment paper.  Lastly, dust the interior with flour and tap out excess.

Take out 2 medium size bowls. In one bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, 1 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt. Repeat this process to fill the second bowl and set both aside.

Using a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and vegetable oil by running the mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes.  Be sure to stop a few times and scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Beat in one egg for about 30 seconds.  Repeat the process using one egg at a time. Measure out the batter and divide equally into 2 different bowls.  Place one bowl of batter in the fridge.

Set up a double boiler and melt 2 oz of white chocolate. Add the 2 oz of melted chocolate to the bowl of batter and 1/2 tsp of vanilla.  Stir until all is evenly distributed.  Then add one bowl of the sifted dry ingredients and creme de cacao.  Mix the batter until smooth and blend in 1/4 cup of milk.

Pour batter in one of the prepared cake pans and place in oven.  Bake until tester indicates done, which should be about 22-27 minutes. After 15 minutes of baking, remove bowl of batter from fridge and set aside. Once the cake is done, take out of oven and place on rack. Let cool in pan until sides of cake separate from edge of pan.  That should be about 10-15 minutes of cooling time. Then invert onto rack and remove parchment.  While still warm, brush creme de cacao onto the layer. The quantity is your preference.

For the other layer, set up your double boiler and follow the instructions in the above two paragraphs. This time you will be using the dark, unsweetened chocolate and Irish cream.

The instructions for the topping can be found in paragraph 7 and 8 in this link: Double Nut-drenched Chocolate Cake.  The only change is that the nuts were eliminated for this cake recipe.  Frost cake layers once the have completely cooled.

Tips and notes:
1. The word "dark" in the ingredient list for the chocolate was just to note the difference between white and regular chocolate.  While there is dark and bittersweet types of Bakers brand of chocolate, the unsweetened does not come in different degrees of chocolate.  This recipe uses the original, unsweetened type.

2. This recipe can also be baked as a marble cake by swirling the batters together in a 9x13 pan.

3. Feel free to experiment with the recipe. For instance, a 2 layer cream de cacao cake with a raspberry filling and white chocolate ganache coating is another way to go.  Since white chocolate is so sweet, just cut back 1/2 cup of sugar in your cake ingredients.

4. If using the fudge topping, I emphasize again (stated in the original link) that it sets up quickly.  You definitely do not want to tear your lovely cake with frosting that is too thick.
                         **LAST YEAR: Irish Cream Cookies**

Pineapple and Macadamia Nut Tart

The weather has been quite dreary here.  It has been a foggy and rainy week, so I have tried to instill a little cheery sunshine by making this tropical tart.  However, that will not keep me from looking forward to St Patricks day and Easter - they mark the change in the weather and I am ready for it.

This tart features a filling made up of buttery macadamias.  On top, are juicy slices of pineapple laced with a rum honey mixture.  As it bakes, the juices cook down into the filling to create a delicious blend of flavor.  The rum/honey topping is added during part of the baking process.  This insures that just the right amount of flavor remains. Then there is the added bonus of the nutty crust.  So good that I am considering doubling it for next time.

The major part of the prep work is the pineapple.  However, the good factor is that pineapples yield a lot of fruit and there are no seeds or pits to deal with.

Pineapple and Macadamia Nut Tart
Adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine, Issue 115

Ingredients/crust
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup or one stick cold butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup toasted macadamias
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt

Ingredients/filling
1 tbs rum
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg, room temp
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tbs plus 1 1/2 tsp flour
3/4 cup macadamia nuts
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Ingredients/ topping
1 medium pineapple (about 3 1/2 lbs) peeled, cored, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/8 inch thick slices
3 tbs mild honey
2 tbs rum
1 tbs flour

Start making the crust by placing the nuts and sugar in a food processor.  Then pulse in one second intervals, about 15 times. That number helps to insure that some crunch remains in the texture.  Add the flour and and salt. Process until the dry flour is incorporated.  Put the butter cubes into the mix and pulse again until the mixture starts clumping, about 8 intervals. Pour the egg over the top and pulse again.  The last session of pulsing will take about 5-6 one second intervals. The key is to have it all blended without over mixing.

Take a large piece of plastic wrap and lay on a flat surface.  Shape the dough into a ball and transfer to the plastic wrap.  Flatten the dough in a disc or rectangle, depending on the shape of your pan. Enclose the dough tightly in the plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator.  The dough must chill a minimum of 2 hours, but you can also chill it overnight.

After the chilling time is complete, transfer dough from refrigerator to tart pan.  Press dough out with your fingers evenly, into the bottom only.  Do not press up the sides.  Once formed, freeze crust for 20 minutes. Also, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Meanwhile, make the filling.  Start by grinding the macadamia nuts in a food processor until they have a coarse consistency.  Add the remaining ingredients for the filling and blend with processor for about 2 minutes.  The mixture should now be spreadable.

After the chilling time is complete, remove crust from freezer.  Empty filling into prepared crust.  Smooth out evenly onto the crust, taking care to leave 1/4 inch border along the edges.

Now, it is time to top the tart. Sprinkle 1 tbs of flour over the surface of the filling.  Then begin the process of the sliced pineapple overlay.  The first point is to only cover the filling with the fruit, which means that the original 1/4 inch border of crust remains. Starting from the outside going in, lay the pineapple slices in a concentric circle or rectangle, depending on the pan used.  It is best to put the end where the core was cut from facing inward and the other fanning outward.  Overlap the second row 1/2 inch on top of  first row and continue until the filling is completely covered.  Feel free to cut the pineapple to fit, which may be required as you get more towards the center.  You may end up with extra pineapple, but fresh fruit never lasts long in my house.

Place the tart in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.  As it cooks, the rum topping can be made.  Place the rum and honey in a small saucepan and stir.  Cook over medium high heat for about 2 minutes, then remove.  After the tart has baked for 20 minutes, rotate it and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.  If you notice the crust browning too much, cover with foil.

Once the 2nd baking interval is completed, remove tart and brush with half of the honey/rum sauce.  Place back in oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes.   Then transfer from oven to cooling rack.  Brush with remaining sauce and let cool completely before serving.
                                         **LAST YEAR: Mochaccino Cupcakes**

Butternut Maple Blondies

These are not your regular bake sale blondies.  Instead, you will find that these are much more flavorful and reminiscent of something you would have around the Christmas holidays. A little off season since it is March, but just as delicious.  These bars are rich and spicy. Ginger, mace and cumin are often reserved for pumpkin pies, but this blonde recipe makes excellent use of them by pairing with butternut squash and white chocolate.

They have a moist texture, but are not too dense like a lot of bar cookies. I also like the fact that dark brown sugar is used instead of white or light brown and the touch of maple syrup.

There are two items that I found to be special needs for the recipe.  It calls for an 8x11 pan and I only had a 9x13.  Also, the preparation of the pan states to dust with Demerara sugar.  I opted out of the sugar dusting by using flour and adjusted for a larger pan by increasing each ingredient by 1/4 of the original amount.  The ingredient increase is not that easy on a few of the items and the 1/4 calculation is not exact but I was happy with the resulting height of the bars.

Butternut Maple Blondies

adapted from Sugar Rush

Ingredients

2 cups flour

3/4 tsp ground ginger

3/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp mace

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 lb butternut squash/ halved and seeded

2 tbs maple syrup

2 eggs

2-3 tbs Demerara sugar for dusting the pan

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

3/4 cup butter, cold and diced

6 oz white chocolate

The first step is to roast the squash.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place each half cut side down on the sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes.  Remove and let cool completely.

While the squash is cooling, sift together the flour, cumin, ginger, mace and baking powder into a medium size bowl.  Then stir in salt.  Set aside.

Once the squash has cooled, set up a food processor.  Scoop out the soft interior of the squash, leaving the skins, and place in food processor bowl.  Puree for about a minute or until all is smooth.  Transfer squash puree to a saucepan and place over low heat.  Stir constantly while squash is simmering and let cook for about 10 minutes.  The puree should become thicker as it cooks, retaining less moisture.  Remove and let cool again.

Turn the oven down to a temperature of 350 degrees.  Butter the interior of an 8x11 pan and sprinkle in the Demerara sugar.  Shift and shake until the interior is coated with the sugar then invert and tap out the extra, just as you would if you were dusting with flour.

Fill the bowl of a stand mixer with the butter cubes and brown sugar.  Coat the cubes of butter with the brown sugar by tossing them together with clean hands.  Once all the cubes are coated, cream the butter and sugar together by beating on medium speed, scraping down the sides occasionally. Both ingredients should be evenly distributed and the mixture be very smooth after about 5 minutes beating time.  Add one egg and beat for 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides, then beat in the other egg.  Lastly, run the mixer on low and add the maple syrup and vanilla.  After about 2 minutes of mixing, stop and remove bowl.

Take the white chocolate and chop 4 oz into pieces and place in bowl.  Chop the other 2 oz and place in a separate bowl.  Set aside.

Using about a 1/2 cup of sifted ingredients to start, fold it into the sugar/butter mixture. Continue the process in increments until all the sifted ingredients are incorporated.  Then blend the cooled squash puree into the batter.  Lastly, add 4 oz of the white chocolate pieces and fold into the batter until evenly distributed.

Empty batter into prepared pan and smooth out evenly.  Sprinkle the remaining 2 oz of the chocolate pieces on top.  Place in oven and bake until tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes.  Cool in pan completely before cutting into squares.

Tips and Notes:

1. The surface of my bars were quite different than the picture shows in the recipe book.  The top is browner and chocolate is toasty colored on top.  Perhaps turning off the oven and letting it cool off and then turning on to 350 degrees and let is heat up may help.  Also, sprinkling the white chocolate on top at the halfway point of baking may allow the chocolate retain its white color. 

                                  **LAST YEAR: Pecan Pie Cheesecake** 

Taffy Treats

The title and the picture does have a way of leading you down the wrong path.  Let me clarify a few things: these are not candy, but caramel coated cookies and there is none of the traditional taffy in this recipe. The only link to taffy is that the filling and coating is stretchy, much like the taffy.  Sorry for the taffy fans, but if you love caramel and nuts, gladly read on. Clearly, the person that won the baking contest with this treat must be in your nutty caramel circle.

If I had to name these little goodies, I would call them nut caramel clusters. There is a walnut praline filling inside and then they are coated with caramel and walnuts.  The cookie itself tastes like a butter cookie. Surprisingly, these are made with both powdered sugar and brown sugar. The outside caramel is the soft, chewy kind with a deep, buttery flavor. The layer of caramel in a Milkyway bar is the same.

The filling, forming and coating is what requires the most time to create these.  You could make your own caramel, but this recipe only calls for softening store-bought caramels.  It is a time saver and I do not feel that it detracts any from the flavor.

Anyhow, these morsels are as delicious as they look.  For parties, dress them up with colored toothpicks and place them in 1 1/2" candy papers. However, feel confident that these will be eaten quickly, regardless of how fancy the presentation.

This recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies.  Be sure to read the helpful tips and notes at the end before you begin.

Taffy Treats
adapted from the Plymouth Star Tribune

Ingredients/ filling
1/3 cup ground walnuts
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1/3 cup sugar

Ingredients/cookies
1/2 cup or 1 stick butter (room temp)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
2 cups sifted flour

Ingredients/ coating
14 oz of caramels (approx 48-50 caramels)
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 cup ground walnuts
Toothpicks for dipping and serving

The first step is to make the filling.  Place all filling ingredients in a saucepan.  Cook and stir constantly until thick, about 5 minutes.  You should be able to scrape the bottom of the interior of the pan and have the streak remain for at least 20 seconds before the filling flows back to cover it.  Remove from heat and set aside.  It will set up more upon cooling.

For the cookies, prepare 2 baking sheets by lining with parchment paper.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Fill a mixing bowl with the butter, powdered sugar, brown sugar and salt.  Beat until smooth and creamy.  Then beat in egg and vanilla extract. Once blended, mix in the flour with a spatula or wooden spoon.

Take the dough and form into 1 inch balls.  Make a depression with your thumb and fill indentation with 1/4 tsp of walnut filling. Seal in filling and shape back into a ball.  Place each on baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart.  Bake until golden brown on bottom, about 15-18 minutes.  Remove cookies from the oven and gently insert toothpick into center and transfer to cooling rack. Let completely cool prior to coating.

Set up a double boiler for the caramel coating and place over medium heat. Then lay a sheet of wax paper and a bowl full of the ground walnuts aside. Once water starts to simmer in bottom pot, pour evaporated milk and add caramels to top pot.  Let mixture melt, stirring occasionally.  After all caramels are melted and blended with the milk, you are ready to dip the cookies by using the toothpick. Dip each cookie into the caramel and let the excess drip off. Then coat the bottom by placing in the ground walnuts.  Transfer to wax paper and allow to set.

Tips and notes:
1. The forming process is best done in dozen increments.  Forming several dozen indented rounds prior to filling will cause the dough to dry out and crack while it sits.

2. To fill and seal, I dampened my fingers to pull out the filling, to place in the indentation and to seal inside.

3. The recipe suggests using the microwave to melt the caramels or removing the double boiler from the heat.  I used a double boiler and left it on the heat to maintain the caramel consistency while dipping. The microwave method would not allow for this.

4. How much you cover your cookies with the caramel or walnuts is your option.  If you plan for full coverage, don't roll the cookies around in the nuts. Placing it in the nuts to cover the bottom and sprinkling the nuts on the top is the best way to keep all the caramel on the cookie instead of having it drip off into the nuts.

5. I used Kraft brand caramels (comes in an 11 oz bag) and the coating was soft and smooth.  If for any reason your coating is too thick, adjust by adding a tablespoon at a time of evaporated milk or water until desired consistency is met. Eenjoy!
                             **LAST YEAR: Peach Brandy Pound Cake**

Lemon Pull Apart Coffee Cake

There are quite a few "quick fix" pull apart bread recipes available, along with the famous monkey bread.  Yet, the idea of a loaf of pull apart bread did intrigue me, but I would have to find a recipe that is from scratch.  Yes, from scratch.  I know when it comes to bread type recipes, we first think about the hours and hours of rising time...

In review, the rising time is minimal and the loaf came together rather quickly for this recipe.  Also, another good point is that it is flexible. We all appreciate a good base recipe that you can change up, depending on the flavor you want -go savory with garlic butter or more sweet with cinnamon brown sugar.

The bread is flaky and crisp on the outside and the inside is fluffy and soft.  The light, clean flavor of lemon makes it a perfect accompaniment to a hot cup of tea.  The only issue I had was with the topping.  I would have preferred a glaze with a stronger lemon flavor.  The topping was thick and only had a hint of lemon flavor.  The recipe below reflects the original ingredients and measurement, so you can alter it according to your personal taste.

Lemon Scented Pull Apart Coffee Cake
adapted from Baking for all Occasions

Ingredients/Dough
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, room temp.
1/4 cup or 1/2 stick of butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 3/4 cup flour
2 1/4 tsp of yeast or 1 pkg

Ingredients/ Lemon paste filling
3 tbs lemon zest
1 tbs orange zest
1/4 cup or 1/2 stick melted butter
1/2 cup sugar

Ingredients/ Cream Cheese Icing
1 tbs milk
1 tbs lemon juice
1/3 cup powdered sugar
3 oz softened cream cheese

For the dough, start by filling the bowl of a stand mixer with 2 cups of flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Whisk together so all is evenly distributed and set aside.  Then fill a medium size saucepan with milk and butter.  Place the saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally.  Once the butter is melted, remove from heat and add water.  Using a candy thermometer, let cool until the temperature registers around 120 to 130 degrees. Stir in the vanilla extract.

Pour the milk mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until no dry streaks remain.  Place the bowl back into the stand mixer.  Turn the mixer on low with the beater blade attached.  Add one egg and continue to beat on low for 30 seconds.  Repeat the process with the additional egg. Once blended, turn off mixer and add 1/2 cup flour.  Switch mixer back on to low speed and beat for 45 seconds.  Pause a few times to scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Sprinkle in 2 more tablespoons of flour and turn mixer up to medium speed.  Beat for an additional 45 seconds.

Prepare a flat work surface by dusting with flour.  Place dough on surface and gently knead for about a minute, adding 1 to 2 more tablespoons of flour.  The end result should yield a smooth dough. Grease the interior of a medium-size bowl and shape the dough into a ball.  Place the dough in the prepared bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise until doubled by placing in a warm area, preferably 75 degrees.  This process should take about 45 minutes to an hour.  As the dough rises, you can prepare the filling.

Mix both types of zests together in a small bowl with the sugar and set aside.  Once the dough has risen for 45 minutes, go back and check for completion by making an indentation in the dough.  If the dough does not expand back and the indention remains, the rising time is complete. Otherwise let rise another 5-15 minutes and test again.

Prepare a loaf pan (9x5x3) by buttering the interior and dust a flat surface with flour. Take the dough out of the bowl, deflate and roll out to form a rectangle.  It should measure 12x 20 inches. Then cover the surface with the melted butter using a pastry brush.

Divide the rectangle into smaller sizes by cutting the 20 inch length into 5 pieces, 4 inches wide. Each piece will remain 12 inches long.  Place about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the sugar/zest mixture onto the center of one strip.  Smooth it out on the strip, making sure it is covered evenly.  Also, press lightly into the butter so that it adheres.  Repeat the process with another rectangle. Stack the second rectangle (with filling facing up) on top of the first.  Continue with the same steps until all 5 pieces are stacked into layers and coated with the filling.

Using a sharp knife, cut the stack into 6 pieces, 4 x 2 inches.  Place each piece into the pan with the cut side up.  The 4 inch part of the stack should be parallel with the short side of the pan. Once all the stacks are in the pan, the layers with fit snugly inside the 9 inch length of the pan and loosely in the 4 inch width of the pan.  Cover the pan lightly with plastic wrap.  Let rise in a warm place until doubled, starting with one 15 minute session.

After 15 minutes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Wait an additional 15 minutes rising time and test the dough for completion as you did with the first rising.  The dough rising can take between 30 to 50 minutes.  Once rising time is completed, place pa n in oven and let bake until golden brown on top. Bake time is 30-35 minutes.  Be sure to check at the 25 minute mark to see if it needs to be covered with foil.  You do not want it too brown.

During the bake time, make the frosting by beating together the cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth.  Add the lemon juice and milk, beating another minute until completely blended.  Set aside.  After the loaf is baked, remove the pan and sit on rack to cool for 15 minutes.  Then invert the loaf twice, so the loaf is sitting on the cooling rack the same way it did to bake.

Slide a piece of wax paper under the rack and then frost the loaf with the cream cheese mixture. Serve warm by pulling layers off the sides.
                                        **LAST YEAR: Dutch Love Letter Cookies*

Brooklyn Blackout Cupcakes

This is one of the recipes that hails from the Robicellis.  There are many cupcake recipes on my blog, but this particular one has some very unique factors in the preparation method as well as the recipe components.

One of the things I liked about it was the frosting.  The idea of adding a custard to the buttercream frosting (contains marscapone as well) does give it more depth of flavor.  It also cuts down on the sugary taste.

Another factor is that it has a saving grace on the custard, for those who are not familiar with the process.  If you are not perfect about creating the custard and lumps show up, just throw it into a food processor and pulse it.  This will bring it back to a smooth consistency.

Recently, I saw a conversion tip on the internet for transforming a cake recipe to cupcakes.  It states to first find one that uses butter in the recipe.  As many cupcakes as I have made, I do differ on this point.  The use of oil instead of butter in cupcakes has been very beneficial.  They always seem to come out light and moist.  I have had some fails on the butter type of recipes, with the results being a very dense and dry cupcake.

Anyhow, these have a great texture and plenty of chocolate flavor.  The frosting is on the fluffy side and the dip in the chocolate fudge with cakes crumbs sprinkled on top is a great ending to the assembly.  

Brooklyn Blackout Cupcakes
adapted from Robicelli's A Love Story, with Cupcakes

Ingredients/ Chocolate custard
2 tbs cornstarch
1/4 cup Dutch cocoa powder
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbs butter, melted and cooled

Ingredients/ Cupcakes
1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola or grapeseed oil
2/3 cup fresh brewed scalding coffee
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk

Ingredients/ American frosting
1 1/2 cups or three sticks butter (room temp)
8 oz marscapone cheese (room temp)
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups sifted powdered sugar

Ingredients/Chocolate Fudge glaze
2 tbs corn syrup
1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate
4 tbs unsalted butter

For the custard, fill a medium saucepan with 2 tbs and 2 tsp of the sugar, milk and cream and mix together. Set aside. The second step is to take out a stand mixer bowl and fill with the other half of the sugar (2 tbs and 2 tsp), cocoa powder, egg, egg yolk and cornstarch.  Using a wire whisk attachment, beat the sugar/cocoa mixture until it changes from a dark chocolate color to more of a milk chocolate color, about 3 minutes. Turn off mixer.

Set up a food processor and leave top open.  Place the saucepan that is filled with the sugar, milk and cream and place over medium high heat and cook.  Once it comes to a boil, remove from heat.  Turn the mixer back on medium high and slowly pour the saucepan liquid into the chocolate mix, while the mixer is running.  When it is all blended, transfer batter back to saucepan and return to heat.  Stir constantly and bring back to a boil (mixture will thicken up quickly).  At the boiling stage, remove from heat and transfer to food processor bowl. Process the custard until smooth.  Transfer to heatproof bowl and stir in melted butter and vanilla extract. Cover and seal the surface with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator. This custard needs to chill for a minimum of 30 minutes, but it is safe to let it chill while you are creating the other components.

For the chocolate cupcakes, you will need 2 cupcake pans with 12 cavities each.  Grease the upper edge of cavities and line with paper baking cups.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium size bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking soda and baking powder.  Set aside.  Then fill a bowl of a stand mixer (fitted with paddle attachment) with cocoa and pour in the hot coffee.  Blend on low speed for about one minute.  The batter will have a thick paste-like consistency.  Turn mixer off.

Pull out a another medium size bowl and add egg, egg yolk, salt, vanilla, buttermilk and oil.  Whisk together until fully blended.  Turn the mixer back on to medium speed and while running, stream the egg/buttermilk mixture into the cocoa blend.  Run for 1 minute then stop to scrape down sides and bottom to pick up any dry cocoa remaining.  Turn on mixer again to medium speed and run for an additional minute.  Shut off mixer.  Take off paddle attachment and remove bowl.

Using a wooden spoon, fold sifted ingredients into the batter until no dry streaks remain.  Then fill the prepared cupcake cavities with the batter.  Make sure that they are only 2/3 full, so they do not rise and spill over the edges.  You should be able to fill all 24 cavities, if not more.

Place in the oven and let bake for 10 minutes and then rotate pans and bake for an additional 10 minutes.  Use a tester to check to see if done, cupcakes should take about 20-25 minutes to bake. Remove from oven and let cool in pans for about 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.  Once cupcakes are completely cool, take one and crumble into fine crumbs by hand or by using a food processor. Set crumbs aside in bowl.

Start on the frosting by placing marscapone and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Beat on medium high for 10 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Then add heavy cream and beat for another 5 minutes. Once ingredients are fully melded together, sift in 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and mix.  After it is all mixed in repeat the process in increments until all the powdered sugar is mixed in.  Then take out custard and add to the bowl of frosting.  Beat for 1 minute until combined.  Taste and test for consistency.  In order to thicken and sweeten more, blend in more powdered sugar.  If too thick, beat in more cream.  Set aside.

The glaze is the easiest to prepare.  Place chocolate, corn syrup and butter in a microwaveable bowl.  Heat in microwave for 1 minute.  Remove and stir.  Continue with the process until all chocolate is completely melted and blended. Then stir in the vanilla.  Set aside.

Then frost the cupcakes with the chocolate butter cream, either using a tip or a knife.  I used a knife and formed the frosting into a smooth dome on top.  After all the cupcakes are frosted, place in refrigerator to allow the frosting to set up.  It will set up in about 20 minutes.

After the chill time is completed, check your glaze to make sure it is still liquid.  If not, add 1 tbs butter and place in microwave for 30 seconds, then stir.  Then dip the top of the cupcakes in the liquid glaze and allow the excess to drip off.  Then sprinkle on the cupcake crumbs.

Note: Since the glaze is for dipping you will have excess.  Should you not want any excess, cut the recipe in half and then drizzle on the glaze.
                               **LAST YEAR:Cherry Mahlab Muffins**

Figgy Dickens Cookies

For some reason, the idea of figgy pudding has been swirling around in my head. Not really a popular dessert, but it does conjure up visions of Christmas and, of course, the Charles dickens classic - "A Christmas Carol." Anyhow, it was time to get baking and get the idea out of my head.

I decided to use figs in a cookie with a mix of oat as well as regular flour.  The oat flour paired with the figs make these a little bit more healthy than regular cookies. Also, they are more adult and tastier than Fig Newtons. Think about a little chewy cookie with burst of brandy flavor and sweet figs.  Second to that is the occasional crunch of walnuts.  You will not find vanilla extract in the recipe nor any spices such as cinnamon.  I did not want anything to overshadow the brandy soaked figs.

One of the key factors in making these cookies is the temperature.  If the dough is not cold enough they will have a tendency to run all over the pan.  The cookies should have some height to them, about like a ginger snap, so be sure to not skip the freezing step. Also, please allow for the soaking time for the figs when you plan to make these.  This recipe makes about 4- 5 dozen cookies.

Ready for cookie happy hour?  Let's get started....

Figgy Dickens Cookies
created by Floutrader

Ingredients
2 2/3 cup oat flour
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup or 1 1/2 sticks of butter, room temperature
3/4 cup of chopped dried figs
1/2 cup of brandy
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Prepare two baking sheets by lining with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Place the fig pieces in a medium shallow bowl, preferably a pasta bowl. Pour in brandy and let sit for a minimum of four hours, so the figs will soften and absorb the brandy.  After soaking, drain off any remaining liquid. Set figs aside.

Fill the bowl of a stand mixer with the butter and both types of sugar.  Beat at medium speed until fluffy, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl.  Add the egg and beat to blend for about 30 seconds.  Remove bowl from stand mixer and set aside.

In another bowl, sift together baking soda and both types of flour.  Fold the sifted ingredients into the butter/ sugar mixture.  Then mix in the soaked figs and walnuts.  Scoop out batter and roll into one inch balls.  Then place on cookie sheet 1 1/2 inch apart.  Flatten with you hand so the cookies are about 1 1/2 inches diameter.  One the cookie sheet is full, place sheet in freezer for about 5-7 minutes.

Once the chilling process is complete, transfer cookie sheet to oven and bake until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. Remove and place sheet on cooling rack and let rest for 3 minutes.  Then transfer cookies to a rack to finish cooling.
                                 **LAST YEAR: Gingerbread Whoopie Pies**
                        

Lime in the Coconut Cake

This particular cake gets a lot of its flavor from the glaze.  The coconut lime glaze is actually put on both sides of each layer.  In addition to that, you poke holes to further insure that the great flavor seeps in.The actual cake only has coconut extract and coconut milk in it.  It has good texture and taste but it is very plain tasting without the glaze and frosting, so those additions should not be skipped.

Regarding the recipe itself, it had an error in which the correction note was made after a few reviews came in- the coconut oil was actually supposed to be coconut extract.  I have made the correction in the ingredient list and instructions below.
 
Yet, there are still a few questions.  Both are regarding "sweetened ingredients".  The recipe listed shredded coconut and coconut milk.  Each of those ingredients have a sweetened or unsweetened version.  Without the answers, I proceeded with 1/2 sweetened and 1/2 unsweetened for the shredded coconut and unsweetened instead of sweetened coconut milk.  A lot of the comments were that the cake was very sweet, so those bakers make have gone "full force" on the sweetened.

Another discovery was that there was way too much glaze.  The glaze makes over 2 full cups, which is a lot.  A glaze should be thin and flow over the cake and dry, not be thick and make a filling by itself.  I chose to use half of the recipe.  Another issue with the glaze is that there is a choice to use sour cream or yogurt.  The sour cream is a thicker consistency than yogurt, so if I make this again I will use yogurt.

Other than those few adjustments, the recipe has tasty results.  Note that the recipe below does not have any of the adjustments as noted in the 3rd and 4th paragraph above.  How sweet and how much glaze should be your preference, but bear in mind that the more glaze the longer it will take to dry before frosting.  Without it drying you will be mixing the glaze with the frosting as you frost the cake.

Lime in the Coconut Cake
adapted from Doreen Howarth found via Food Network

Ingredients/Cake
1 cup coconut milk
4 eggs
1 cup butter
1 tsp coconut extract
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Ingredients/Glaze
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 cup sour cream or yogurt 
1 cup shredded coconut
zest and juice only of 2 limes
1 cup sugar

Ingredients/Frosting
1 lb box plus 1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup coconut milk
4 oz cream cheese
2 cups shredded coconut (optional for covering top and sides after frosting)

To begin, grease the interior of 2 nine inch round cake pans.  Then line the bottoms of the interior with parchment paper and grease the face up side.  Dust the interior of each cake pan with flour.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

For the cake batter, add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer.  Beat on medium speed, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl.  Beat for 1 full minute, so it has a fluffy consistency.  Pull out a small bowl and add one egg.  Pour in 1/2 tsp coconut extract.  Using a fork, scramble the egg in the bowl and then add to the butter/sugar mixture.  Beat on medium speed for 30 seconds.  Do the same with the second egg.  For the 3rd and the fourth egg, add each (one at a time) directly to the batter and beat each into batter for 30 seconds. Set aside.

Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a medium size bowl.  Add 1/3 of the sifted ingredients to the batter and stir with a wooden spoon until all is blended.  Then mix in 1/2 cup of coconut milk.  Stir in 1/2 of the remaining sifted ingredients.  Once smooth, add another 1/2 cup of coconut milk. Lastly, blend the rest of the sifted ingredients into the batter.

Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans.  It measures out to a total of about 5 cups, so 2 1/2 cups per pan should be about right.   My batter was fairly thick, so I took a spatula to smooth out the top.  Place filled pans in oven and bake until a tester comes out clean, between 25-28 minutes.

Once baked, remove pans and place pans on cooling rack placed over a baking sheet.  Let cakes cool in pans for about 10 minutes.  Invert cakes onto cooling rack and then peel off parchment paper.  Cake will need to cool completely before proceeding.

 To make glaze, mix all ingredients in one bowl until fully combined.  Then poke holes in each of the layers of cooled cake. Spread glaze on tops of each cake. Let the glaze completely dry before proceeding.  This should take anywhere from 1-3 hours.  Once dried, invert cakes and repeat, poking holes and then spreading rest of glaze over top of cakes.  Cover cakes with cake domes and place in refrigerator for 2 hours. When ready, the glaze should be set and no longer sticky.

The last part is the frosting.  Cream together the shortening, butter and cream cheese until smooth.  Then sift in the powdered sugar in increments of 1 cup, beating on low to blend after each addition.   After all the powdered sugar is mixed in, add the coconut milk and extract.  Beat on medium speed for 30 seconds.  Then frost the surface of one of the layers and stack the other on top.  Frost the top and sides as normal. Lastly, you may opt to cover the surface of the frosted cake with sweetened coconut.
                                **LAST YEAR:Cream Bruleed Chocolate Bundt** 

Schnecken/ Pecan Cinnamon Buns

It is a tradition of my mother to make cinnamon rolls at Christmas for breakfast. These rolls are light and airy, filled with cinnamon and nuts. However, there are other households which take the tradition to a sweeter level by having the cinnamon rolls topped with a sticky sweet caramel and toasted pecans.

In comparison, these have more of a pastry than "bread-like" quality to the dough when baked up.  While less filling than bread, each serving does hit the mark for your sweet tooth.  Instead of just cinnamon lovers, these rolls will have your pecan pie lovers taking notice.

I found the rolls quite easy to make. The dough did not require a lot of shaping and kneading.  Outside of the rise time, it is just a matter of rolling up the dough like a jelly roll and slicing.  Also, these rolls fell out of the pan easily when inverting and came out without leaving a lot of topping still sticking to the pan.  Topping in the pan is something I did not want to have to tangle with, so I was happy to see it in its rightful place.

The other good point about these rolls are that they can be prepared the night before and placed in the refrigerator. Follow everything as directed up to the end of the 40 minute rise time. Then cover and place in refrigerator. The next morning, remove pan from refrigerator and let rest at room temperature for about 1 hour. Then bake as directed.

Schnecken/Pecan Cinnamon Buns
adapted from The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook

Ingredients/ Dough
1 cup milk
1 egg and 1 yolk
1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter (more for greasing pan and bowl)
1 tbs active dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt or 3/4 tsp regular salt
3 to 3 1/2 cups flour
5 tbs sugar

Ingredients/topping
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark-not specified)
3/4 cup chopped pecans
3/4 or 1 1/2 sticks butter
1/4 cup corn syrup

Ingredients/filling
1 cup sugar
1 tbs cinnamon

The first step to making the dough is to melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Once melted, pour in the milk and then add the sugar.  Mix the ingredients with a wooden spoon until there is no longer a grainy feeling when scraping the bottom of the saucepan, which means the sugar has all dissolved.  The ideal temperature for this is 110 degrees, so test the temperature with a candy thermometer and let cool or heat further according to the temperature it registers.

At the idea temperature, pour mixture in a heat proof bowl.  Sprinkle in the yeast and stir, making sure it is mixed evenly without clumps. Let rest 10 minutes and then stir in the salt.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl, place the egg and yolk and mix with a fork until all is blended.  Pour into the yeast batter and mix.  After the egg and yolk are thoroughly mixed in, prepare a flat surface by dusting with flour.  Then add 1 cup of flour to the batter and stir.  Continue to add the flour in one cup increments until 3 cups have been incorporated, stirring mixture after each addition.  Check for the consistency of the dough, it should be sticky.  Reserve the rest of the flour for dusting and kneading.

Place the dough on the prepared flat surface and knead about 5 times.  Your dough should now be smooth and elastic.  Butter the interior of a large bowl and a 9 x13 inch glass pan.  Shape the dough into a ball and place in the bottom of the prepared bowl.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until tripled in volume, which should take about 2 hours.

During the last 1/2 hour of rising time, prepare the topping.  Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Then stir in the corn syrup and brown sugar.  Let thicken a little and remove from heat.  You will notice that there is some excess butter that does not blend in.  It is okay, the excess is what enables the saucepan to be cleanly emptied along with the pan when inverted.

Pour brown sugar mixture into the prepared pan and let run to the edges evenly.  Then sprinkle on the chopped pecans, being careful not to get too close to the edge.  The ones close to the edge will most likely fall off the outer edge of the rolls.  No worries though, these as well as topping spill over can be easily scooped up and placed on top of the rolls when inverted.  However, should you need to do this, do not delay after removing the glass pan or the mixture will set up and make it more difficult. After filling with topping, set pan aside.

Prepare the filling by mixing the cinnamon and sugar together.  Then melt the butter in a small saucepan and set aside to cool.

Once dough has risen, punch down and then place on flat surface dusted with flour.  Roll dough out to the size of 12x15 inches with an even thickness.  Brush with the melted butter and then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the surface. Press into the butter lightly with a spatula and make sure all is damp.  Dry cinnamon sugar will have a tendency to spill out when the dough is cut.

Take the longest edge and start rolling up.  Should you have any issues with sticking, use a bench scraper to ease it off the surface.  Roll the dough into a long cylinder with the seam facing down.  Then slice vertically into 12-14 inch pieces approx 1 inch thick.  Place each piece, cut side up, evenly in the pan.  Remember that these will rise some more, so do not place them too tightly together.   Tear off enough plastic wrap to cover pan.  Oil one side of plastic wrap and cover pan of rolls with the oil side face down.  Let rise in a warm place for about 40-50 minutes.

10 minutes prior to rise time completion, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  After the rising time, uncover rolls and place pan in oven and bake for 17 minutes.  Then rotate pan and bake for another 17-20 minutes.  Check periodically to make sure they are not getting too brown.  If so, place aluminum foil over pan (do not fold tightly around edges but just let set on top loosely) and continue to bake.

Remove pan and place over rack and let rolls rest for 10 minutes.  During this time, line the bottom of a baking sheet with parchment paper.  After the 10 minutes have expired, invert the rolls on the paper lined baking sheet.  The easiest and cleanest way to do this is to hold the baking sheet with the paper inside and place face down on top of the glass dish.  Then grip the handles of the baking dish along with the baking sheet edges and invert.  Then lift glass pan off of rolls.

Serve warm and enjoy.
                                  **LAST YEAR: Kiwi Pomegranate Angel Pies**

Candy Bar Tart

I am always excited to see a recipe that steers away from the tried and true.  The first thing that pops into our head when we think of tarts is fruit.  Nothing wrong with that, fruit and cream make for a wonderful filling to a sweet shortbread crust.  Besides fruit, recipes for the rich chocolate filled tarts come up now and again. However, this one caught my eye.  This recipe replicates the flavors of a long time favorite candy bar- Milky Way.

The crust is pretty much the standard, but the filling is unique.  As you know, the candy bar has a ribbon of caramel in it.  To support this flavor ingredient, the bottom part of the pastry crust is covered in caramel and the top is drizzled as well.  The fluffy nougat is imitated with the whipped cream filling flavored with melted chocolate.  Then the dessert imitation does take a unique turn with the addition of instant coffee added to the whipped cream. Lastly, milk chocolate curls dust the top.

This is another light and fluffy one with some very rich flavors.  Whipped cream is used in a lot of pastries and I think that this filling is very versatile. It would be an excellent filling for cream puffs or as a top layer to a chocolate cream pie or even an ice cream pie. 

The assembly comes together quite quickly.  However, the filling and the caramel require hours of cooling, so prepare those a day in advance and make the crust the day you plan to serve.

Candy Bar Tart
adapted from Flour by Joanne Chang

Ingredients/Mousse Filling
5 oz milk chocolate chips
2 tsp instant coffee powder
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups heavy cream

Ingredients/Caramel
1/3 cup water
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbs melted butter
3/4 cup sugar

10 inch tart shell, baked (see previous post sweet pastry project, it uses a flan pan but tart pan will do)
4 " slab of milk chocolate at room temp, for chocolate curl topping.

Start making the mousse by pouring the cream and adding the coffee powder to a saucepan.  Stir on medium heat until coffee powder dissolves.  Then turn up to medium high and let mixture come to a scalding temperature.  It has reached the right temperature when you see bubbles form around the edge of the inside of pan.  Watch closely so it does not burn.  Remove from heat.

Fill a heat proof bowl with chocolate chips.  Slowly pour the hot cream mixture over the chips.  Let sit undisturbed for about 1 minute.  Then whisk mixture until all the chocolate is melted and blended.  The mixture should have the same hue as the nougat in a milky way bar.  Strain mixture into another heat proof bowl and mix in salt.  Cover tightly and place in refrigerator for a minimum of 8 hours up to a maximum of 3 days.

For the caramel layer, fill a saucepan with the sugar.  Pour in the water slowly and mix until all the sugar is moistened.  Place over medium high heat and leave undisturbed to boil for about 3-4 minutes.  Then you will see the color change.  The mixture will start to darken.  As soon as you see a color change, swirl the pan to make sure it cooks evenly.  Keep swirling and cooking until mixture reaches a deep amber color. 

Remove from heat and pour in the heavy cream.  Let it bubble and steam.  Once it dies down, place the pan back over the heat, but this time at medium temperature.  Whisk constantly as the mixture cooks.  It will start to thicken and mixture will start to stick to spoon in a solid mass.  You want the mixture thicker than honey and thinner than peanut butter. This will take about 2-3 minutes.  Lastly, whisk in the vanilla and the butter. Remove pan and pour into a heat proof bowl.  Cover tightly and place in refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours and a maximum of 1 week.

After the chilling time is completed, take out the bowl of caramel from the refrigerator.  Smooth 3/4 of the caramel on the bottom of prepared tart.  I had to get mine slightly warm again to smooth easily.  Set aside.

Remove mousse filling from refrigerator and empty into a bowl of a stand mixer.  Whip on medium speed until soft peaks form.  Spoon out the mousse into the prepared crust, smoothing the top so it is all even.  Drizzle the top with the remaining caramel.  Then, hold the chocolate bar over the top of the dessert and make chocolate curls by using a vegetable peeler, covering the surface as even as possible.  Once complete, let dessert chill about 30 minutes prior to serving.

This is best served and eaten within 8 hours.  Store in airtight container in refrigerator.
                           **LAST YEAR: Evergreen Shortbread Cookies**

Graham Chocolate Chip Muffins

Life can be a series of changes, sometimes those changes are unexpected and sometimes planned. I feel lucky that 2015 is well planned and I am committed to make sure it is one of the best ever.  At this time my life is fuller and happier than in years past, so life's journey has taken a good turn in the road.  However even in the face of all kinds of change, my passion for creating in the kitchen still remains.

I had intended to make something lemony, but one of the taste testers indicated something chocolate was in order due to the change.  I still wanted to make muffins but I declined on the double chocolate. After reviewing several recipes, I found this one to be just enough chocolate to squelch a craving without an overload.

These muffins have graham cracker crumbs in the batter.  That had me thinking that they may be real dense.  However, they turned out to be typical in texture. I believe the use of oil instead of butter kept the muffins moist. The addition of the chocolate chips and crunchy streusel give the batter the sweetness and texture that was needed to bring it more into a delicious balance. This recipe makes 14-16 muffins.

This is the perfect way to tone down a bit from the big meal extravaganza most people have had this holiday season.  These muffins do not take a lot of time in the kitchen.  It is the first step, but the second step will find you relaxing with a cup of hot tea or coffee along with one of these tasty muffins.  Perhaps enjoying the early morning quiet as well as the pinkish orange hue of the sunrise of the first day of 2015......

Graham Chocolate Chip Muffins
adapted from Dwell on Joy via Michelle's Tasty Creations

Ingredients/ topping
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 tbs melted butter

Ingredients/ Muffins
1 cup whole milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg, room temp
2 cups flour
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tbs baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup choc chips

Prepare a muffin tin by greasing the top edge of the muffin cavities and lining with cupcake papers. Then preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Make the streusel topping first by blending all topping ingredients together until entire mixture is damp and comes together in clumps.  Set aside.

In another bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder and graham crumbs.  Some graham crumbs may remain in the sieve.  In that case, empty into the sifted ingredients.  Stir in the sugar.

Pull out another bowl for the wet ingredients.  Add the egg, oil, milk and vanilla extract. Whisk together until all is blended.  Then fold in the dry mixture until no dry streaks remain.  Lastly, mix in the chocolate chips. Scoop even amounts into muffin cavities.

Mix streusel again, making sure to break up any clumps.  Place a tablespoon of streusel on top of each cavity of batter.  Press down lightly.  Put in oven and bake for 16-19 minutes.  Let cool in tin for 10 minutes then transfer to rack to finish cooling.
                             LAST YEAR: Maraschino Snowball Cookies

Eggnog Chiffon Pie

I had thought that the true "original" eggnog contained rum for the alcohol content.  In passing the eggnog case at the grocers I saw "Southern Comfort" eggnog, which means some people prefer bourbon or whiskey.  Then this got me thinking.  After some research, I found that the the choice of alcohol varied in the early years, depending on the location of the creator.  However, the most standout variation must have been George Washington's mix.  His recipe contained rye whiskey, rum and sherry.  It also seems that the egg part was a secondary component, for his original recipe did not list the exact number of eggs used.  No worries though, I declined to pursue making his stout recipe for this pie filling. This particular pie is made with rum and no other alcohol.  I have stuck with my original idea of what eggnog should be spiked with.

The photo above really makes this pie look like cheesecake.  It is far from cheesecake.  For those of you that have had any type of chiffon pie, you know all about that billowy and wonderful light as air texture. As a bonus, the rum eggnog filling is encased in a crisp cinnamon graham pecan crust. The crunchy flavorful addition is truly an asset to the whole dessert.

Instead of the heavy chocolate desserts this year, why not try this pie?  It may turn out to be a keeper that finds its way to your table every Christmas season.

Eggnog Chiffon Pie
adapted from Pie by Ken Haedrich

Ingredients/Graham Cracker Crust
1 cup plus 2 tbs graham cracker crumbs
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped pecans
2 tbs firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tbs flour
1/4 cup or 1/2 stick melted butter

Ingredients/ Filling
2 cups half and half
1/2 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
3 egg whites, room temp
2 tbs water
3/4 cup cold heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup dark rum
3 tbs sifted confectioners sugar
1 envelope plus 1 tsp unflavored gelatin

For the crust: Place all ingredients in a food processor except for melted butter.  Pulse until nuts are very finely chopped and all ingredients are blended evenly.  Pour into a bowl and stir, picking out and breaking up any large nut pieces the processor may have missed.  Then pour in the melted butter and mix until all crumbs are damp. You can use clean hands or a fork for this process. Set aside.

Prepare a pie pan by buttering the interior and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Dump the graham mixture into the pie pan and press evenly in bottom and up the sides.  Place in freezer for 3 minutes.

Remove pan from freezer and put in preheated oven and let bake until lightly browned. Crust should be done in about 7 minutes.  Remove and place on cooling rack.  Once completely cool put pan in refrigerator until ready to fill.

For the filling: fill a small bowl with the water and rum.  Then sprinkle the gelatin powder evenly over the top.  Set aside.  The next part of the filling will be making the creme anglaise.  Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until blended.

Place a saucepan over medium heat and add the half and half.  Let the cream come to a simmer, taking care that it does not boil.  Remove from heat.  Whisk in 1/3 cup of the hot half and half into the egg yolk mixture.  Continue to whisk and stream in the rest of the warm half and half.  Pour mixture back into saucepan and place over medium low heat.  Continue to stir until it reaches a consistency thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.  Run your finger through the coating and if it leaves a path, it is done.  The time to complete the consistency change should be about 5 minutes. This batter is commonly called creme anglaise.

Remove from heat and mix in the gelatin mixture.  Let the batter come to room temperature and then transfer to a bowl and place in refrigerator.  While you are waiting, place a metal bowl and beaters of a hand mixer in the freezer for about 2 minutes.

Take out the bowl and beaters from freezer and set up your mixer to create the whipped cream.  Pour the heavy cream into the bowl and beat on high speed until soft peaks form.  Sift in the confectioners sugar and then beat the mixture until it becomes firm, about 1 minute.  Then place the bowl of sweetened whipped cream in the refrigerator.

Next, clean and dry your beaters to prepare for the egg whites.  Check your creme anglaise to see if it has reached the right consistency.  It should be as thick as raw egg whites.  If it is not, place back in refrigerator and check every 10 minutes until it reaches the right consistency.

Once the right consistency is achieved, remove the creme anglaise and the bowl of whipped cream from refrigerator.  Fold half of the whipped cream into the creme anglaise until blended.  Then blend in the rest of the whipped cream.  If lumps of whipped cream still remain after some folding, pour through a sieve to remove the lumps. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, add the egg whites and beat with handheld mixer until you have reached the stiff peak stage.  Then add 1/2 cup of the whipped cream mixture and beat for about 30 seconds.  Pour this into the rest of the whipped cream mixture and fold together with spatula.  Once blended, empty this filling into the prepared pie crust and smooth the top.  Tent with foil and place in refrigerator to set up for a minimum of 2 hours and maximum overnight.

You are welcome to serve with a dust of nutmeg on top with a side of whipped cream.

I wish you and yours a wonderful Christmas Holiday!
                                     **LAST YEAR: Gooey Butter Cookies**

Spiced Honey Pecan Fingers

After last weeks post, I am still craving warm spicy treats.  Outside of the winter spices, the honey with the pecans make me think of sticky buns.  Calling these a bar would be a mistake because there is not much thickness to these.   However, do not let that discourage you, the bars are very big on taste.

Since they have such a wonderful taste, pairing with something like hot chocolate would be too much.  Team this treat with something lighter, like tea, so the flavor can really shine through.  The other great thing about this dessert is that it is easy to make and does not require any hard to find ingredients.

Spiced Honey Pecan Fingers
adapted from the Southern Cookbook

Ingredients
2 egg yolks
12 tbs or 1 1/2 sticks  butter
3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup chopped toasted pecans
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Prepare a 9x13 inch pan by greasing the interior and lining with parchment. Leave some parchment overhang along the two long sides and grease the face up side of the parchment paper.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Sift together cinnamon, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and clove.  Set aside.

In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar together by running the mixer on medium high for about 4 minutes.  The mixture should be light and fluffy. Beat in one of the egg yolks until thoroughly blended, about 30 seconds. Repeat with the second egg yolk and follow with the honey.  Once all is combined, fold in the sifted ingredients until there are no more dry streaks.  Then mix in the pecans.

Empty batter into prepared pan and smooth out evenly, making sure all edges and corners are covered.  Place pan in oven and bake for 20 minutes and rotate.  Then bake for about 20 minutes more or until top is lightly browned.

Place pan on rack and let cool in pan.  After cooling, cut into 36 even strips and leave in baking pan. Cover until ready to serve.
                                          **LAST YEAR: Fruits of the Forest Pie**

Pineapple Upside Down Pumpkin Gingerbread

I think that one of the more difficult things in creating your own recipe is balancing the flavors.  I have posted and have seen other bloggers post comments regarding "subtle flavor" or that a certain flavor takes over the whole dessert which is not what is intended.  I think the worst I have seen is a recipe review stating "and after that dessert we all went to bed with upset stomachs".  It was not a blogger recipe but an actual comment regarding a recipe in a published cookbook.

This cake recipe, in reading the name itself, makes you think there is too much going on here. However, I give kudos to the collaboration of Gold Medal Flour and the Hawaiian Pineapple company in creating this recipe.  It came out back in the 1960's and proves that both knew a thing or two about balance of flavor.

This recipe is spot on when it comes to texture as well as flavor. As you can see by the above picture, this cake was moist and tender.  The cake brings all those wonderful winter flavors together, pumpkin, gingerbread and cinnamon.  Great as a stand alone, but even better with the pineapple caramel topping with an occasional bite of fresh pineapple on top.

This one does not require a lot of time or effort.  The biggest effort was only cutting out the circles of pineapple and most of the time used was in the baking of the cake.  The size of this cake is not real big.  Perhaps you and one of your loved ones should take some time out from all the holiday stress.  Time to crank up the fireplace, put on some Christmas music and kick back with a warm a cup of hot tea or coffee and a slice of this cake. Ahhh, I just feel better thinking about it...

Pineapple Upside-Down Pumpkin Gingerbread
adapted from Bon Appetit/ Oct 2008

Ingredients/Topping
1 ripe pineapple/ peeled
2/3 cup light brown sugar (packed)
1 tsp light or mild molasses
2 tbs frozen pineapple juice concentrate, thawed
1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter
Nonstick pan spray

Ingredients/Cake
1/2 cup light molasses
2 eggs
1/2 cup or 1 stick softened butter
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup boiling water
1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
Whipped cream (optional)

Start by cutting 1/3 inch round from the pineapple and core it.  Then stand the pineapple on end and cut 1/3 inch thick lengthwise slices, avoiding the core.  Take a small biscuit cutter (I used a 1 inch) and cut the slices into circles. 15-20 circles will be enough.  Place the slices in a bowl, cover and refrigerate.  Reserve the rest of the pineapple in the fridge for another use.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 inch square or round cake pan with non-stick spray.

The topping will be prepared first. Place a saucepan on medium high heat and fill with butter, sugar and pineapple juice concentrate.  Stir and let butter melt and sugar dissolve until smooth.  Then stop stirring and let mixture boil for about 1-2 minutes. It should have the consistency of warm caramel. Remove and pour into prepared pan and swirl a little, to make sure it is even on the bottom.

Place the pineapple slices on top of the caramel mixture in a decorative design, making sure there is no overlap. For the cake, sift together the ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt and flour. Set the filled cake pan as well as the bowl with sifted ingredients aside.

In another bowl, beat butter until smooth.  Pour in the sugar and beat on medium speed until all is incorporated.  Add one egg and beat for 30 seconds.  Repeat with the additional egg.  Continue to beat mixture and pour in molasses and spoon in the pumpkin.  Remove beater blades and if using a stand mixer, remove bowl from stand when all is blended together. Using a spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the batter until no dry streaks remain.  Lastly, pour the boiling water into the batter and mix until blended.

Empty batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface, so it is even.  Place in oven and bake until tester comes out clean.  Bake time is approximately 50 minutes. Remove cake pan from oven and place over cooling rack.  Cake should cool in pan for about 45 minutes. Then invert pan over platter or cake board.  Let rest in place for 5 minutes, then remove pan. 

For serving, cake can be warm or room temperature.  Also, if you prefer, you can add a dollup of whipped cream on the side with each slice.

Tips and Notes:
1. Fresh pineapple on top does beat canned, for cutting the canned is way too mushy.  As noted above, you will have some left over.  I did not have an issue since fresh fruit is always eaten in this house.

2. Be aware that the cake bakes up very dark, so do not think it is burnt.  The above noted baking time was perfect for my oven 
                                        **LAST YEAR: Czech Nut Bars*

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

This particular recipe turned out to be a lesson in texture.  Whole wheat used in a recipe equates to dense and heavy, in my mind.  However, these were 50 percent whole wheat pastry flour and 50 percent regular flour, so I thought that they would be lighter. The mixture did result in a dense cupcake.  I prefer a lighter cupcake, so a repeat of this recipe would be a change to using cake flour.

As far as the flavor, the special ingredient of dried coconut milk was not very evident in the cupcake. It turned out to be a better addition for the frosting, which did have a coconut taste.  I like the flavor combo of coconut and chocolate, but I still feel that this recipe could be tweaked some to improve the flavor intensity and the texture.

Also, the recipe states to let the cupcakes rest 10 minutes in the pan after baking.  My cupcakes came loose from the paper liners and had to be transferred to clean paper liners.  So there is some adjustments needed in this area as well. The cupcakes should not cool in the pans and the liners should have been filled more.

Below is the recipe in its original form without changes. It was a section in the magazine that was promoting the use of whole grains in recipes.  This particular recipe makes approximately 20 cupcakes.

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
adapted from Bon Appetit / Feb 2008

Ingredients/ Cupcakes
5 eggs
2 tbs milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 drops coconut flavoring or 3/4 tsp coconut extract
1 1/4 cups butter
3 oz cream cheese
1 cup flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup coconut milk powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups miniature  semis sweet chocolate chips (11 oz)

Ingredients/ Frosting
1/2 cup coconut milk powder
4-5 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 drops coconut flavoring or 1/2 tsp coconut extract
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbs or more of milk
flaked sweetened coconut (optional for topping)

Prepare muffin tins by lining 20 cavities with paper liners.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium size bowl, sift together the powdered coconut milk, flour, pastry flour, salt and baking soda.  Set aside.  In a second bowl, beat together cream cheese and butter until there are no more lumps.  Beat in 1/2 cup of sugar and repeat 2 more times with the remaining sugar.  Then add the coconut flavoring and vanilla extract.

Pour in the dry ingredients and stir until blended.  Add one egg and beat for 30 seconds.  Repeat the process of adding and beating for each of the remaining eggs.  Once smooth,  beat in the milk.  Then fold in the chocolate chips until evenly disbursed through out the batter.  Then fill the prepared muffin cavities 2/3 full of batter.

Bake until tester comes out clean, which is about 22 minutes.  Let the cupcakes rest in the pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to cooling rack.

As the cupcakes cool, create the frosting.  In a medium size bowl, add coconut milk powder, butter and salt.  Beat for about 45 seconds on medium speed, occassionally scraping down the sides of the bowl.  Add vanilla extract and coconut flavor or extract.  Mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds so the flavor is incorporated into the batter. 

Sift in 1 cup of powdered sugar to the butter mixture and beat until no dry streaks remain.  Repeat this process until all the powdered sugar has been mixed into the butter batter.  The beat in the milk in increments of 1 tablespoon until it reaches the desired consistency.

Spread frosting or pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes.  If desired, sprinkle sweetened coconut on top.

Tips and Notes:
1. Even if using 2 pans, bake all at the same time so the batter does not sit and rise in the bowl while your first pan is baking.

2.  Also 20 is an odd number since muffin tins are in multiples of six and 12 cavity capacity.  Before baking, fill the empty muffin cavities with water. By filling with water, you have a more weight stable pan and it keeps your muffin tin cavities from discoloration.

3. If you are not using a scoop for the batter and use a spoon, tap your pan on the counter to get the air out of the batter before baking.
                                        **THREE YEARS AGO: Citrus Sri Lanka Cookies**