Barefoot Bloggers - Parmesan Chicken

This was my first foray into the Barefoot Bloggers challenges. The Barefoot Bloggers are devoted to all things Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa). Every two weeks we will blog about our adventures into Ina's recipes.


My first challenge was Parmesan Chicken. This was a lovely recipe. Very simple to make with everyday ingredients that many cooks will have about the house, but absolutely fantastic flavour. My husband thought it was fantastic.


It makes a good six servings, depending on the size of your chicken breasts (mine were huge for some reason...). We've had three good meals out of this recipe. The first night we ate it according to recipe, warm with greens and a lemon vinaigrette. The next day I thinly sliced it over salad and ate it cold with the remaining vinaigrette. I also had a lovely sandwich made from the sliced chicken breasts and avocado with an aioli mayonnaise. Ah...a little piece of paradise...

I highly recommend giving this recipe a try. Its perfect for a weekday meal or a dinner party and its quick to make. The most difficult steps are probably the pounding of the chicken (which your butcher can do for you) and the breading (which always ends up with a huge mess on the counter in my kitchen).


Parmesan Chicken
2002, Barefoot Contessa Family Style, All Rights Reserved

4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 extra-large eggs
1 tablespoon water
1 1/4 cups seasoned dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
Unsalted butter
Good olive oil
Salad greens for 6, washed and spun dry
1 recipe Lemon Vinaigrette, recipe follows

Pound the chicken breasts until they are 1/4-inch thick. You can use either a meat mallet or a rolling pin.

Combine the flour, salt, and pepper on a dinner plate. On a second plate, beat the eggs with 1 tablespoon of water. On a third plate, combine the bread crumbs and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan. Coat the chicken breasts on both sides with the flour mixture, then dip both sides into the egg mixture and dredge both sides in the bread-crumb mixture, pressing lightly.

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan and cook 2 or 3 chicken breasts on medium-low heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until cooked through. Add more butter and oil and cook the rest of the chicken breasts. Toss the salad greens with lemon vinaigrette. Place a mound of salad on each hot chicken breast. Serve with extra grated Parmesan.

Lemon Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/2 cup good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

6 servings

Tuesdays with Dorie - French Brownies

So, the recipe du jour is French Brownies. Lovely, I thought, brownies! I adore brownies. C'est magnifique! Then I read the recipe and was aghast - raisins in brownies! That's sacrilege. So, no raisins today.

Instead, I made a little triple chocolate brownie which I think turned out quite nicely. In place of the rum-soaked raisins I used hand chopped milk chocolate, and I topped the whole thing in a white chocolate ganache glaze. Yummy!

This was a pretty straight forward recipe without a great deal of complication. Compared to last week's Daring Baker's Challenge, this seemed about as easy as, well, buying brownies from the corner bakery.

Because I glazed these, I let them cool completely, but I do find that they are quite nice warmed for about 20 seconds in the microwave. I made miniature cakes instead of cut and serve brownies.

The only negative thing I have to say about this recipe is that brownies are hard for me to resist - so if you're a chocolate lover, beware!!!

French Chocolate Brownies
- makes 16 brownies -Adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours.

Ingredients
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (optional) * Note, I used the cinnamon and found it quite nice with the chocolate. It reminded me of Mexican flavour combos like molé or spiced hot chocolate.

1/3 cup raisins, dark or golden

1 1/2 tablespoons water

1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons; 6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into 12 pieces

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil, place the pan on a baking sheet, and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon, if you're using it.

Put the raisins in a small saucepan with the water, bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the water almost evaporates. Add the rum, let it warm for about 30 seconds, turn off the heat, stand back and ignite the rum. Allow the flames to die down, and set the raisins aside until needed.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Slowly and gently melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add the butter, stirring so that it melts. It's important that the chocolate and butter not get very hot. However, if the butter is not melting, you can put the bowl back over the still-hot water for a minute. If you've got a couple of little bits of unmelted butter, leave them—it's better

to have a few bits than to overheat the whole. Set the chocolate aside for the moment.

Working with a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until they are thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Lower the mixer speed and pour in the chocolate-butter, mixing only until it is incorporated—you'll have a thick, creamy batter. Add the dry ingredients and mix at low speed for about 30 seconds—the dry ingredients won't be completely incorporated and that's fine. Finish folding in the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula, then fold in the raisins along with any liquid remaining in the pan.

Scrape the batter into the pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is dry and crackled and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow the brownies to cool to warm or room temperature.

Carefully lift the brownies out of the pan, using the foil edges as handles, and transfer to a cutting board. With a long-bladed knife, cut the brownies into 16 squares, each roughly 2 inches on a side, taking care not to cut through the foil.

Serving: The brownies are good just warm or at room temperature; they're even fine cold. I like these with a little something on top or alongside—good go-alongs are whipped crème fraiche or whipped cream, ice cream or chocolate sauce or even all three!

Storing: Wrapped well, these can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.

Optional Glaze. As mentioned, I used a white chocolate glaze on mine. The recipe is also in Dorie's cookbook but here it is if you want to use it.

White Chocolate Ganache

10 oz high-quality white chocolate (don't use baking chips), finely chopped

2/3 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces

Heat cream until boiling. Pour over white chocolate and with whisk stir mixture gently and working outwards to larger and larger circles until the chocolate is completely melted. Add butter and stir until melted.

You can cool this to spreading consistency, but I simply poured it over the cooled brownies and let it set.

Daring Bakers - The Saga of the Neverending Cake Recipe...

So today was a double challenge day for me. Earlier I posted my card for PTI's bloghop and today was also the reveal date for this month's Daring Bakers. This month's challenge was to make an Opera Cake - but to forgo traditional flavours for a lighter, springier (is that a word) flavour combination. No dark colours allowed!

Well, I joined Daring Baker's in the quest to make me a better baker by challenging my skills and venturing out of my comfort zone. This cake definitely fit the bill. It took me nearly the whole month to decide if I was up to the challenge or not and I finally dove in on the last day. Let me say, this cake took me all day to make. I once made a cake in the shape of a Blackberry (the phone, not the fruit), with keyboard, screen and everything, and it took me half the time to make that this cake did.

First off, I have to confess that this cake was like one giant disaster for me. I cut the cake recipe in half because I couldn't see getting rid of a cake for twenty. I decided to go with a tropical theme so macadamia nuts replaced the almonds in the cake layer, a coconut cream was spread on each layer followed by pineapple flavoured buttercream.

My cake was lopsided - thinner on one side then the other (but at least not burned). My buttercream was a strange consistency and my ganache never really reached spreading consistancy. I should say, my second ganache. The first time I tried it my husband called in the middle of melting the chocolate and I burnt it (shame!!!). Then, for some unknown reason (let's call it temporary insanity), I over beat the whipping cream and ended up with a curdled mess.

In the end, I managed to throw together some semblance of a cake. So, how did it taste? Not bad, a little sweet for my preference, but overall a nice flavour and the cake has a pleasant nuttiness about it.

But the question remains: did baking this make me a better baker? I would have to say that this was indeed, a learning experience and I look forward to the next Daring Baker's Challenge!

The Recipe (as I made it...)

Coconut Cream Opera Cake

For the joconde (cake layer)
• one 12½ x 15½-inch (31 x 39-cm) jelly-roll pan

• a few tablespoons of melted butter (in addition to what’s called for in the ingredients’ list) and a brush (to grease the pan)

•parchment paper

•a whisk and a paddle attachment for a stand mixer or for a handheld mixer (I would not recommend a hand mixer - there is a ton of beating in this recipe)

Ingredients:

• 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar

• 1 cup ground macadamia nuts (freeze first then grind with a tablespoon of flour)

• 1 cup icing sugar, sifted

• 3 large eggs

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Preheat the oven to 425◦F. (220◦C).

Line jelly-roll pan with parchment paper and brush with melted butter.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or using a handheld mixer), beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the granulated sugar and beat until the peaks are stiff and glossy. If you do not have another mixer bowl, gently scrape the meringue into another bowl and set aside.

If you only have one bowl, wash it after removing the egg whites or if you have a second bowl, use that one. Attach the paddle attachment to the stand mixer (or using a handheld mixer again) and beat the macadamia nuts, icing sugar and eggs on medium speed until light and voluminous, about 3 minutes.

Add the flour and beat on low speed until the flour is just combined (be very careful not to overmix here!!!).

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the meringue into the nut mixture and then fold in the melted butter. Divide the batter between the pans and spread it evenly to cover the entire surface of each pan.

Bake the cake until it is lightly browned and just springy to the touch. This could take anywhere from 5 to 9 minutes depending on your oven.

Put the pan on a heatproof counter and run a sharp knife along the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Cover with a sheet of parchment or wax paper, turn the pan over, and unmold.

Carefully peel away the parchment, then turn the parchment over and use it to cover the cake. Let cool to room temperature.

For the syrup

What you’ll need:
• a small saucepan

Ingredients:
½ cup water

⅓ cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp. coconut extract

Stir all the syrup ingredients together in the saucepan and bring to a boil.

Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

For the coconut cream

What you'll need:

• medium saucepan

Ingredients:

1 cup fancy coconut

1 1/4 cup heavy cream

Cook ingredients together over medium-low heat until mixture has reduce and thickened. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

For the buttercream

What you’ll need:

•a small saucepan

•a candy or instant-read thermometer

•a stand mixer or handheld mixer

•a bowl and a whisk attachment

•rubber spatula

Ingredients:
1 cup granulated sugar

¼ cup water

1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1¾ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 tbsp crushed pineapple in juice

Combine the sugar, water and vanilla extract in a small saucepan and warm over medium heat just until the sugar dissolves.

Continue to cook, without stirring, until the syrup reaches 225◦F (107◦C) on a candy or instant-read thermometer. Once it reaches that temperature, remove the syrup from the heat.

While the syrup is heating, begin whisking the egg and egg yolk at high speed in the bowl of your mixer using the whisk attachment. Whisk them until they are pale and foamy.

When the sugar syrup reaches the correct temperature and you remove it from the heat, reduce the mixer speed to low speed and begin slowly (very slowly) pouring the syrup down the side of the bowl being very careful not to splatter the syrup into the path of the whisk attachment. Some of the syrup will spin onto the sides of the bowl but don’t worry about this and don’t try to

stir it into the mixture as it will harden!

Raise the speed to medium-high and continue beating until the eggs are thick and satiny and the mixture is cool to the touch (about 5 minutes or so).

While the egg mixture is beating, place the softened butter in a bowl and mash it with a spatula until you have a soft creamy mass.

With the mixer on medium speed, begin adding in two-tablespoon chunks. When all the butter has been incorporated, raise the mixer speed to high and beat until the buttercream is thick and

shiny.

At this point add in the pineapple and beat for an additional minute or so.

Refrigerate the buttercream, stirring it often, until it’s set enough (firm enough) to spread when topped with a layer of cake (at least 20 minutes).

For the white chocolate ganache/mousse

What you’ll need:
•a small saucepan

•a mixer or handheld mixer

Ingredients:
7 ounces white chocolate

1 cup plus 3 tbsp. heavy cream (35% cream)

1 tbsp. liquer of your choice (Bailey’s, Amaretto, etc.)

Melt the white chocolate and the 3 tbsp. of heavy cream in a small saucepan.

Stir to ensure that it’s smooth and that the chocolate is melted. Add the tablespoon of liqueur to the chocolate and stir. Set aside to cool completely.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream until soft peaks form.

Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate to form a mousse.

If it’s too thin, refrigerate it for a bit until it’s spreadable.

If you’re not going to use it right away, refrigerate until you’re ready to use.

For the glaze (Note: It’s best to make the glaze right when you’re ready to finish the cake.)

What you’ll need:
•a small saucepan or double boiler

Ingredients:
7 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup heavy cream (35% cream)

Melt the white chocolate with the heavy cream. Whisk the mixture gently until smooth.

Let cool for 10 minutes and then pour over the chilled cake. Using a long metal cake spatula, smooth out into an even layer.

Place the cake into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set.

Assembling the Opéra Cake
(Note: The finished cake should be served slightly chilled. It can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 1 day).

Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.

Cut the cake into 3 equal pieces.

Place one piece of cake on the baking sheet and moisten it gently with the flavoured syrup. Spread with 1/2 of coconut cream

Spread about half of the buttercream over this layer.

Top with the next piece of cake. Moisten with the flavoured syrup and spread with remainder of coconut cream.

Spread the remaining buttercream on the cake and then top with the third piece of joconde. Use the remaining syrup to wet the joconde and then refrigerate until very firm (at least half an hour).

Prepare the ganache/mousse (if you haven’t already) and then spread it on the top of the last layer of the joconde. Refrigerate for at least two to three hours to give the ganache/mousse the opportunity to firm up.

Make the glaze and after it has cooled, pour/spread it over the top of the chilled cake.

Refrigerate the cake again to set the glaze.

Serve the cake slightly chilled. This recipe will yield approximately 10 servings.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Pecan Honey Sticky Buns

Well, its Tuesday, and you know what that means...BAKING!!! This week's recipe was Pecan Honey Sticky Buns which are made with a base dough of Brioche.

I gotta say, my mixer did not like this dough. I took the recipe's advice and used my dough hook and I had no luck. I got a sticky mass of dough on the bottom and a whipped buttery mixture on the top. I switched to my paddle and managed to incorporate the two together. I have a pretty heavy duty stand mixer but this dough was something else.

Regardless, it all seemed to come together in the long run. I chilled the dough overnight and made the buns the next day and they came out of the oven puffy, ooey and chewy. My husband loved them. The only variation I made was to coarsely chop the pecans instead of having them whole.

But what to do with the leftover dough? I have to admit, I'm not a freeze it and bake it later kinda gal and the recipe only took half the brioche recipe. Brioche always reminds me of really good French toast. I decided to try a variation on my husband's favourite breakfast casserole with the remaining dough.

I whipped a brick of cream cheese until it was light and fluffy and then added one egg and a 1/4 cup of maple syrup. It was a bit soupy so I put it in the fridge to firm up a bit to spreading consistancy. Meanwhile, I finely chopped about 1 cup of pecans and tossed them with 1/4 cup of brown sugar and 1 tbsp of cinnamon. I rolled the dough out a la Pecan Buns and spread it with the cream cheese mixture. Then I sprinkled the nut mixture over the cream cheese. I rolled up the dough, cut it into 1-inch pieces and put it in the oven at 375• for 30 minutes. They turned out great! Not sticky like the pecan buns but creamy and moist centres surrounded by that soft, sweet brioche bread.

Here's the recipe for the Pecan Buns.

Pecan Honey Sticky Buns

(from Baking: My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan)

Makes 15 buns

For the Glaze:
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup honey
1-1/2 cups pecans (whole or pieces)

For the Filling:
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

For the Buns:

1/2 recipe dough for Golden Brioche loaves (see below), chilled and ready to shape (make the full recipe and cut the dough in half after refrigerating it overnight)

Generously butter a 9-x-13-inch baking pan (a Pyrex pan is perfect for this).

To make the glaze: In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the brown sugar, butter, and honey to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring frequently to dissovle the sugar. Pour the glaze into the buttered pan, evening it out asbest you can by tilting the pan or spreading the glaze with a heatproof spatula. Sprinle over the pecans.

To make the filling: Mix the sugars and cinnamon together in a bowl. If necessary, in another bowl, work the butter with a spatula until it is soft, smooth and spreadable.

To shape the buns: On a flour-dusted work surface, roll the chilled dough into a 16-inch square. Using your fingers or a pastry brush, spread the softened butter over the dough. Sprinkle the dough with the cinnamon sugar, leaving a 1-inch strip bare on the side farthest from you. Starting with the side nearest you, roll the dough into a cylinder, keeping the roll as tight as you can. (At this point, you can wrap the dough airtight and freeze it for up to 2 months . . . . Or, if you want to make just part of the recipe now, you can use as much of the dough as you'd like and freeze the remainder. Reduce the glae recipe accordingly).

With a chef's knife, using a gentle sawing motion, trim just a tiny bit from the ends of the roll if they're very ragged or not well filled, then cut the log into 1-inch thick buns. (Because you trim the ragged ends of the dough, and you may have lost a little length in the rolling, you will get 15 buns, not 16.) Fit the buns into the pan cut side down, leaving some space between them.

Lightly cover the pan with a piece of wax paper and set the pan in a warm place until the buns ahve doubled in volume, about 1 hour and 45 minutes. The buns are properly risen when they are puffy, soft, doubled and, in all likelihood, touching one another.

Getting ready to bake: When the buns have almost fully risen , center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Remove the sheet of wax paper and put the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Bake the sticky buns for about 30 minutes, or until they are puffed and gorgeously golden; the glaze will be bubbling away merrily. Pull the pan from the oven.

The sticky buns must be unmolded minutes after they come out of the oven. If you do not have a rimmed platter large enough to hold them, use a baking sheet lined with a silicone mate or buttered foil. Be careful - the glaze is super-hot and super-sticky.

What You'll Need for the Golden Brioche Dough (this recipe makes enough for two brioche loaves. If you divide the dough in half, you would use half for the sticky buns, and you can freeze the other half for a later date, or make a brioche loaf out of it!):

2 packets active dry yeast (each packet of yeast contains approx. 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch water
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch whole milk
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature but still slightly firm
What You'll Need for the Glaze (you would brush this on brioche loaves, but not on the sticky buns):
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water

To Make The Brioche: Put the yeast, water and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using a wooden spoon, stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt, and fit into the mixer with the dough hook, if you have one. Toss a kitchen towel over the mixer, covering the bowl as completely as you can-- this will help keep you, the counter and your kitchen floor from being showered in flour. Turn the mixer on and off a few short pulses, just to dampen the flour (yes, you can peek to see how you're doing), then remove the towel, increase the mixer speed to medium-low and mix for a minute or two, just until the flour is moistened. At this point, you'll have a fairly dry, shaggy mess.

Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, set the mixer to low and add the eggs, followed by the sugar. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes, until the dough forms a ball. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter in 2-tablespoon-size chunks, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding the next. You'll have a dough that is very soft, almost like batter. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a clean bowl (or wash out the mixer bowl and use it), cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes, depending upon the warmth of your room.

Deflate the dough by lifting it up around the edges and letting it fall with a slap to the bowl. Cover the bowl with the plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Slap the dough down in the bowl every 30 minutes until it stops rising, about 2 hours, then leave the uncovered dough in the refrigerator to chill overnight. (After this, you can proceed with the recipe to make the brioche loaves, or make the sticky buns instead, or freeze all or part of the dough for later use.)

The next day, butter and flour two 8 1/2-x-4 1/2-inch pans.

Pull the dough from the fridge and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Cut each piece of the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece into a log about 3 1/2 inches long. Arrange 4 logs crosswise in the bottom of each pan. Put the pans on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat, cover the pans lightly with wax paper and leave the loaves at room temperature until the dough almost fills the pans, 1 to 2 hours. (Again, rising time with depend on how warm the room is.)
Getting Ready To Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

To Make the Glaze: Beat the egg with the water. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the loaves with the glaze.

Bake the loaves until they are well risen and deeply golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the pans to racks to cool for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the pans and turn the loaves out onto the racks. Invert again and cool for at least 1 hour.

Enjoy and check out the other baker's creations from the blogroll on Tuesdays With Dorie.

Ginger Snaps - Sort of...

This is my husband's most favourite cookie ever. Even though this recipe make's about six dozen cookie he refuses to let me send some to work with me because says "they are not worthy...". LOL. Anyway, the recipe came from his great aunt and although they are called Ginger Snaps, they are more like a soft, chewy molasses cookie. Very easy to make and delicious.

Ginger Snap Cookies

1 cup butter

1 cup molasses (I use fancy)

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

4 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3 tsp ground ginger

3 tsp baking soda

Cream butter with sugar. Blend in molasses and eggs until creamy. Sift together flour, baking powder, ginger, baking soda and salt. Add to butter mixture and stir until blended. Roll into one-inch balls and roll in sugar.

Bake at 350•F for 10-12 minutes. Leave on baking sheet for a few minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool. These cookies have a lovely crackly top and a soft, chewy centre.

Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

Tip: Here's a tip for measuring those sticky, liquid ingredients like molasses and honey. Spray the inside of your measuring cup with non-stick spray or swirl a little bit of vegetable oil around the inside. Then measure sticky liquid and when you pour it into your batter it will just slide right out of the measuring cup!

Tuesdays with Dorie - Florida Pie

You put the lime in the coconut..

I meant to post this yesterday but I have been fighting a nasty migraine for the past couple of days and the thought of facing my computer just wasn't doing it for me. Anyway - here is my latest installment of Tuesdays with Dorie.

This was an interesting one to bake. I made this for my Mother's Day brunch along with another tart for an afternoon dessert. What amazed me about making this pie was how easy it was for me to find the ingredients for what is essentially a tropical dessert, in early spring, in Western Canada. I was even able to find true key limes - amazing!

This was quite tasty, not too sweet and definately a dominant flavour of lime in the dessert. I put toasted coconut into the graham cracker crust as well as the meringue to carry the coconut flavour throughout. The one problem I encountered was that the coconut cream seemed to congrugate into the edges of the pie plate after freezing rather than staying as a layer under the lime. It made for a sweet coconut bite as you approached the crust.

Florida Pie

What You'll Need:
1 9-inch graham cracker crust (page 235), fully baked and cooled, or a store-bought crust
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
4 large eggs, separated
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh Key (or regular) lime juice (from about 5 regular limes)
1/4 cup of sugar

Getting Ready to Make the Pie:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the pie plate on a baking sheet lined with parchment of a silicone mat.

Put the cream and 1 cup of the coconut in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly. Continue to cook and stir until the cream is reduced by half and the mixture is slightly thickened. Scrape the coconut cream into a bowl and set it aside while you prepare the lime filling.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl beat the egg yolks at high speed until thick and pale. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the condensed milk. Still on low, add half of the lime juice. When it is incorporated, add the remaining juice, again mixing until it is blended. Spread the coconut cream in the bottom of the graham cracker crust, and pour over the lime filling.

Bake the pie for 12 minutes. Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes, then freeze the pie for at least 1 hour.

To Finish the Pie with Meringue:
Put the 4 egg whites and the sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, whisking all the while, until the whites are hot to the touch. Transfer the whites to a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, or use a hand mixer in a large bowl, and beat the whites at high speed until they reach room temperature and hold firm peaks. Using a rubber spatula, fold the remaining 1/2 cup coconut into the meringue.

Spread the meringue over the top of the pie, and run the pie under the broiler until the top of the meringue is golden brown. (Or, if you've got a blowtorch, you can use it to brown the meringue.) Return the pie to the freezer for another 30 minutes or for up to 3 hours before serving.

My family loved this pie. Best thing about it for me was definately the coconut cream. Most annoying thing was juicing those tiny little limes!

Check out the rest of the Tuesdays with Dorie gangs' Florida Pies!!!

Tuesdays with Dorie - Peanut Butter Torte

This week's recipe for Tuesdays with Dorie was for a Peanut Butter Torte. This is one of those spectacular looking desserts that is ooey, gooey, oh so creamy and exceedingly rich. The recipe calls for salted peanuts, which I'm not a fan of in sweet desserts so I ommitted them and used finely chopped miniature Reeses Peanut Butter cups in their place. Honestly, I don't really enjoy hard textured items in soft textured desserts and I'm not a huge salt person.

I'm pretty happy with how this turned out but boy was it rich. We got 16 servings out of this cake (made in a 9-inch springform). My husband and I had it for dinner with family one night and then he took the rest to work the next day to share with the co-workers. He got rid of it so I guess it must have been reasonably okay. You definately need to be a peanut butter and chocolate fan to enjoy this though.

I didn't run into any particular problems while making this. Some folks mentioned that the Oreo cookies didn't go far for the crust. I would recommend increasing by 1/2 dozen or more to make sure you have enough to cover the sides.

Peanut Butter Torte
from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

1 ¼ c. finely chopped salted peanuts (for the filling, crunch and topping)
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon instant espresso powder (or finely ground instant coffee)¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
½ c. mini chocolate chips (or finely chopped semi sweet chocolate)
24 Oreo cookies, finely crumbed or ground in a food processor or blender
½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Small pinch of salt
2 ½ c. heavy cream (I used whipping cream)
1 ¼ c confectioners’ sugar, sifted
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 ½ c salted peanut butter – crunchy or smooth (not natural; I use Skippy)
2 tablespoons whole milk
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate finely chopped

Getting ready: center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch Springform pan and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.Toss ½ cup of the chopped peanuts, the sugar, espresso powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and chocolate chops together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Put the Oreo crumbs, melted butter and salt in another small bowl and stir with a fork just until crumbs are moistened. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the spring form pan (they should go up about 2 inches on the sides). Freeze the crust for 10 minutes.Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a rack and let it cool completely before filling.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, whip 2 cups of the cream until it holds medium peaks. Beat in ¼ cup of the confectioners’ sugar and whip until the cream holds medium-firm peaks. Crape the cream into a bowl and refrigerate until needed.

Wipe out (do not wash) the bowl, fit the stand mixer with the paddle attachment if you have one, or continue with the hand mixer, and beat the cream cheese with the remaining 1 cup confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until the cream cheese is satiny smooth. Beat in the peanut butter, ¼ cup of the chopped peanuts and the milk.

Using a large rubber spatula, gently stir in about one quarter of the whipped cream, just to lighten the mousse. Still working with the spatula, stir in the crunchy peanut mixture, then gingerly fold in the remaining whipped cream.Scrape the mouse into the crust, mounding and smoothing the top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight; cover with plastic wrap as soon as the mousse firms.

To Finish The Torte: put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Leave the bowl over the water just until the chocolate softens and starts to melt, about 3 minutes; remove the bowl from the saucepan.Bring the remaining ½ cup cream to a full boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and , working with a a rubber spatula, very gently stir together until the ganache is completely blended and glossy.

Pour the ganache over the torte, smoothing it with a metal icing spatula. Scatter the remaining ½ cup peanuts over the top and chill to set the topping, about 20 minutes.When the ganache is firm, remove the sides of the Springform pan; it’s easiest to warm the pan with a hairdryer, and then remove the sides, but you can also wrap a kitchen towel damped with hot water around the pan and leave it there for 10 seconds. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Be sure and check out the rest of the Tuesday with Dorie groups version of this scrumptious dessert!

**For some reason I'm having troubles posting the pictures for this - I'll try again later...

Tuesdays with Dorie - Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake

I've joined an online baking community/challenge called Tuesdays with Dorie. Each week the group bakes a recipe from the fabulous book Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

I have to admit that I was quite skeptical about this weeks recipe which calls for cornmeal of all things. I would never have picked out this recipe myself - which is part of the reason I joined this group - to get out of my comfort zone! Anyway, despite my trepidations, this cake is delicious. I was pleasantly surprised by how it turned out and the cornmeal gives it a really nice crunchy texture that you don't normally find in a dessert. I really couldn't discern the ricotta at all but overall the cake was very moist, sweet and mouth friendly.

Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake

From Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

About 16 moist, plump dried Mission or Kadota figs, stemmed

1 c. medium-grain polenta or yellow cornmeal

1/2c. all-purpose flour1 tsp baking powder

1 c. ricotta

1/3 c. tepid water

3/4 C. sugar

3/4 c. honey (if you’re a real honey lover, use a full-flavored honey such as chestnut, pine, or buckwheat)

Grated zest of 1 lemon

2 large eggs

1 stick butter, melted and cooled

1 stick butter, cut into tiny bits

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 10 -inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Check that the figs are, indeed, moist and plump. If they are the least bit hard, toss them into a small pan of boiling water and steep for a minute, then drain and pat dry. If the figs are large (bigger than a bite), snip them in half.

Whisk the polenta, flour, baking powder, and salt together.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the ricotta and water together on low speed until very smooth. With the mixer at medium speed, add the sugar, honey, and lemon zest and beat until light. Beat in the melted butter, then add the eggs one at a time, beating until the mixture is smooth. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are fully incorporated. You’ll have a sleek, smooth, pourable batter.

Pour about one third of the batter into the pan and scatter over the figs. Pour in the rest of the batter, smooth the top with a rubber spatula, if necessary, and dot the batter evenly with the chilled bits of butter.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. The cake should be honey brown and pulling away just a little from the sides of the pan, and the butter will have left light-colored circles in the top.

Transfer the cake to a rack and remove the sides of the pan after about 5 minutes. Cool to warm, or cool completely.

My notes

I used dried apricots in this recipe instead of the figs - primarily because I couldn't find figs. I suspect that any plump, dried fruit would work fine in this recipe.

This recipe is very, very sweet - if you don't have the sweet tooth that I do you could probably reduce the sugar quite significantly. The honey is a must though.

My cake wasn't anywhere near done at the 40 minute mark. I baked it another 10 minutes before it had set and begun to brown around the edges. At 40 minutes the centre was still jiggling!

I didn't really fiddle too much with this recipe (being a newbie and all) but there are some great ideas from other bakers in the group. Check out their blogs from the TWD Bakers List on Tuesdays with Dorie.

Tangy Lemon Bars

Here's a recipe for lemon bars that I quite like. I think I have about five recipes for lemon bars that I seem to rotate through and they are all a little different. This bar has a rich, shortbread crust and a tangy lemon custard on the top.

Lemon Bars

1 cup butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups flour

4 eggs

1 1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3-4 lemons)

grated zest from 2 lemons

5 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Preheat your oven to 350•F.

Chop butter into small pieces and mix together with 2 cups of flour and 1/2 cup of sugar. Blend with a pastry blender or your fingers until mixture resembles soft crumbs. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9x12-inch pan.

Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes in preheated oven until set and golden.

In another bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups sugar and flour. Whisk in the eggs, lemon juice and lemon zest. Pour over the baked crust.

Bake for 20 minutes more. Cool on wire rack. When bar is completely cool, sprinkle with a generous layer of powdered sugar.

Yield: 24 bars

My mom really enjoyed these but she did complain that the crust was too thick - which made sense because she didn't have a 9x13-inch pan so we used a slightly smaller one. The crust is very rich so you don't want it to be too thick. Also - eat these at room temperature as the butter in the crust seems to harden up in the refrigerator and they don't taste as nice. This is a great bar to have English style with a hot cup of afternoon tea!

I picked up two fabulous baking books today and can't wait to get started on some of the recipes.

The first is Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. The rcipes look amazing and she includes lots of fabulous hints on how to get the best results.

The second book is called Small Batch Baking by Debbie Nakos. I thought this would be a fun book to try because as much as I love baking and giving it away to folks who will appreciate it, sometimes I just want to make a special dessert for me and hubby without all those leftover temptations lying around...well...tempting me.

Garden Vegetable Lasagna

Like many North Americans, I've struggled with my weight for a number of years. I'd like to blame it on my beautiful baby, but the truth is that I was well above my ideal weight long before she came along. Anyway - I joined Weight Watchers this year but I hadn't really made much of a commitment so I'm "renewing" my Weight Watchers vows and I thought that in addition to some of the decedent baking recipes I share with you, I would also share some of the healthier choices we are trying to make.

So here is Garden Vegetable Lasagna. Now, I'm a big fan of that ooey, gooey, strings of cheese coming off the fork lasagna but really, how many of those can you eat before you're headed down the road to Heart Attack Alley. Anyway - as healthy lasagnas go, this one is quite tasty and its filled with good-for-you vegetables, fibre and low fat dairy.

Garden Vegetable Lasagna
1 pkg Cooked or fresh lasagna noodles
3 cups broccoli florets
1 red sweet pepper, cut into bite sized pieces
1 medium zucchini, sliced in 1/4 inch pieces
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 15-ounce cartons light ricotta cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
5 cloves garlic
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon of hot sauce (or to taste)
2 cups part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 jar fat-free pasta sauce

Preheat oven to 375•F. Spray a lasagna pan with cooking spray and set aside. Prepare lasagna noodles according to package directions. Fresh noodles need not be precooked.

Steam vegetables until tender-crisp - about 8 minutes. Remove from heat (or microwave) and set aside.

Combine ricotta, basil, thyme, garlic, salt, pepper and hot sauce in a large bowl.

Layer lasagna noodles in bottom of prepared pan. Cover with 1/3 ricotta mixture, 1/3 vegetables, 1/3 jar of pasta sauce and 1/3 of shredded mozzarella in that order. Repeat two more times ending with the mozzarella.

Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake for 55 minutes covered. Let stand for a few minutes after removing it from the oven.

Makes 8 very large servings. This dish is quite filling so I would even suggest 10 or 12 servings for lighter eaters.

Nutritional info: 335 calories, 6 WW points

Mango and Cream Muffins

Today's recipe is for muffins! I love muffins, especially warm from the oven - they remind me of winters in my grandma's house. Muffins make especially nice gift baskets for someone who has had a not so great day.

Mango and Cream Muffins

1 cup cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 package instant vanilla pudding
2 tsp baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup mango (fresh or frozen), diced
1/2 cup dried mango, chopped

Heat oven to 350•F. Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners and set aside. You may also grease the inside of 18 muffin cups if you don't want to use liners.

Cream together cream cheese and 1/4 cup of sugar and set aside.

Blend flour, 1 cup sugar, instant pudding, baking powder and salt together in large bowl. Be sure to blend thoroughly to distribute the baking powder.

Whisk together water, eggs, vegetable oil, sour cream and vanilla. Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients and mix together with wooden spoon. Combine until just mixed together. The batter will be lumpy. Stir in fresh and dried mango.

Fill muffin tins about 1/2 way. Put 1-2 teaspoons of cream cheese mixture on top of muffin batter. Top with another dollop of batter so that the muffin cups are about 3/4 full. Bake at 350•F for 25-30 minutes. The top of the muffin should spring back when pressed.

This recipe makes about 1 1/2 dozen muffins.

*If you can't get or don't like mango you could easily substitue fresh/frozen peaches and dried apricots for the mango.

I will post a picture when my camera batteries have finished re-charging! LOL.

Tuxedo Brownies and New Toy...

Hello out there in blogland! Tonight's recipe is for Tuxedo Brownies - a nice treat that appeals to the cheesecake lover and the chocolate lover.

Tuxedo Brownies
8 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter
5 eggs
3 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup chocolate chunks

2 packages cream cheese (500 g/2 cups)
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs

1 cup good quality chocolate - chopped
1 cup heavy cream or whipping cream

Preheat oven to 325° F. Grease 13x9-inch pan. Optionally, you can line the pan with parchment paper.

Melt chocolate and butter over low heat (be careful not to burn) and set aside.

Beat eggs, vanilla and sugar together on med-high speed for 10 minutes. This will create a thick, yellow creamy mixture. Ten minutes is a long time and is not necessary for the success of these brownies - but if you have a standing mixer let it go for the full 10 minutes. Add the chocolate mixture, flour and salt and beat just until all ingredients have been incorporated and the batter is a uniform chocolate colour. Stir in chocolate chunks.

Pour into prepared baking pan and set aside.

Beat softened cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Add eggs one at a time and beat until smooth and creamy. Pour cream cheese mixture over brownie batter. Spread gently with a spatula to cover the brownie batter entirely. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes.

Remove pan from oven and let cool completely on wire rack. When brownie is cool prepare the ganache topping.

Put chocolate pieces into a medium bowl. Heat cream (either on stove top or in microwave) until just about boiling. Pour hot cream over chocolate and let sit for five minutes. After five minutes stir melted chocolate and cream together until smooth and uniform in colour. Pour ganache over top of cooled brownies and refrigerate until set. Mmmmmm....

Here's the new toy I picked up yesterday. Can't wait to try it! I haven't used an airbrush since my fine arts courses in university...

Here's some tutorials I found on using the Copics Airbrush System:

• http://www.copicmarker.co.uk/tutor5.htm
• http://ellenhutson.typepad.com/ellen_hutson_simple_dream/2007/08/copic-airbrush-.html
  
• http://ellenhutson.typepad.com/ellen_hutson_simple_dream/2007/08/copic-airbrus-1.html

There are not a ton out there that I could find tonight but I'm going to experiment with the system and see what I can figure out.

I know a lot of folks have been talking about the Eclipse Masking rolls for masking stamped images (essential when airbrushing). It seems to be sold out in a lot of places and I can't find a supplier here in Canada but for those of you looking for an alternative just visit your local art supply store or the art section of a big box craft store (Michaels, Hobby Lobby) and purchase a pouch of "frisket film". This is the product I used in my art school days when I was airbrushing and it works great for masking stamped images. It usually comes in 9"x12" sheets. Its a low-tack masking film for use on paper. You can stamp your image on it, cut around the image and place it over the parts of your stamped image that you don't want coloured. It peels off easily without damaging your image.

And because I can't resist...here's another pic of my cutey pie. At least this time she's smiling...

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies and Box #2

Today's recipe is an oldie but a goodie. This cookie brings back memories of warm plates of ooey, gooey goodness fresh from the oven, waiting for us when we got off the school bus, complete with a cold glass of milk...mmmmmm.

I read somewhere that this cookie originated when a baker tried putting chocolate pieces into a cookie dough, thinking that they would melt and create a chocolate flavoured cookie. Instead the chocolate piece kept its shape and the chocolate chip cookie was born! Lucky for us.

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts is the classic choice but pecans are also good in this recipe)

Preheat oven to 375•F.

Beat butter, sugars and vanilla extract in a large bowl until creamy and smooth. Add eggs, beating well after each one. Blend in flour, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips and chopped nuts.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoon (or use a 1-inch cookie dough scoop) onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until they are done to your preference. I prefer my chocolate chip cookies on the slightly underbaked side so I cook for 9 minutes. If you like them slightly crispier cook them for longer. Leave on baking sheet for 2-5 minutes to cool slightly then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy - preferably with good company.

Scented Embossing Powder Box - Boxes, Bags and Gifts #2

For those of you new to this "series" I'm putting together a new box, container/bag or gift each day this month in preparation for a secret sisters swap in June. We are supposed to put together a package of wrapped items for our SS - who will then open one for each day in the month of June plus one on July 1st. We have a wish/preference list for our recipient to guide our gift giving. One of the wish items on my SS's list was scented embossing powder. I have a few of these and they are nice for cards/gifts so I stopped by my LSS today and purchase cafe latte and bubble gum scented powders.

I made this little box to hold the two little bottles. It has an insert similar to the one in the egg box I made earlier that will keep them from sliding around inside. Just before I send the package I will fill up the inside with bubblegum and coffee flavoured Jelly Bellies. The coffee cup image and some of the little coffee beans are embossed with coffee scented embossing powder.

These kind of boxes are quite easy to make and can be easily resized to fit the intended contents. You could decorate them any way you wish to suit the occassion or the recipient.

Supplies: Cardstock (Bazzill), Stamps (Impression Obsession), Embossing Powder (Gel'a'tins), Inks (SU!, Versa), ribbon, Bella Baubles (Stamping Bella).

Just for giggles I thought I'd post a picture of the current creative chaos that is my stamping room. Its getting bad, even for me. My problem is that with my six-month-old I barely have time to stamp, let alone clean up and so the remnents of each project keep piling up on top of each other. On the left side is a pile of products that are recent purchases or gifts that haven't event been catalogued or put away yet. Tomorrow is definately clean up and organize day. Thursdays Edumicate Me will be focussed on storing and organizing your scrap papers...

Butterfinger Cookies

Today's recipe is for Butterfinger Cookies. I don't know why I like these cookies so much because I don't really like Butterfinger candy bars... I used to get my husband to buy Butterfingers in the US when he went across the line because I couldn't find them in Canada until just recently. Anyway - these are very simple and good kid pleasing cookies.

Butterfinger Cookies

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 egg whites
1 1/4 cups chunky peanut butter
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
5 Butterfinger candy bars (chopped fine)

Preheat oven to 350•F.

Cream together butter and sugars in large bowl until well blended. Add egg whites, vanilla and peanut butter and mix until smooth. Mix together flour, baking soda and salt and add to butter mixture. Mix on low speed until blended. Add chopped Butterfinger candy and stir until the candy is incorporated into the dough.

Make 1 1/2 inch balls (or use a medium cookie scoop) and place on cookie sheet at least 1 1/2 inches apart as these cookies will spread as they cook. Bake for 10-12 minutes - until just brown around the edges. Let cool 5-10 minutes on pan before removing to a rack to cool completely.

Note: Do not use natural peanut butter for this recipe - it will not turn out as nice. I'm a huge peanut butter eater and I only eat the peanuts only stuff - but it just doesn't work in these cookies.

These are packaged up for our great big sale on Saturday (see yesterday's post). Its really easy to put cookies into a nice package for a bake sale or gift, but one word of advice I have about this is to make sure that the packaging you buy is food safe. I purchase all my bags at a packaging speciality store or in Michaels in the cake decorating section. I'm very leery of purchasing containers for food items at the dollar store as its difficult to tell if they are food safe. As a rule - if its not labeled food safe - don't use it for food.

This is the spiral scarf I just finished from this gorgeous hand-dyed Merino I bought in Portland, Oregon. Each of the ladies at our big sale is contributing a door prize and this is mine. I really love the way this turned out - although its more decorative then "winter protecting". The spiral is made by short rowing the edges.

Mixed Fruit Crumble

Happy Wednesday! Today's recipe is a variation on the fruit crumble that was featured on Martha Stewart's St. Patrick's Day show. I'm sorry I didn't take a picture of it - it got eaten up before I thought to get out the camera...

Mixed Fruit Crumble

1/2 cup butter, softened plus additional for greasing the baking dish
2 cups seeded, peeled and chopped apple
1/4 cup liquour (I used Grand Marnier but you could use whatever you fancy)
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup fresh, sliced strawberries
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoons of cream liquour (I used Bailey's for St. Patty's but you could use whatever you like)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2-quart, deep baking dish.

Mix together apples, liquor and 1/2 cup of light brown sugar in a medium pot over medium-low heat. Cook until apples begin to soften. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together oats, flour, pecans, baking powder, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and remaining 1 cup of brown sugar. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. I use a pastry blender for this but you can also use two knives and just cut through the mixture until it blends together. Don't be afraid to use your hands as well.

Mix strawberries and blueberries into apple mixture with remaining 1 tsp of cinnamon. Layer the fruit mixture and crumble mixture in the baking dish - alternating with 1/2 the fruit mixture and half the crumble mixture.

Bake in oven about 35 to 40 minutes.

While the crumble is baking, whip the whipping cream with the sugar. When soft peak's have formed, fold in the cream liquour.

Serve the crumble warm with a spoonful of the whipped cream.

My husband loved this dish. We traditionally have Irish Stew on St. Patty's Day and this was a lovely end to the meal.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Apple Streusel Filling

Today's recipe is for Sour Cream Coffee Cake with an Apple Streusel Filling. I woke up this morning and thought - what I want to bake today is a coffee cake. Actually - I woke up at 5:30 am when my daughter decided to get up and I could barely function...but later I definately wanted to make coffee cake.

There's nothing like a nice, moist piece of coffee cake with a hot cup of - you guessed it - coffee!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Streusel Filling:

2 cups chopped apple (skinned and seeded)

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon flour

1/4 cup butter

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Cake:

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 cup butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cup sour cream

Glaze

1 cup icing sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 325 degree F. Grease a Bundt-pan or tube pan. I use a cake release product by Wilson which works amazingly.

Place streusel ingredients (except nuts) in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until sauce has thickened and apples have begun to soften. Remove from heat and stir in nuts. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat at medium speed until well blended (about 2 minutes). Scrape sides of bowl as needed.

Mix dry ingredients together. Add dry ingredients alternated with sour cream (begin and end with dry ingredients). Make sure all ingredients are well combined. This is a very thick batter - like a muffin batter.

Spread 1/3 of the batter in the bottom of your prepared pan. Top with 1/2 of the streusel filling. Repeat layers and end with the last 1/3 of the batter.

Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes. The cake should be firm to touch and a toothpick inserted should come out clean. Cool in the pan for 20 minutes or so and then overturn onto your serving plate to cool.

Make glaze by combining icing sugar, vanilla and milk until smooth. Drizzle over the cake. If you like you can put the glaze into an icing bag or a ziplock bag and cut a small corner off. Squeeze over the tops and sides of the cake.

Serve and enjoy. This cake is even better the next day.

Chocolate Banana Bread with Cream Cheese Glaze

Unfortunately I missed bloglift Tuesday because of persistant problems accessing my internet yesterday. I will try and post a new bloglift card tomorrow instead.

Here's today's recipe.

Chocolate Banana Bread with Cream Cheese Glaze
This is one of those things I am obligated to bake when there is a bowl of over ripe bananas in my kitchen...

1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 cups flour
3/4 cups sugar
1 12 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cocoa powder
4 oz semisweet chocolate, melted (I use Callebaut but any baking chocolate is fine)
3-4 very ripe bananas (look for the spots), mashed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Miniature chocolate chips (optional)

Heat oven to 350•F. Grease and flour a mini loaf muffin tin (mine makes 8 mini loaves).

Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl cream the butter and then add the melted chocolate, eggs, mashed bananas and vanilla. Blend dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just moistened. Stir in chocolate chips if desired.

Pour the batter into the prepared mini loaf pan and bake 25 to 30 minutes. The batter should spring back when touched. Let cool for 15 minutes then remove loaves from pan and cool completely on a cooling rack.

When cool, drizzle with Cream Cheese Glaze.

Cream Cheese Glaze

1 package of cream cheese (8 oz, 250 g), softened
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups sifted icing sugar

Cream butter and cream cheese together. Stir in vanilla and milk. Add icing sugar to make a thin glaze. Add more milk if required for the consistency you want. Drizzle over cooled banana bread loaves and enjoy.

Mint Meltaway Brownies

Okay...I've come to the conclusion that some parts of me were born to bake. Unfortunately other parts of me were born to eat and the two just don't go well together. Since I've joined Weight Watchers to take off those baby pounds (who am I kidding - I needed to lose weight before baby came along...), I've decided that to indulge my baking obsession I needed to find someone to give it away to. Normally that would be my office gang but as I'm on maternity leave right now I've shifted my sugar pushing to my husband's office. On Wednesdays I bake and on Thursdays my husband gets to be the little cookie faerie at his office. So here's today's concoction...

I've done a lot of baking with those little miniature peanut butter cups as both my husband and my mother enjoy them quite a bit. However, my favourite sweet flavour combo is chocolate and mint and when I saw these little mint chocolate cups at Superstore the other day...I couldn't resist.

Mint Meltaway Brownies

8 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter
5 eggs
3 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1 package of mint chocolate cups (I've seen similar items at Walmart or you could probably use miniature York Peppermint Patties)

Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease 13x9-inch pan. Optionally, you can line the pan with parchment paper.

Melt chocolate and butter over low heat (be careful not to burn) and set aside.

Beat eggs, vanilla and sugar together on med-high speed for 10 minutes. This will create a thick, yellow creamy mixture. Ten minutes is a long time and is not necessary for the success of these brownies - but if you have a standing mixer let it go for the full 10 minutes. Add the chocolate mixture, flour and salt and beat just until all ingredients have been incorporated and the batter is a uniform chocolate colour.

Pour into prepared baking pan. Arrange mint cups on top of batter and push into the batter. The batter may not cover them initially but it will bake over them in the oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and place on rack to cool.

When cool cut into squares or make shapes with a deep cookie or biscuit cutter. Enjoy!

This is a rich, fudgy brownie. The basic recipe can really be used for any brownie combination. Add nuts, chocolate chunks, miniature peanut butter cups or anything else your little heart desires.