Tag Archives: sweet

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Blueberry Maple Ice Cream Soda

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One summer during high school, I spent a week with a family friend, Bobby, while her daughter and family were out of town. Bobby was a totally fascinating lady–she attended Berkeley in the 30′s where she studied micro-biology (a lady! in the 30′s! micro-biology!)…and, she introduced me to the ice cream soda, for which I will be forever thankful.

Before, the world of ice cream sodas consisted of the standard root beer float. After, I knew that the possibilities were endless. An ice cream soda is a super simple, old fashioned, soda fountain treat. It’s a simple mixture of ice cream, flavored syrup, and soda water. Here, I’ve paired super maple-y ice cream with a fruity blueberry syrup…because if we’re talking blueberry sans lemon, then I want it with maple. It just is. Adding soda water makes this drink effervescent and mixes the ingredients to create a creamy lavender color with streaks of pale maple ice cream and bright punches of deep purple.

This Blueberry Maple Ice Cream Soda is SO PRETTY and….it tastes like pancakes…enough said.

Blueberry Maple Ice Cream Soda

There will be enough ingredients to make several ice cream sodas…so, have one today, tomorrow, and the next day, OR share! 

Makes 1 ice cream soda.

2-3 medium scoops of maple ice cream (recipe below)

several tablespoons blueberry syrup (recipe below)

soda water

whipped cream (optional)

In a tall glass layer the ice cream scoops with spoonfuls of syrup. Pour on the soda water to cover, garnish with whipped cream and more syrup. Serve with a straw.

Maple Ice Cream

Adapted from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home

1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup

2 cups milk

1 cup cream

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 Tablespoons cream cheese, softened

In a medium saucepan, heat maple syrup and bring to a boil. Cook, turning the heat down as needed if the syrup bubbles too much, until reduced by about half, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and slowly whisk in the cream.

Pour 1/4 cup of the milk into a bowl and whisk in the cornstarch to combine. Set cornstarch slurry aside.  Whisk in the remaining milk and salt with the cream and maple mixture. Return to heat and bring the maple and dairy mixture to a low boil. Quickly whisk in the cornstarch slurry to combine, bring to a boil and cook, whisking until thickened–about 4 minutes. Remove from heat.

Place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl (preferably with a spout for easy pouring), and mix lightly with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in the hot ice cream base until combined well.

Prepare and ice bath in a clean sink or large bowl. Pour the hot maple ice cream base into a gallon-size zip top bag, seal, and chill in the ice bath until cooled completely. Process the ice cream base in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Scrape into a freezer container and seal, freeze for several hours until firm.

Blueberry Syrup

1 heaping cup of blueberries, rinsed and dried

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

In a small saucepan, over medium-high, heat blueberries with sugar and lemon until berries burst and release their juices and the sugar is dissolve  Bring to a boil and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat and press the blueberry syrup through a fine mesh sieve, discard solids. Pour syrup into a heatproof jar, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.

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Blueberry Doughnuts with Lemon and Cream Cheese Glaze

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Guys, it’s still winter.

There’s a slush-fest of snow outside my door and the furnace is still roaring…but, my mind is on spring and sunshine and vibrant berries. And, while I’m a weirdo who actually likes cool temps and a winter wonderland…I can’t help but get anxious for the next season while the current one wanes away. It’s just my nature.

Since I’ve had berries on my brain and lemons are currently in season, I whipped up these blueberry-studded, baked cake doughnuts. These donuts appeal to both late winter and springtime produce—bright lemon and juicy blueberries. I’m always a little heavy-handed with lemon, I like it tart and intense. There’s a good bit of zest in the batter and glaze, as well as lemon juice for extra tang. The berries turn into juicy, purple gems once baked and their sweet nature pairs perfectly with the bracing lemon. Both are folded into a just-sweet, vanilla batter.  The baked doughnuts are cakey, tender, and only benefit from a generous slathering of creamy-tart glaze. Cream cheese glaze just makes sense when we’re talking berries and lemon.

Blueberry Doughnuts with Lemon + Cream Cheese Glaze

Makes about 8 doughnuts.

Adapted from Doughnuts: Simple and Delicious Recipes to Make at Home by Lara Ferroni

These are baked doughnuts. I use a standard, easy to find doughnut pan for this recipe (this one). If you don’t have/want a doughnut pan, go ahead and make these into doughnut muffins. They will be a different shape, but just as delicious. The recipe makes about 8 doughnuts, though I yielded 10 as I filled the pan a bit less than I should have. Don’t be like me.

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons lemon zest

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup (be generous) blueberries (washed and dried well) + 1 tablespoon flour

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Lightly spray a doughnut pan with cooking spray or grease with butter. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate, small bowl rub the lemon zest into the sugar until fragrant. Whisk the lemon-sugar into the flour mixture. Rub the butter into the flour mixture—like you would for making pastry dough—until it resembles a coarse meal.

In a large measuring cup, whisk together the milk and lemon juice and allow to sit for a minute or two—introducing acid to the milk will make it curdle and thicken, that’s okay! (if a recipe calls for buttermilk and you don’t have any, acidulated  milk will work in a pinch). Whisk in the vanilla and the egg, to combine well. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and fold to until just combined. Toss the washed and dried blueberries with the 1 tablespoon of flour, shaking off excess, and fold into the batter.

Using either a plastic zip-top bag or a piping bag, fill the bag with the batter, cut a hole at the tip (or corner), large enough to allow a blueberry through, and pipe batter into the prepared pan, about halfway up each doughnut-well. Bake in the center of the oven for 8-10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a doughnut comes out clean and the edges are lightly golden. Allow to cool a few minutes in the pan before turning out. Repeat with remaining batter. Allow to cool to room temperature before glazing.

Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze

2 ounces cream cheese, softened (cut from an 8 ounce block)

1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1-3 tablespoons lemon juice

Using a wooden spoon, beat the cream cheese until creamy (if it’s already soft, this will be a breeze), stir in the confectioner’s sugar until combined, stir in the lemon zest, and begin thinning out the glaze with the lemon juice—beginning with 1 tablespoon and adding more until you reach your desired consistency.

 

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Double Chocolate Doughnuts w. Chocolate Sprinkles

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It’s no secret we’re fiends for chocolate around here–Sean especially…and today is his birthday! Yay! I made these doughnuts with my favorite dude in mind, piling chocolate on top of chocolate with a sprinkling of more chocolate for good measure.

These doughnuts are of the baked variety–cakey and tender with an intense chocolate flavor. The glaze is a super simple mixture of powdered sugar, cocoa, and milk. The chocolate sprinkles are actually chocolatey, not just brown, adding that extra little bit of decadence.

Double Chocolate Doughnuts

Adapted (lightly) from Shutterbean

I used a heart shaped doughnut pan, making 1 dozen doughnuts–if you use a regular doughnut pan you should yield about 6 doughnuts. 

1 cup cake flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 egg

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350*F. Lightly spray a doughnut pan with cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and sugar. In a large measuring cup whisk together the buttermilk, egg, butter, and vanilla. Mix the wet mixture into the dry until just combined. Scrape the batter into a plastic bag, cut off the tip, and pipe batter into doughnut pan wells–about 1/2 way up the sides. Bake for 10 minutes (heart shaped) or 13 for regular doughnuts. Allow to cool about 5 minutes in the pan before turning out onto a rack to cool. Glaze and sprinkle once doughnuts have cooled.

Chocolate Glaze

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 Tablsepoon unsweetened cocoa powder

3 Tablespoons milk

Whisk all ingredients together until combined well. Add more powdered sugar to thicken or milk to thin, to desired consistency.

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Caramel Popcorn Ice Cream with Cashews

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When I was a smallish child we lived in California, just a few towns over from The Jelly Belly factory. We did the tour a few times  with out-of-town family–that place smells insane like sugar. I always loved mixing the flavors to make other flavors–root beer float and the like. My mom would pretty much only eat those strange buttered popcorn dudes. This ice cream is a nod to that candy bean, though the flavor is less weirdo-artificial-movie-theater-bucket and more delicious popcorn nuttiness.

Even though I’m not a fan of the popcorn jelly bean, I am a fan of popcorn…and caramel and nuts. I mean, it’s just so perfect–salty, sweet, nutty crunchy. It’s like a salty-sweet-crunchy dream. This ice cream starts with a smooth and creamy popcorn base–there are 8 whole cups of popcorn in it! It wilts down to nothing, but leaves behind a cream that’s reminiscent of buttered popcorn, sans the butter plus the popcorn. I added a caramel ripple for good measure and sweet cashews for crunch.

This ice cream is crazy-weird-good. Even though it’s only January, it has me dreaming of late sunsets, ball parks and hot dogs, and summertime goodness.

Caramel Popcorn Ice Cream with Cashews

Salted Caramel Sauce // adapted from The Perfect Scoop

Prepare the caramel sauce ahead of time so it can cool to room temperature. Can be made a few days in advance and refrigerated in a lidded container. You will have leftover sauce, but I’m sure you’ll find a way to use it up :)

3/4 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon golden (or corn) syrup

1/4 cup water

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt

In a measuring cup measure out cream and add vanilla, set aside.

In a heavy bottomed saucepan heat sugar, syrup, and water over medium-high until sugar is melted and turns dark golden brown in color (the darkest you can get it before burning is best–think whiskey/bourbon color). Remove from heat and quickly whisk in butter and half of cream until combined and smooth. The mixture will steam and bubble furiously, use a oven mitt or towel to wrap your stirring hand. If there are still lumps, heat gently until smooth. Add remaining cream and salt and stir until smooth.

Popcorn

1/2 cup popping corn

paper lunch bag

place the popcorn kernels in the bag, fold the bag top 2-3 times, microwave on high until the corn is popping like crazy, followed by 1-2 second pauses between pops–about 3 1/2 minutes. This may take some trial and error, just be watchful–you may have to pop it in 2 batches. This made me about 9 cups of popcorn–I used 8 and snacked on the remaining cup.

Popcorn Ice Cream // adapted from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home

2 cups heavy whipping cream

8 cups plain popped corn

2 cup milk

4 teaspoons cornstarch

2/3 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons golden syrup (or corn)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chopped cashews

caramel sauce

In a medium saucepan heat the heavy cream with the popcorn (the popcorn will basically wilt away, so if it seems like a lot, it won’t be), bring to a low boil, cover, remove from heat and steep for 1 hour. Sieve the popcorn cream through a fine mesh strainer, pressing on solids to extract as much cream as possible. Discard solids, you should have about 1 cup of cream remaining, if less add cream to make 1 cup.

Mix 1/4 cup of the milk with the cornstarch to create a slurry. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan mix together the popcorn cream with the remaining 1 3/4 cups milk, add the sugar, golden syrup, and salt. Heat the mixture and bring to a low boil, quickly whisk in the slurry mixture and return to a boil, whisking until thickened–about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat.

Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl or clean sink basin. Pour the ice cream base into a gallon zip-bag and seal. Chill the base in the ice bath until cooled completely. Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturers instructions. Spoon 1/3 of the churned ice cream into a freezer container, drizzle with caramel and sprinkle with nuts–repeat 2 more times. Cover and freeze until firm–3 hours or more.

 

 

 

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Smoked Salt and Almond Shortbread Stars

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Oh, hi!

It’s been a little quiet around here, but baking/sugar cooking has been happening. Next week I’ll have an iteration of my fave caramels, but for today I have these sweet and salty shortbread stars.

I love a shortbread. The dough is easy to put together, it can chill in the fridge or freezer for days, they are super buttery, and they appeal to children and adults alike. I also love that there are multiple ways to shape them–you can press the batch into a round pan for wedges, roll it up and slice as needed, or roll it out and use cutters.

I opted to do a star shape since I got it into my head that I wanted to paint a navy background, and wouldn’t it be cute to put tiny star cookies all over it, so it could be kind of like a magical-cookie-night-sky? Yes, yes it would be and it is.

These cookies are nutty, buttery, smoky-sweet & salty. I coarsely ground the almonds so there would be some crunchy nubbins as well as fine bits throughout each bite. I used smoked salt from Allstar Organics–I love this salt for it’s intense charcoal color, deep smoke flavor, and satisfying crunch. The salt really makes these cookies–it plays so nicely with almond and lots of butter. Since these are shortbreads and shortbreads are a sturdy cookie when well packaged, they travel like a dream. The salty-nutty and just sweet flavor of these cookies make me think these would be just as welcome on a festive cheese plate as they would on a holiday cookie tray.

*As usual, all opinions are my own. Allstar Organics probably doesn’t even know who I am, I just love their Applewood Smoked salt and thought you should know it.

Smoked Salt + Almond Shortbread Stars

adapted from Martha Stewart

There are many brands of smoked salt, Maldon makes a nice, lightly smoked, flaky one. I like the Allstar salt since it is so dark and contrasts nicely. You could also just use whatever salt you have on hand–there won’t be any smoke flavor, but the cookies will be delicious regardless. The cookies hold their shape best if you chill the cut cookies on the pan before baking–about 10-15 minutes will do the trick.

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup confectioners sugar

scant 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon smoked salt, plus more for sprinkling

1/3 cup coarsely ground almonds (grind in a food processor or chop by hand)

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

With an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, extracts, and salt until smooth and combined. On low speed, mix in the almonds and flour until just combined.

Divide the dough and flatten into two discs. Wrap discs in plastic and chill for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 300*F.

Using one disc at a time, roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness. Using desired cutter, cut out cookies and transfer to parchment lined baking sheets. Sprinkle a bit of salt onto the tops of each cookie. Chill sheets in the refrigerator 10-15 minutes, bake 22-25 minutes or until cookies are just turning golden around the bottom edges. Remove and cool on a wire rack. Repeat with remaining dough/cookies. Can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 weeks.

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Gingerbread Cake with Lemon-Ginger Cloud Frosting

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What can I say about this cake?

It’s a pretty, delicious, mess.

See, the heady spices of the ginger go so amazingly well with the super-light lemon-ginger frosting. But, slicing it is a test of patience for sure. This cake don’t slice pretty, it just is what it is. It’s one of those cakes that leans toward the rustic with it’s appearance and slice-ablility. The flavors are magic–I mean, citrus and spice is so magical! The cake is full of warm and fragrant spice–it’s sturdy and totally holiday appropriate. The frosting is like eating a lemony, gingered, tangy cloud. It just melts on the tongue and the tarteness of the curd cuts through the rich spice of the cake. The flavors are all the best parts of the season and I could totally see this cake as part of a holiday spread, in all its messy glory.

Gingerbread Cake

Makes 1, 8inch round cake. 

Adapted from this recipe. 

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temp.

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

1/2 cup molasses

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 Tablespoon fresh grated ginger

2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground, dried ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350*F, grease an 8inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment. Set aside.

Melt butter–in a saucepan or microwave. Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl whisk together the buttermilk  eggs, molasses, sugar, vanilla, and ginger. Whisk in the cooled butter, mix well to combine.

In large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt ginger, cinnamon, pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, and allspice. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and whisk until just combined and there are no longer any dry streaks of flour. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the center of the oven for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool one a rack for 10 minutes before turning out and cooling completely. Can be stored wrapped well in plastic for 3 days.

Lemon-Ginger Curd

adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours

1 Tablespoon fresh grated ginger

3/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 1/4 cups sugar

6 egg yolks

1 egg

pinch of salt

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Combine everything in a saucepan and whisk to break up eggs. Whisk over medium-low heat, until butter is melted and everything is well combined. Continue to whisk over med-low heat until the curd has thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Curd will thicken a bit as it cools. Scrape the curd into a mesh sieve over a bowl, press the curd through the sieve. Press plastic wrap onto the surface of the curd. Cool to room temperature and then cool in the refrigerator until ready to use. Can be stored, covered well in the refrigerator, for about 1 week.

Seven Minute Frosting

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

This frosting is best the day it is made. 

2 large egg whites

2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup

2 Tablespoons corn syrup

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons water

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine all the ingredients in a heatproof mixing or mixer bowl, set over a pan of simmering water and whisk quickly and continuously until the mixture begins to get light in color, foamy, no longer has any sugar granules when rubbed between two fingers, and is just hot to the touch. Remove the bowl from the pan of water and beat with an electric mixer or stand mixer with the whisk attachment for about 6-7 minutes or until the frosting is bright white, light, and holds a stiff peak.

To Assemble:

For the Lemon-Ginger Cloud Frosting, take about 1/3 of the Seven Minute Frosting and whisk it with 4 Tablespoons of lemon curd. Fold the frosting/curd mixture into the remaining Seven Minute Frosting.

When I next make this cake, I will definitely not cut it into layers. Cut your cake into layers, if desired, and create a dam using the Lemon Cloud Frosting about 1/4 inch from the edge of the cake using a piping bag. Fill the center with lemon curd. Top with second layer, chill to set up. Since, I am not going to do this layer thing again, I would do the same thing with the frosting dam and curd, but on top of the cake. Then, cover the top with the remaining Lemon-Ginger Cloud Frosting. It’s pretty messy, but this cake is best at room temperature. It would be nice to frost it just before serving.

 

 

 

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Marble Cake

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Marble cake speaks to the gemini and the indecisive-crazy-person in me. I mean it’s two different cakes in ONE CAKE.

There really isn’t a way to lose.

This cake is dense yet tender in the crumb and manages to be moist yet sturdy. The light batter is fragrant with vanilla and butter, the dark batter is rich and dense with dark chocolate. I think it’s key not to go too crazy with the marbling, so you can taste the two distinct flavors–just a few swirls with a knife or a toothpick through the batter give you just enough marble, leaving you with dedicated sections of vanilla and chocolate cake. This cake has the character of a pound cake–it’s dense and rests well, getting even better the 2nd and 3rd day. It’s totally the kind of cake to have around for impromptu coffee dates and, I have a hunch, would probably ship well–a theory I plan to test this holiday season.

Marble Cake

Adapted from Baking: from My Home to Yours

The original recipe calls for a little less butter, but I was being a bit of a space-cadet and just chucked two whole sticks of butter into my mixer–the batter was made before I realized my mistake, but the cake definitely didn’t suffer from the extra butter. I used an 80% dark chocolate bar–this made for a super-dense and rich chocolate batter–use a good quality chocolate, whatever is your fave will work great.

2 cups, plus 2 Tablespooons, all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg

2 sticks unsalted butter (8 ounces), room temperature

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

1/2 cup milk

4 ounces dark chocolate, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 325*F. Grease and line a 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan with parchment, place the pan on top of a sheet pan. Set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.

Working with a stand or hand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar and beat another 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl and beat in the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. The batter may look curdled at this point, but that is okay. Scrape the bowl and beat in the vanilla and almond extracts. Reduce speed to low and alternately add flour and milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Place 1/2 of the batter in a separate bowl and fold in the melted chocolate so you have a vanilla batter and a chocolate batter.

Alternately drop spoonfuls of batter into the loaf pan until the pan is filled with the batter and plunge a butter knife into the batter, making a zig-zag pattern from one end of the pan to the other. Do this only once for a perfectly marbled batter. Bake in the center of the oven for 40 minutes uncovered. Cover loosely with foil and continue to bake another 30-40 minutes, until the vanilla batter on top is golden brown, the top is cracked, and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on a rack for about 10 minutes before turning out and cooling completely. Wrap cool cake well with plastic. Can be kept, wrapped well, at room temperature for several days.

 

 

 

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Pumpkin Bread with Bourbon Icing

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It’s just a few days before Eat-Fest-USA, aka Thanksgiving, aka only one of the best holidays ever.

It’s just Sean and I this year, as we are staying put, and I’ve had the menu planned for a few weeks now. I’ve ordered our turkey and picked it up, planned the sides, shopped the pantry goods, written my produce list, and picked out the wines. I was going to bake up another batch of this pumpkin bread for Thursday morning, but I’m thinking we’ll go the fruit and cheese route for breakfast and snacking.

Not that this pumpkin bread wouldn’t make a lovely, easy breakfast to share with your fam and friends this thankful holiday. It would be perfect sliced and set-up next to plenty of coffee and/or tea to begin Thanksgiving day and kick-off the feast prep. This bread is super moist–and, I know we don’t all love that word–but it is what it is. And, I channel my inner Jesse Pinkman as I type this…

This bread be moist, yo.

The moisture comes from pumpkin puree, olive oil, and greek yogurt, there’s a bit of whole wheat flour for wholesome goodness, just a little spice, and a buttery layer of bourbon icing just for kicks. I also added some candied ginger to the top, for good measure. Maybe the icing and ginger are a little much but, they fancy-up this super easy quick-bread, making it holiday breakfast AND dessert appropriate.

Pumpkin Bread with Bourbon Icing

Makes 1, 9×5 inch loaf

Adapted from Simply Recipes

Since this is a quick bread, it comes together very quickly with few dishes. The bread also tastes great, maybe even better, the next day. This recipe makes 1 standard loaf of pumpkin bread–however, I baked this batch up in a 6inch round pan and a mini-loaf pan. Either way, this bread is delicious. Feel free to make this bread sans icing for an every-day breakfast bread sitch. I use half all-purpose and half whole wheat flour in this recipe, you could us less whole wheat or go with just all-purpose with great results. I would be wary of making the entire recipe out of whole wheat as it may result in a very dense and even gummy bread. 

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 cup pure pumpkin puree

1/2 cup olive oil

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup plain greek yogurt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Icing:

1 cup powdered sugar

3 tablespoons melted butter

2-4 teaspoons bourbon

milk to thin

Preheat oven to 350*F and grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan, or other baking dish, well. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flours, salt, sugar, baking powder, and spices.

In another bowl, mix together the pumpkin, olive, oil, beaten eggs, yogurt, and vanilla. Mix well to combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and fold to incorporate until just combined and there are no longer any dry flour streaks. Be careful to fold the batter and not overmix it. Scrape the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake in the center of the oven for 50-60 minutes (about 45 for the round pan) or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. Turn out of the pan and allow to cool on a cooling rack.

For the icing, whisk together the melted butter, bourbon, and powdered sugar. Add milk to thin to desired consistency. Spread icing over cooled bread. Sprinkle with chopped, candied ginger if desired.

Will keep for 2-3 days wrapped well at room temperature.

 

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Pumpkin-Chocolate Swirl Buns

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I know that I just lamented about pumpkin, but, truth be told…I’m not even close to being over it yet.

I’ve been eyeing this recipe for Chocolate Swirl Buns since I saw them on Smitten Kitchen over the summer, but I wanted to wait until the air was crisp and the leaves were fallen before I delved into it. There’s just something about baking with yeast when the cooler months start rolling in, that I cannot resist…I can’t resist pumpkin right now either…surprise!

So, given my love of fall-time baking AND pumpkin AND chocolate, these buns were a no-brainer-mega-hit. I had 3, THREE, the day I made them. My husband had a few himself, and the rest got sent to his office and out of the danger zone–aka, my face. The dough is super-soft and tender, lightly flavored with pumpkin and cinnamon, and slightly sweet. The spiced chocolate filling is the best thing when still warm–gooey, melty, and just spiced. The egg wash and sugar crust make for the best crisp-crunch on the tops of the buns. I love the way the buns unravel, allowing you to eat layer-after-layer of perfectly tender, yeasted dough, with bits of crunchy sugar topping, and rich, gooey pockets of chocolate. Though these buns may be nice for an ultra-decadent weekend brunch, they would be perfect along side an afternoon pick-me-up, as well.

Pumpkin-Chocolate Swirl Buns

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes 12 buns.

This recipe calls for a bit more liquid and flour than the original and yield buns that are a little larger. I also switched the sugar in the dough and filling to brown, but regular granulated sugar would be perfectly fine. The dough is pretty soft, so work gently and flour the counter and rolling pin liberally to keep things from getting too sticky. Though these are best eaten soon after baking, you can pop leftover buns in the microwave for 10-15 seconds–mimicking that ‘just-baked’ warmth. 

Dough:

1/3 cup warm milk

1/3 cup plain pumpkin puree

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

4 Tablespoons unsalted, softened butter

Filling:

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

8 ounces (1 cup) chocolate chips, or chopped bar

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Egg Wash:

1 egg

1 Tablespoon cream

sugar for sprinkling

In measuring cup, combine milk with yeast and a pinch of sugar. Allow to proof 5 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin and the egg. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attatchement, combine flour, remaining sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add the yeast-pumpkin mixture and mix on low to combine. Add the butter 2 Tablespoons at a time, mixing until the butter is incorporated before adding the rest. Scrape dough from the paddle, add the dough hook attachment  and knead on medium speed for 10 minutes. The dough will be quite sticky and stringy. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

While the dough rises, make the filling. In the bowl of a food processor, process all ingredients until all of the butter is distributed and you have an uneven, gravely mixture. Set aside.

Liberally butter a 12-cup muffin tin. Set aside.

Once dough has risen, turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and gently deflate. Allow to rest 5 more minutes, before rolling the dough out into a large rectangle, the short end measuring about 12 inches–the long edge can be about 18-22 inches. Sprinkle the chocolate filling evenly over the rectangle, it will be bumpy, and begin rolling from the short end all the way up into a 12-13 inch log and pinch to seal. Gently saw off about 1-inch spirals, placing each into a prepared tin. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise another hour.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350*F.

Whisk together the egg and cream, brush gently over the tops of the proofed buns and sprinkle liberally with sugar. Bake in the center of the oven for 15-25 minutes. Mine took closer to 25 minutes to bake. Remove from oven and cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

 

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Rocky Road Brownies

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21

Hey!

I’m totes back…and…I made brownies!

I would apologize for the brief hiatus in the last few weeks, but, truth be told…I’m not super sorry about it since I was living life, soaking in some solid family and friend time, and clocking as much niece time as I could. Twelve days ago my newest niece was born and I just can’t resist snuggling new born babes–they’re a wonder, it’s for real. It was an exciting trip home, but I’m glad to be back with my husband, pups, and cooking in my own kitchen.

Anyway, about the brownies! There’s nothing about Rocky Road that I don’t like–chocolate, marshmallows, and nuts–so much texture. These are a rich, fudgy, sticky, gooey, and crunchy. Instead of the standard marshmallow, I switched it up and made these coffee flavored. I tried to bake the marshmallows into the brownies, but that resulted in a soggy, melted, marshmallow mistake.  Since the mallows were homemade I added them at the end of baking, which lets them melt a bit into the brownie, forming an irresistible topping.

Rocky Road Brownies

I adapted my fave brownie recipe for this, you could probably use whatever one you like best with fine results.

Coffee Marshmallows:

adapted from Chuck Hughes

4 teaspoons powdered gelatin

2/3 cup water

1/2 cup strongly brewed coffee or espresso (I used 6 teaspoons instant espresso dissolved in 1/2 cup water)

1 1/2 cups granulatred sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

powdered sugar for dusting

In a small bowl, soften gelatin in 2/3 cup water for about 5 minutes.

Prepare an 8x8inch pan by lining with parchment and spraying lightly with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan combine 1/2 cup espresso with the sugar, heat over medium high to dissolve and bring syrup to a low boil. Cook 1 minute, remove from heat, and stir in gelatin until it is completely dissolved and combined.

Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the syrup until it become light in color, voluminous, and holds a medium-stiff peak. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and dust the top with powdered sugar. Allow to set up several hours before cutting and rolling each piece in powdered sugar. Can be kept in an air tight container for up to 2 weeks.

Brownie:

adapted from Alice Medrich’s Best Cocoa Brownie recipe.

10 Tablespoons unsalted butter

3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, cold

1/2 cup flour

Topping:

1/4 cup chopped almonds

10 marshmallows, cut in half

1/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350*F. Prepare an 8×8 pan by greasing and lining with parchment. Set aside.

Fashion a double boiler out of a saucepan and a large, heatproof mixing bowl. Add butter, chocolate, sugar, cocoa, and salt–stir to combine until butter is melted and the mixture feels hot to the touch. Set aside and allow to cool to just warm.

Using a wooden spoon, stir in vanilla, then, add eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each addition. Add flour and combine. Once flour is incorporated, continue to stir vigorously for about 40 strokes. Pour into a prepared 8×8 baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownie comes out with a few moist crumbs.

Remove the brownie from the oven, top with almonds, marshmallows, and chocolate chips. Return to the oven, turn off heat, and allow the topping to melt onto the brownie top for 3-5 minutes in the still warm oven. Remove and cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.