Peppermint Brownies

Yummy goodness...

So my favorite holiday treat is a Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks.  They also make a peppermint brownie that’s really yummy.  I couldn’t really pick a dessert to make for Thanksgiving so I asked Brian to pick one.  We went through Tastespotting for some ideas and came across a few that looked really good.

We finally decided on a peppermint brownie that we saw on this site.  Since I love peppermint brownies, I thought it was perfect.  I didn’t try the Katherine Hepburn brownies that was featured on TWD, instead I found a recipe on King Arthur Flour that looked pretty good.

It turned out great!  I like my brownies more on the fudgy side and not cakey and these were perfect.  The peppermint filling was great as well, it wasn’t too sweet and it had the perfect amount of mint flavor.  These were a hit!

Notes:  I had to make more mint filling since it didn’t seem to fill up my brownie pan.  Make sure you let the brownie layer cool completely before putting on the mint layer or else it’ll melt the icing.

Fudge Brownies from King Arthur

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups Dutch-process cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 cups chocolate chips

Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ pan

2) In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, or in a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat (or microwave) briefly, just until it’s hot (about 110°F to 120°F), but not bubbling; it’ll become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating this mixture a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.

3) While the sugar heats a second time, crack the 4 eggs into a bowl, and beat them with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla till smooth.

4) Add the hot butter/sugar mixture, stirring until smooth.

5) Add the flour and chips, again stirring until smooth. Note: If you want the chips to remain intact in the bakedbrownies, rather than melting in, let the batter cool in the bowl for about 20 minutes before stirring in the chips.

6) Spoon the batter into a lightly greased 9″ x 13″ pan.

7) Bake the brownies for about 30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The brownies should feel set on the edges, and the center should look very moist, but not uncooked. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack before cutting and serving.

Mint Layer adapted from Cooking Light

MINT LAYER:

• 2  cups  powdered sugar
• 1/4  cup  butter, melted
• 2  tablespoons fat-free milk
• 1 1/2  teaspoon peppermint extract

Chocolate Ganache Icing from King Arthur

2 cups (12 ounces) chocolate chips or chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
1 cup (8 ounces) heavy cream or whipping cream

In a microwave-safe bowl, or in a small saucepan set over medium heat, heat the cream till it’s very hot. You should see wisps of steam beginning to rise from it, and some very tiny bubbles around the edge. Add the chocolate to the cream, and stir till smooth. Don’t panic—at first, the mixture will look disarmingly soupy, but just keep stirring. Very shortly it’ll become a rich brown, thick, shiny spreadable icing. Yield: 2 cups icing.

Once brownie layer has cooled, spread mint layer over the top of the brownies.  Now you can have as thick of a layer as you like but I prefered mine to be a thin layer.  Spread the layer of ganache over the brownie mix and let cool.  You can put it in the fridge to set if you like.  Cut up and enjoy!

Chocolate chips in the brownie batter gives it more texture....

Mixed Berry Cheesecake

Mixed Berry Cheesecake

Last year I had seen a special on the food network that featured Ina Garten’s Mixed Berry Cheesecake.  Ever since I saw that, I’ve always wanted to make that yummy looking cheesecake.  So for thanksgiving this year, I decided to go for it.  My family isn’t big on pumpkin pie so I didn’t bother with any desserts that had pumpkin in it.  I thought this cheesecake would be perfect because they all love cheesecake.

This cheesecake was delicious!  My hubby and father in law couldn’t get enough of it!  The texture of this cheesecake is a lot lighter than most cheesecakes I’ve made.  I really love the texture, it was light and fluffy and didn’t feel like you were just eating a block of cream cheese.  Although it is a bit more work, it is so worth it!

I love Ina Garten.  She’s one of my favorite chefs on the food network.  So far, all of her recipes that I have tried have always turned out great.  You really should give this a try!

Ingredients

For the crust:

nocoupons

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (10 crackers)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

nocoupons

• 2 1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 5 whole extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the topping:

nocoupons

• 1 cup red jelly (not jam) such as currant, raspberry, or strawberry (I used strawberry)
• 1/2 pint sliced strawberries
• 1/2 pint fresh raspberries
• 1/2 pint fresh blueberries

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To make the crust, combine the graham crackers, sugar, and melted butter until moistened. Pour into a 9-inch springform pan. With your hands, press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan and about 1-inch up the sides. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees F.

To make the filling, cream the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce the speed of the mixer to medium and add the eggs and egg yolks, 2 at a time, mixing well. Scrape down the bowl and beater, as necessary. With the mixer on low, add the sour cream, lemon zest, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly and pour into the cooled crust.

Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the oven temperature down to 225 degrees and bake for another 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn the oven off and open the door wide. The cake will not be completely set in the center. Allow the cake to sit in the oven with the door open for 30 minutes. Take the cake out of the oven and allow it to sit at room temperature for another 2 to 3 hours, until completely cooled. Wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Remove the cake from the springform pan by carefully running a hot knife around the outside of the cake. Leave the cake on the bottom of the springform pan for serving.

To make the topping, melt the jelly in a small pan over low heat. In a bowl, toss berries and the warm jelly gently until well mixed. Arrange the berries on top of the cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Fresh fruit really does make a difference

No Knead Bread

So I’ve heard alot of about this no knead bread recipe that’s been going around, seems like everyone’s making it!  I love bread and have been baking lots of bread recently.  I’ve never made an artisan type of bread before and thought it would be a bit complicated.  This recipe has got to be the easiest recipe ever.  I don’t think I’ll be buying my bread from now on!  I made this last week and served it along side with lasagna and we pretty much ate up the whole loaf!  Let me tell you, nothing taste better than a fresh loaf of bread out of the oven.  The only thing is that the proofing time takes a bit of time but you really don’t have to do much while it’s just sitting on your counter.  I highly recommend this bread and once you try it, you’ll never buy bread again!

I saw this recipe on Steamy Kitchen and it was titled, No Knead Recipe so easy a 4 year old can make it!  It had pictures of her son making the bread step by step you should definitely check her page out!

No Knead Bread Recipe from Steamy Kitchen

No Knead Bread Recipe is adapted from Mark Bittman of NY Times who got it from Sullivan Street Bakery. When the recipe first came out, it was the blogging community who took the bread to new heights, especially Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of The Bread Bible. I followed Rose’s experiments through the weeks and learned from her recipe adjustments and the why’s of how this bread works.

Yield: one 1 lb loaf

3 cups bread flour (I like Harvest King bread flour)
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
3/4 tablespoon kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon table salt)
1 1/2 cups warm water

Covered pot (five-quart or larger cast iron, Pyrex, ceramic, enamel…something that can go into a 450F oven.)

1. Mix dough: The night before, combine all ingredients in a big bowl with a wooden spoon until the dough just comes together. It will be a shaggy, doughy mess. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 12-20 hours on countertop.

2. Shape & preheat: The dough will now be wet, sticky and bubbly. With a wet spatula, dump the dough on a floured surface. Fold ends of dough over a few times with the spatula and nudge it into a ball shape. You can use your hands if you like, just keep your hands wet so that the dough does not stick. Generously dust a cotton towel (not terrycloth) with flour. Set dough seam side down on top of towel. Fold towel over the dough. Let it nap for 2 hours. When you’ve got about a half hour left, slip your covered pot into the oven and preheat to 450F.

3. Bake: Your dough should have doubled in size. Remove pot from oven.  Holding towel, dump wobbly dough into pot. Doesn’t matter which way it lands. Shake to even dough out. Cover. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover, bake another 15-20 minutes or until the crust is beautifully golden and middle of loaf is 210F. Remove and let cool on wired rack. If not eating right away, you can re-crisp crust in 350F oven for 10 minutes. Best way to eat it? Smear a warm slice with some good butter (Kerrygold and Lurpac are both found in your grocery stores, usually on top shelf)

Texture is great..chewy crust, soft interior.

The nice big holes are the results of the long proofing time...yum!

Lasagna

One of my husband’s favorite meal is lasagna.  He was craving it last week so I told him I’d find a good recipe and make it for him.  I happen to stumble across Pioneer Woman’s site and she had a recipe titled Best Lasagna Ever.  I’ve tried her recipes before and they have all turned out great so I was excited to make this for Brian.  Her webiste is awesome, she has step by step instructions with pictures so it was really easy to follow.  I already had most of the stuff on her ingredient list anyway so that worked out even better for me.  She did use cottage cheese in her lasagna and even though she said that you couldn’t tell a difference, I was still hesitant about it.  I was going to just go with it but changed my mind.  I just used ricotta cheese instead.  I also didn’t use the breakfast sausge.  We had bought some bottom round while it was on sale awhile ago and just grounded that up.  I also couldn’t find slicked mozzerella cheese so I just used the shredded kind.  I must say, this was one of the best lasagna I ever made!  It was very hearty and rich and Brian loved it!  Next time, maybe I’ll try using the cottage cheese instead and see how it would turn out.  I’m sure it would be just as great!

Lasagna by The Pioneer Woman Cooks

1 1/2 pounds of ground beef (I used 3 lbs of ground bottom round)
1 poung hot breakfast sausage (omitted since I didn’t have any)
2 cloves mince garlic
2 14.5 cans of whole tomatoes (I just used one 28oz can)
2 6 oz can of tomato paste
2 tablespoons of dried parsely flakes
2 tablespoons of dried basil (I ran out so I used part Italian Seasoning)
Salt (I used kosher salt)
One 10oz package of lasagna (I just used 8 noodles)
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cubs lowfat cottage cheese (I used 24oz of Ricotta Cheese)
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup Kraft Parmesan Cheese
4 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
1 lb sliced mozzarella cheese (I used 16oz shredded mozzarella)

In a skillet, combine ground beef, sausage and 2 cloves minced garlic.  Cook until brown, draining off half the fat.  Pour in cans of whole tomaotes and tomato paste, dried parsley flakes and dried basil, and 1 tsp. of salt.  Mix together thoroughly and simmer, uncovered, about 45 minutes stirring occassionally.

In the meantime, boil the lasagna noodles.  Add 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tbsp of olive oil to water.  Cook the noodles “al dente”.  When noodles are finished, drain, rinse with cool water, and lay the noodles flat on a sheet of aluminum foil.

While meat and noodles are cooking, mix lowfat cottage cheese in a bowl with 2 beaten eggs.  Add 1/2 cup Kraft Parmesan Cheese, 2 tablspoons dried parsley flakes and 1 teaspoon salt.

Set up your “assembly line”; meat mixture, 1 pound sliced mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese mixture, and cooked lasagna noodles.  Lay four cooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of the pan, overlapping as you go.  Spread half of the cottage cheese mixture evenly over the noodles.

Then lay 1/2 pound of mozzarella cheese slices on top of the cottage cheese mixture.

With the spoon, make a line through the middle of the meat mixture so you’ll distribute it evenly.  Spread a little less than half of the meat mixture over the mozzarella cheese slices.  Spread it around until evenly distributed atop the mozzarella cheese slices.

Repeat the layering process…being with another layer of four lasagna noodles top with the remaining half of the cottage cheese mixture, top the cottage cheese mixture with another 1/2 pound of mozzarella, and finish with the rest of the meat mixture.

Top generously with Kraft Parmesan cheese.

Place in a 350-degree over for 20-30 minutes, until hot and bubbly.  Alternately, you could cover and freeze it, unbaked, at this point.  Or cover and refrigerate, unbaked, for up to two days.

Eating Well Brownies

I subscribe to Eating Well magazine and I get their weekly emails.  A couple weeks ago, I saw a link to their Dark Fudgey Brownies that looked yummy and it was a lighter version as well!  I was a bit skeptical at first thinking it probably won’t taste as good as a regular brownie.  I decided to try them out anyway and boy am I glad I did!  It really did taste just like a regular brownie and it was so fudgy!  Just the way I like it!  I didn’t really like nuts in mine so I omitted the nuts.  According to their webiste, these brownies were only about 86 calories per serving but I did some recalculations and it was more like 102 per serving so it was off a bit.  They still tasted really good and still a bit healthier than a normal brownie so I would definitely make them again!

Dark Fudgy Brownies by Eating Well Magazine

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, American-style or Dutch-process
3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (50-72% cacao), coarsely chopped, plus 2 1/2 ounces chopped into mini chip-size pieces, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup blended with 3 tablespoons lukewarm water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts (see Tip), optional

1. Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line an 8-inch-square baking pan with foil, letting it overhang on two opposing sides. Coat with cooking spray.
2. Sift flour, confectioners’ sugar and cocoa together into a small bowl. Combine the 3 ounces coarsely chopped chocolate and oil in a heavy medium saucepan; place over the lowest heat, stirring, until just melted and smooth, being very careful the chocolate does not overheat. Remove from the heat and stir in granulated sugar, corn syrup mixture, vanilla and salt until the sugar dissolves. Vigorously stir in egg until smoothly incorporated. Gently stir in the dry ingredients. Fold in the walnuts (if using) and the remaining 2 1/2 ounces chopped chocolate just until well blended. Turn out the batter into the pan, spreading evenly.
3. Bake the brownies until almost firm in the center and a toothpick inserted comes out with some moist batter clinging to it, 20 to 24 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack, about 2 1/2 hours.
4. Using the overhanging foil as handles, carefully lift the brownie slab from the pan. Peel the foil from the bottom; set the slab right-side up on a cutting board. Using a large, sharp knife, trim off any dry edges. Mark and then cut the slab crosswise into fifths and lengthwise into fourths. Wipe the blade with a damp cloth between cuts.

Light Banana Bread

I have always been a fan of Hungry Girl, she has some really good recipes that are light, easy and quick!  I love banana bread but my usual recipe was really high in fat and calories, it taste realy good but I was trying to eat healthier.  I came across a recipe from hungry girl and decided to try it out.  It uses whole wheat flour, splend and unsweetened applesauce so alot of the fat and calories have been cut out.  I really love the lighter version, it was still really moist and flavorful.  I even let Brian try it and he didn’t mind it all at!  If you’re looking for a lighter version of banana bread that tastes good and is healthy for ya, you really should try this recipe!

Because it uses splenda, the bread didn’t turn out as dark as my other banana bread but the flavor is still really good!

Banana Bread by Hungry-Girl

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 bananas)
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters)
1/2 cup no-sugar-added applesauce
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
Optional Toppings: no-calorie spray butter, Cool Whip Free

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine both types of flour, Splenda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon (in other words, all dry ingredients). In a separate bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, egg substitute, applesauce, and vanilla extract (all the wet ingredients). Add this mixture to the bowl with the dry ingredients, and stir until just blended. Spoon batter into a large loaf pan (about 9″ X 5″) sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly, and then cut into 8 slices. If you like, spritz with some spray butter or spread on some Cool Whip Free. MAKES 8 SERVINGS

Serving Size: 1 (thick!) slice
Calories: 140
Fat: 0.5g
Sodium: 267mg
Carbs: 31g
Fiber: 3.75g
Sugars: 7g
Protein: 5g

POINTS® value 2*

	Serving Size: 1 (thick!) slice Calories: 140 Fat: 0.5g Sodium: 267mg Carbs: 31g Fiber: 3.75g Sugars: 7g Protein: 5g POINTS® value 2*

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

I was perusing the site, Tastespotting one day and came across these brownies that just jumped out at me.  They looked so decadent and yummy that I had to try it out.  I love peanut butter cups and brownies so that is a perfect combo!  I made them for our poker game that we were hosting and everyone just loved them.  I love fudgey brownies more than the cake-like ones so these were perfect for me!  The really are rich so one piece is just about right.

The only thing I did differently was that I used mini peanut butter cups instead of the regular sized one becuase I misread the recipe.  I used about 12 mini ones and it still turned out great!

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies by The Boastful Baker

Ingredients

• 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
• 4 tablespoons cocoa powder (I just used Hershey’s Cocoa)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder ( I didn’t have any so I just omitted it)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 8 or 9 regular size Reese’s peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped (I used 12 mini peanut butter cups and chopped them up)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8″ square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Microwave chocolate chips and butter in microwave for about 45 seconds. If not mostly melted, microwave for 20 more seconds. Stir until smooth. Whisk in the cocoa powder and espresso powder. Set aside.
3. Whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, peanut butter and salt until combined.
4. Whisk the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.
5. Stir in the flour until just combined.
6. Fold chopped Reese’s peanut butter cups into batter.
7. Pour mixture into prepared pan, spread evenly and level the surface with a rubber spatula.
8. Bake approximately 35-40 minutes. Brownies will be slightly puffed and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out mostly clean.
9. Cool to room temperature for about 2 hours. Cut into 1″ squares. Store in a tightly sealed container, preferably in the refrigerator.

Six-Layer Coconut Cake with Mango Filling

I got my Food and Wine February ‘09 issue awhile ago and saw this yummy cake in the back.  It was the Six-Layer Coconut Cake with Passion Fruit filling.  Oh my gosh, it looked so good that I just had to make it.  I need a reason to make it and since our Chinese New Year dinner was coming up, I figured I’d try it out.  You really have to make this cake because it is so good!  Everyone just loved it!  The cake had a subtle coconut flavor and the filling was yummy!  I couldn’t find passion fruit nectar so I just went with mango.  The combination was awesome.  The cake is more dense then other cakes that I’ve made.  Since it was a six layer cake, I think the consistency of the cake was perfect or else it wouldn’t have held up.  The frosting was light and just right for the cake, not too sweet.  I couldn’t find coconut flakes so I just used shredded coconut.  Mmmm…this cake was delicious, I will make this again for sure!

Ingredients

CAKE

• 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups unsweetened coconut milk
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 6 egg whites

FILLING

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup passion fruit nectar or puree (Used Mango nectar)
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 vanilla bean—split, seeds scraped (Didn’t have any so omitted)
• 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

TOPPING

• 2 cups large, unsweetened dried coconut flakes (Used sweetened shredded coconut)
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Directions

1. Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°. Line the bottom of three 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt at low speed. Mix in the butter, coconut milk, water and vanilla until combined. Scrape down the bowl and beat at high speed until very smooth, 2 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, 2 minutes. Fold half of the egg whites into the batter until incorporated, then fold in the remaining whites until no streaks remain. Divide the batter among the cake pans. Bake for about 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans on a rack for 15 minutes, then invert them and let cool completely, about 2 hours.
4. Meanwhile, make the filling: In a saucepan, whisk the sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in the passion fruit nectar, egg yolks and vanilla seeds and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until thick, 6 minutes. Remove from the heat; whisk in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until incorporated. Scrape the filling into a glass bowl, press a sheet of plastic wrap on the surface and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.
5. Using a serrated knife, cut each cake in half horizontally to create 6 layers. Set one layer on a cake plate. Spread with 6 tablespoons of the filling. Repeat with the remaining 5 cake layers and filling, ending with a layer of cake. Refrigerate until firm, 1 hour.
6. Meanwhile, make the topping: Spread the coconut on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, stirring once, until lightly toasted. Let cool. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cream with the sugar until medium-firm peaks form.
7. Frost the top and side of the cake with the whipped cream and coat with the coconut. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

A slice of heaven...

Cookies and Cream Cake

Brian’s birthday was coming up so I asked him a month in advance what kind of cake he wanted.  It took him a while to come up with something and he finally decided on a cookies and cream type cake.  I didn’t know any recipes off the top of my head so I was surfing around other food blogs in my reader and came across Annie’s Eats Blog.  She had a cookies and cream cake in her blog that looked absolutely delicious!  She also other great things on her blog that you guys should check out.

So we had dinner over at my inlaws to celebrate his birthday and I brought the cake over.  It was such a big hit!  A couple people said it was the best cake ever!  I had a couple of changes to the recipe, instead of the hershey’s perfect chocolate frosting, I just made a white frosting.  And since my hubby loves cookies and cream so much,  I decided to double the amount of oreos in the filling.  That’s why the filling was more gray then it is white like Annie’s cake.  It was so yummy!

Cookies and Cream Cake adapted from Annie’s Eats

Ingredients:

For the cake:

2 cups sugar

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup cocoa powder

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 ½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

½ cup vegetable oil

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

For the filling:

1 ¼ cups heavy cream

1/8 cup confectioners’ sugar

¼ tsp. pure vanilla extract

10 chocolate sandwich cookies,  chopped (I used 20 oreos)

For the frosting:

2 sticks of butter, softened

5 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350°.  Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

Stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.  Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).  Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks.  Cool completely.

To make the filling, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the heavy cream, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla.  Beat on low speed until all sugar is incorporated; increase speed to high and whisk until stiff peaks form.  Gently fold in chopped cookie pieces with a rubber spatula.

To make the frosting, mix butter, milk and vanilla until smooth. Stir in 4 cups of sugar and beat until smooth. Keep adding ½ of sugar until frosting is at the right consistency.

To assemble the cake, place one cake layer on a cardboard cake circle.  Pipe a ring of the chocolate frosting around the outside edge of the cake.  Fill the area inside the ring of frosting with a thick layer of the cookies and cream mixture.  Place the second cake layer on top.  Frost the sides of the cake layers with chocolate frosting.  Pipe a decorative border of the chocolate frosting on top of the cake.  Fill the area inside this border with a thick layer of the cookies and cream mixture.  Garnish with extra chocolate sandwich cookies and whipped cream if desired.

Cocktail Buns (Chinese coconut buns)

My favorite chinese pastry of all time is the cocktail bun or as some of you might know it as chinese coconut buns. These yummy treats are filled with sweetened coconut on the inside and a soft, fluffy bread on the outside. It’s a bun of love. Now, this is the first time I’ve ever made this and finding the right recipe was pretty dang hard. I was just surfing the net one night looking for some steamed bao recipe and came across the Corner Cafe blog. It’s a really cool blog and has a lot of hard to find asian recipes. Since Chinese New Year is just around the corner, I thought it would be perfect to bring to our family get together dinner that we’re having.

The filling was perfect! The bread wasn’t as fluffy as I would’ve liked but I think it was because I was rushing through the process and didn’t let it proof long enough. I will try the recipe again and see it I can get it fluffier the second time around.

You’ll first have to make the Japanese style sweet bun for this. Then you make the coconut filling and put it all together. Now I have never really made any asian pastries before and this is my first time using what they call a water roux. I’ve never seen it before and I’m not sure what it does exactly so this was new and interesting for me. Maybe that’s their secret!

Japanese-Style Sweet Bun Dough from Corner Café’s Blog

Makes 16 buns

[Ingredients]
375g bread flour
100g plain flour
35g milk powder
75g caster sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 sachet (7g or 2 1/2 tsp) instant dry yeast
1 egg, lightly beaten
150ml (approx.) lukewarm water, adjust as necessary
40g butter, cubed

Water-Roux Paste *:
25g (just under 2 tbsp) bread flour
125ml (1/2 cup) water

* Water-Roux is basically 1 part bread flour to 5 parts water.
http://cornercafe.wordpress.com/
[Preparation]
Water-Roux :
Mix flour and water in a small saucepan. Cook over low to medium heat, stirring continuously until it reaches 65ºC. It should have thickened to a paste at this stage, that is when you stir you can see the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat, place a cling film over the paste and leave until lukewarm, or room temperature, before using. (Alternatively if you don’t have a thermometer, cook as before until it starts to thicken, then continue to cook for about 1 more minute before removing from heat.) This water roux can be kept in an airtight container after cooling in the refrigerator for 1 day if not used immediately. However DO NOT USE if it turns grey in colour, that means it has gone bad.

For the Bun Dough:
1. Sift bread flour, plain flour, milk powder, caster sugar and salt onto the working surface. Add instant dry yeast and mix well. Form the flour mixture into a well. Add lightly beaten egg and lukewarm water roux and mix in. Gradually add just enough lukewarm water to form into a slightly sticky, soft dough. Knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. During hand kneading, the dough also needs to be thrown onto the working surface once every few minutes between kneading to improve the dough structure. (I usually just pick up the dough to about head-high and throw it down onto the working surface 10 to 20 times every few minutes between kneading.)

2. Knead in butter until incorporated. (In many cookbooks, they mentioned that the dough at this stage should be able to be pulled and stretched into membrane, but it’s hard to achieve with hand kneading. I usually stop kneading when the dough sticks to the work surface and stretches like chewing gum when pulled!) Form the dough into a round ball and let it rise until double in size in a large greased bowl, cover with cling film (should take about 1 hour in warm weather, longer in winter months). Optimum room temperature for this first prove is 28°C with a humidity of 75%. To test if the dough has risen properly, dip a finger into bread or plain flour and poke down into the centre of the dough as far as your finger will go and pull out again – the hole should remain if it is ready. If the dough springs back, then it is not ready, continue to prove further.

3. Punch down, knead briefly and form into a ball shape. Then divide into 16 equal portions. The easiest way is to first divide equally into 4 larger portions first, then divide each of these again into quarters each. Form each into balls and let rest for 10 minutes.

Cocktail Bun Recipe from Corner Café’s Blog

[Ingredients]
1/2 portion Japanese-Style Sweet Bun Dough (from above)
1/2 egg, lightly beaten for eggwash
White sesame seeds

Cocktail Bun Filling:
100g softened butter
45g plain flour, sifted
50g milk powder, sifted
45g caster sugar, sifted
20g desiccated coconut

Mexican Topping:
30g softened butter
10g caster sugar, sifted
20g plain flour, sifted
http://cornercafe.wordpress.com/
[Preparation]
1. To prepare the Cocktail Bun Filling: Mix everything together. Divide into 8 equal portions.
2. To prepare the Mexican Topping: Cream softened butter and sugar until pale. Fold in flour. Transfer into a small freezer/snack bag with a tiny cut at one corner for piping (or use a piping bag fixed with a 1/2cm or smaller round nozzle).
3. Prepare the Japanese-Style Sweet Bun Dough as directed in Japanese-Style Sweet Bun Dough post up to step 3.
4. Take one of the 8 small divided balls and roll out with a rolling pin into a flat circle. Place one portion of the Cocktail Bun Filling in the centre of dough circle.
5. Gather the outer edges of the dough circle and wrap up the filling. Pinch the edges together to seal in the filling. Roll the sealed dough with your palm on the work surface lightly up and down to shape the dough into a cylindrical shape. Repeat with the other 7 dough balls.
6. Let rise, lightly covered, until double in size on a lightly greased tray. When ready, brush with eggwash. Then sprinkle a little sesame seeds onto the buns and pipe 2 lines of the Mexican Topping on top of each bun.
7. Bake in preheated 190°C oven for about 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

The filling was delicious but I just need to let it rise more...but it's still very yummy!