fat bottom

fat bottom

Monday, March 28, 2011

lemon blueberry cupcakes :)

here's a treat for you all... i made these a few weeks ago, but just got around to publishing this post now... i've been busy, and i almost forgot about these babies...

these are a lovely blend of a lightly sweetened lemon yogurt cake, topped with a smooth lemon cream cheese-buttercream, and a few lucky ones were piled high with some honey coated blueberries...


lemon yogurt cake: (makes about 16 cupcakes)


ingredients:


1 1/4 cup flour


1/2 tsp. baking soda


1/2 tsp. baking powder


1/2 tsp. salt


1 stick of butter (melted and cooled)


1 cup of sugar


2 egg whites


2 tsp. lemon extract (or more depending on how you like it)


1 1/8 cups plain or vanilla yogurt


zest of 1 lemon


directions:


1. preheat your oven to 350, and prep your cupcake tins


2. whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt


3. combine the sugar with the lemon zest and rub together with your fingers until sugar is fragrant and moist


4. in a stand mixer, combine and mix thoroughly the melted butter and the sugar on medium... once combined, add in the lemon extract along with the egg whites, and mix until smooth


5. now with mixer on low, alternately add in the flour and the yogurt, beginning and ending with the flour


6. bake the cupcakes for 10 minutes, rotate pan and then bake for another 10, or until light golden brown or when a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean...


7. let cool and top with a generous swirl of buttercream


8. eat, enjoy and let it go to your thighs :) happy baking everyone :)

Sunday, March 27, 2011

daring bakers march madness...

well hello everyone! enjoying your sunday i hope! i know i am... it's been one of those well deserved lazy days... full of just plain ol' lying around watching movies and playing with my two little guys (the toys of choice today were legos, which by-the-way are the most awful thing to step barefoot on... ugh)


anyways, as always at the end of the month it's time to reveal the highly anticipated daring bakers challenge... and this months was an interesting one... a meringue filled coffee cake... say wha?? now... i'm not a huge fan of meringue, the only type i like is in the form or dainty macarons, other then that you can keep you're lemon meringue pie for someone else... but, i'm always up for trying new things, and the pictures posted by our hosts made this delicious dish look absolutely yummy... so i put my meringue hang-ups aside and busted out the ingredients...

the challenge was co-hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast.... Ria and Jamie challenged their fellow daring bakers to bake a yeasted meringue coffee cake... the recipe was actually Jamie's fathers, which was left in his collection of recipes from about 70's... and i have to say, i am SO happy she shared this family recipe... the dough was almost brioche like, with the subtle hints of cinnamon, large melty chunks of chocolate, and a meringue that was almost like a soft nougat... it all went together perfectly...



filled meringue coffee cake

*the recipe makes 2 round coffee cakes, each approximately 10 inches in diameter ingredients:


for the yeast coffee cake dough:

4 cups flour ¼ cup sugar

¾ teaspoon salt 1 package active dried yeast

¾ cup whole milk

¼ cup water (doesn’t matter what temperature)

½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature

2 large eggs at room temperature


for the meringue:

3 large egg whites at room temperature

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon vanilla

½ cup sugar


for the filling:

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (i omitted these)

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate


directions:


prepare the dough:

1. in a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ½ cups of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast

2. in a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and the butter is just melted

3. with an electric mixer on low speed, gradually add the warm liquid to the flour/yeast mixture, beating until well blended, increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes, add the eggs and 1 cup flour and beat for 2 more minutes

4. using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that holds together, then turn out onto a floured surface (use any of the 1 ½ cups of flour remaining) and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, and elastic, keeping the work surface floured and adding extra flour as needed

5. place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning to coat all sides... cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 – 60 minutes

prepare your filling:

1. in a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar for the filling if using, and measure out chocolate and nuts 2. once the dough has doubled, make the meringue...

3. in a clean mixing bowl – ideally a plastic or metal bowl so the egg whites adhere to the side (they slip on glass) and you don’t end up with liquid remaining in the bottom... beat the egg whites with the salt, first on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque

4. add the vanilla then start adding the ½ cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form


now to assemble the coffee cakes:

1. line 2 baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper

2. punch down the dough and divide in half

3. on a lightly floured surface, working one piece of the dough at a time (keep the other half of the dough wrapped in plastic), roll out the dough into a 20 x 10-inch rectangle

4. spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch from the edges, then sprinkle half of your filling of choice evenly over the meringue

5. now, roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. pinch the seam closed to seal

6. very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, seam side down, bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal

7. using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife (although scissors are easier), make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inch intervals, make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring

8. repeat with the remaining dough, meringue and fillings

9. cover the 2 coffee cakes with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes 10. preheat the oven to 350

11. brush the tops of the coffee cakes with the egg wash, then bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown, and the dough should sound hollow when tapped

12. remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheets onto the table, very gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cakes off onto cooling racks, cool

13. just before serving, dust the tops of the coffee cakes with confectioner’s sugar as well as cocoa powder if using chocolate in the filling... these are best eaten fresh, still warm the same day :)
enjoy, and happy baking everyone :)

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

chocolate mint fudgies

here's a tasty hump-day treat for ya'll... get your mind outta the gutter you sassy ladies and gents... anyways, these are a quick one bowl, awesomely gooey, chewy and with that refreshingly subtle minty taste cookie... the original recipe used all chocolate chips, but i had this bag of mint chocolate chip peices hanging around that needed to get used pronto... and i'm glad i switched this recipe up, i loved the result... however, the boys weren't as big of fans of them as i am... which sucks, cause that means i am going to have to eat the rest of them all by myself... next stop my thighs...
chocolate fudgies:
ingredients:
6 ounces of good quality chocolate chips
6 ounces of mint chocolate chips
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 tbsp. buter
2 eggs
2/3 cup of sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. baking powder
directions:
1. preheat your oven to 350, grease a cookie sheet, or prep with silicon mat
2. using a double boiler, in a medium sized bowl, melt the chocolate chips, the unsweetened chocolate and the butter... when smooth remove from heat
3. add the eggs, sugar, flour, vanilla, and baking powder
4. beat until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl, then stir in the mint chocolate chips
5. drop by rounded teaspoon fulls onto the cookie sheet, placing them 2 inches apart... and bake 8-10 minutes, or until tops start to crack a bit... cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes before transfering to a cooling rack

and look at this!!! i caught the cookie theif in action... what a little stinker... but of course i let him get away with it...

happy baking everyone!!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

mallorca sweet bread... mmm... mmm... good

so... mallorca sweet bread... ever hear of it... it seems that most people only know of this delectable sweet from the supreme ruler of the universe, starbucks... and i hate to admit it, that's where i first came in contact with this delicious pastry... but this sweet treat isn't a starbucks creation... this is a traditional puerto rican pastry... a breakfast icon of sorts... eaten either sweet (slathered in butter and powdered sugar) or savory (sliced and stuffed with thick slices of ham, and melted cheese)...

this sweet, fluffy, eggy, almost bricohe like bread came to puerto rico via the spanish island of majorca... look at that, i'm giving you a small history and geography lesson... but enough education... lets get on to the recipe... after doing some looking around, i came across the recipe i wanted to use... from the blog "
always order dessert", it's a very tasty blog, go give it a look!

so... here's the goods:
ingredients:
2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast
3/4 cup white sugar
5 to 6 cups all purpose flour, divided, plus more for dusting
1 cup lukewarm milk
1 cup lukewarm water
6 egg yolks
1 vanilla bean, scraped (optional)
2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 teaspoon salt

directions:
1. in the base of your electric mixer, combine the warm milk, warm water, yeast, sugar, and 1 cup of flour and whisk well... leave to rise at room temperature for 45 minutes... the mixture should have risen and appear frothy and bubbly after the rise
2. whisk in the egg yolks, vanilla, and the remaining flour until it is all incorporated... whisk in the salt and 1/2 of the melted butter... cover the bowl with an oiled plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour until doubled
3. liberally dust your surface and your hands with flour to prevent the dough from sticking... empty the dough out onto the surface and sprinkle it all over with flour... use your hands to knead it slightly... it will be soft and will feel almost liquid in the center, but you should be able to handle it by keeping your hands floured
4. divide the dough into 12 equal portions and roll each portion out into a snake about 12 inches long...use a pastry brush to coat the dough snake with a generous brush of melted butter, then coil into a little roll and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
5. space the rolls out evenly, only six to a sheet so they have room to rise
6. when you're done rolling them out, brush with a little more butter and let them rise until they have doubled once again... at this time, preheat your oven to 375
7. when the breads are done rising, brush once again with the remaining butter, and bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until golden and puffy
8. cool on a rack and dust liberally with powdered sugar just before serving



don't mind my wrinkly, unpolished and unmanicured fingers here... just look at the fluffy inside... mmm...
these were so good as a breakfast treat along with a big ol' cup of coffee... great way to start the morning
happy baking everyone!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

sweet pea!

this past weekend, my family celebrated my sister in law's baby shower... and let me say... there is nothing sweeter than a baby shower... my mother, sister and i chose the theme "sweet pea"... and everything was SO adorable to say the least... the food was amazing, the company was fabulous, and lets just say the clothes... oh my!! this is going to be one dapper little dude...
of course, i made the cupcakes... sweet vanilla cake with honey vanilla bean buttercream, with just simple little fondant flowers, and of course the guest of honor, baby (*******) poking his cute little head out of the pea pod...
i cannot wait to meet the new addition to our ever growing and beautiful family... i'll see you in june little man...





well, i can't wait to meet my little nephew... hope you enjoyed some of these sweet treats... happy baking everyone!!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

whoopie pies!!

i don't know where i stand with whoopie pies... i mean, don't get me wrong...they are delicious... what's not to like about a portable piece of cake... but i don't know... maybe it's the cupcaker in me that makes me a little stand-offish to what i guess would be a cupcakes' 2nd cousin... or maybe it's that i just prefer a softer more tender piece of cake...

so to help make up my mind, i enlisted the help of one of my new favorite baking books... baked explorations... and armed with their recipe and a hunger to get to the bottom of this dilemma, i set out to make some chocolate whoopie pies...

the result... i'm still up in the air... these whoopie pies baked up nice, firm but still soft, with a delicious sorta crust on the outside, and just chocolaty enough... and that was a nice contrast to the smooth and billowy vanilla buttercream center... even as i write this i'm shaking my head about how i still can't decide if i'm a fan or not... what's wrong with me!!

anyways... maybe one day i'll fully hop on board the whoopie train... but until then, i'm still a cupcake kinda gal...
chocolate whoopie pies, from Baked Explorations
yields 10-12 large whoopie pies or 15-17 small pies
ingredients:
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup dark cocoa powder, sifted
2 tsp instant espresso powder
1/2 cup hot coffee
1/2 cup hot water
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk, shaken
directions:
1. preheat oven to 350 and line baking sheets with parchment paper
2. in a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda
3. in a large bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and espresso powder, pour the hot coffee and hot water over the cocoa mixture and whisk until the mixture is completely smooth
4. in another medium bowl, combine the canola oil and light brown sugar, add this to the cocoa mixture and whisk until combined
5. add the egg, vanilla, and buttermilk and whisk until smooth
6. gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture
7. using a ice cream scoop, drop batter onto prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2-3 inches between them
8. bake 10-15 minutes, until the cookies crack slightly on top and spring back in the center when gently pressed
9. let cool completely, then remove from sheet with an offset spatula
10. pipe or scoop half of the rounds with the filling, then top each piped round with the other half and serve
well... until next time... and as always... happy baking everyone!