Carrot cake with an island twist!

Decorated with frosting rosettes, coconut, and nuts

Hello everyone! As promised, I have pictures from last weekend's deliciousness. Today is my husband's birthday and this year he asked for carrot cake. As you may or may not know, carrot cake is my number one absolute FAVORITE cake (especially with those little frosting carrots on top!). I think I've slowly brought him over the carrot side. For this cake I decided to do an island twist on my cake, which I've done for an event in the past and got rave reviews. I added dry roasted macadamia nuts, crushed pineapple, coconut, and candied ginger. The frosting was coconut cream cheese and firmed up nicely for a rosette finish.

4 layers of deliciousness!

What to look for in your carrot cake recipe (look for high ratios) that will help make it moist:

• Oil
• Drained pineapple
• Shredded carrots

Happy baking!

Pictures to come

Be sure to check out my blog next week...pictures from my husband's birthday cake will be up! Have a great weekend everyone!

Pound for pound

Happy hump day! Last weekend I made one of my favorite recipes for Italian ricotta pound cake. Pound cake got its name based on its ratio of ingredients: 1:1:1. That is, one pound each of butter, sugar, and flour. This one is special because it includes fresh ricotta, which makes it dense and moist. It has a similar effect to buttermilk, sour cream, or yogurt.






Not able to help myself, I also made lower calorie espresso-cinnamon gelato, using real ground espresso beans and cinnamon sticks steeped in my milk mixture for half hour (remember the steeping post?). Delish! I hope you are experimenting with recipes of your own! Be sure to send me pictures!

Piping made easy

Hello readers! Sorry for the post delay! I'm giving you Monday's tip today instead. If you want to try piping decorations onto your cake but can't get the hang of piping bags, fear not dear friends! Though I fully believe you will get the hang of a piping bag, I'm going to give you a little cheat for now: squeeze bottles. These are great to use while still learning how to control a piping bag, or if you have kids who want to help! Fill the bottle with melted chocolate, caramel, royal icing, etc. and decorate! These will be especially helpful when you're doing dozens of cupcakes or cookies for a Halloween party! Happy baking!

The plumper, the better!

Split vanilla bean, paring knife, and clumpy seeds

Happy Friday ladies and gentlemen! As I was baking a ricotta pound cake for a special dinner for my husband, I started thinking about the importance of fresh vanilla beans. If your recipe calls for a whole bean, I would recommend investing. Though they usually start at $10 for one, they elevate your dessert to an entirely different level! They've also become fairly easy to find. Williams-Sonoma, one of my favs, usually has them, as well as Fairway (if you're lucky enough to have one!) and Whole Foods.

To split a vanilla bean, take a paring knife and try to cut evenly through the center of the pod. Using one side at a time, flip your knife to the dull edge and carefully rub it along the pod half, spreading out the pod as you go, so it's flat. Do the same to the other side. Scrape the seeds (which look like a clumpy black goo) into the batter/ingredients according to the recipe's instructions. If you're making ice cream. Cut the pod as instructed above, whisk the seeds as well as the pod halves into your milk mixture. Bring the mixture to a boil, turn off heat, cover, and let steep for about 30 minutes. This will infuse your milk with the vanilla deliciousness and add elegance to your base. Yum! Happy baking and happy weekend!

One more chance at the grill!

Hello from the rainy north east! It hasn't exactly been a great week for grilling, but I came across a recipe for a grilled dessert that I just couldn't resist. This recipe is super kid-friendly and AWESOOOOOME! I love an interesting pairing.

Without further ado, I bring you the recipe for pumpkin marshmallow s'mores! Before you start saying eeeeeew, just check it out. And fear not my carrot-loving friends, as a pesco-vegetarian I can't eat normal marshmallows, so I've added some veggie-friendly alternatives. Roast away!

'Round-the-Grill Pumpkin Butter S'mores
The Washington Post, October 2011
Jim Shahin

Post Note: 

"This non-traditional take dresses up a childhood favorite and turns it into an autumn classic.

The recipe calls for cooking the pumpkin butter on the stove top, but if you want more outdoorsy flavor, cook it for the same length of time (30 minutes, or until thickened) over a direct charcoal fire on the grill. The chipotle pepper in the recipe adds smokiness and spiciness.

You'll need long metal skewers, and you'll need to soak 1 cup of apple wood chips in water for 1 hour.

MAKE AHEAD: You'll have pumpkin butter left over, which can be refrigerated up to a week in advance. Bring it out when you are ready to make the s'mores."

4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 small (1 1/2 to 2 pounds) pumpkin (may substitute 29 ounces canned pure pumpkin puree)
• 3/4 cup apple juice
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 cup turbinado sugar
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 canned chipotle pepper en adobo, minced (optional)
• 12 cinnamon graham cracker halves
• 12 regular-size marshmallows

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. If using a fresh pumpkin, rinse it well. Discard the stem and cut the pumpkin in half from top to bottom. Scrape out all of the seeds and fiber. Cut each unpeeled pumpkin half in half, to create a total of 4 equal pieces. Place them skin side down on a baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes or until the pumpkin flesh is fork-tender.
3. The skin might simply pull off. If it doesn't, scoop the flesh into a pot and mash it until smooth. Or you can add a few chunks at a time to a food processor and puree until smooth (for about 2 minutes); add the puree to a pot.
4. If using canned pumpkin, add it to the pot at this time.
5. Add the apple juice, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, sugars and the chipotle pepper, if desired, to the mashed or pureed pumpkin in the pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 30 minutes, stirring often. The mixture should be thick; the yield is about 3 cups.
6. Prepare the charcoal grill for direct heat. Light the charcoal or wood briquettes; when the briquettes are ready, distribute them evenly across the cooking area. For a medium-hot fire, you should be able to hold your hand about 6 inches above the coals for 4 to 5 seconds. Have a spray bottle ready for taming flare-ups. Place the grill rack (ungreased) it on the grill.
7. Set the graham crackers on a plate. Just before cooking your marshmallows, smear each of the crackers with some of the pumpkin butter; this should use about 1 cup total. Cover and refrigerate the remaining pumpkin butter; see headnote.
8. Slide marshmallows onto skewers. Hold them about 6 inches above the fire. Cook for a few minutes, turning, so they toast evenly, or closer to the fire if you like your marshmallows charred. When the marshmallows are sufficiently softened, push them onto the pumpkin butter-smeared graham crackers.
9. Serve open-faced and warm.

Veggie-friendly marshmallows:

http://sweetandsara.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Dandies-Classic-Vanilla-Flavor-Marshmallows/dp/B003L7DFQA

http://store.veganessentials.com/categories.aspx?Keyword=marshmallows&Submit1.x=0&Submit1.y=0 (These are the same two brands as above, but a different site to find them...they seem to dominate the market!)

Happy baking!

Red isn't just a fabulous dress color!

Happy Monday my loyal friends! Today I was getting a bottle of red wine from my local wine shop and it turned into quite an adventure. I'm making fish, but my recipe calls for red wine instead of white! With the help of my trustworthy wine guy, I think I've got a great, inexpensive bottle. This got me thinking about red wines for cooking...which OF COURSE led me to think about baking with red wine! You know my favorite desserts are those with a lot of depth, so today's recipes are all about finding that richness with the help of glorious reds!

Chocolate-Red Wine Cake
Food & Wine, September 2009
by Kristin Donnelly

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups dry red wine
• Confectioner's sugar, for dusting
• Whipped cream, for serving (look back in my blog for ways to spice up your whipped cream!)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter and flour a 12-cup bundt pan. In a bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
2. In a large bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugar at medium-high speed until fluffy, 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until incorporated. Add the vanilla and beat for 2 minutes longer. Working in two batches, alternately fold in the dry ingredients and the wine, until just incorporated.
3. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack; let cool completely. Dust the cake with confectioner's sugar and serve with whipped cream.

Strawberry Granita with Beaujolais

Bon Appetit, June 2010

Ingredients:

Granita:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 pounds (8 cups) fresh strawberries, hulled, halved
• 1 cup Beaujolais or other fruity dry red wine

Garnishes:

• 2 cups sliced fresh strawberries plus 8 large whole berries for garnish
• 1/4 cup Beaujolais or other fruity dry red wine
• 3 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

Granita: 

1. Stir 1 cup water and sugar in small saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Cool syrup.
2. Place halved strawberries, red wine, and cooled sugar syrup in processor and puree until smooth. Strain strawberry puree into 13 x 9 x 2-inch metal pan, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard strawberry solids in strainer. Cover puree and freeze 1 hour.
3. Using fork, stir granita, mashing any solid parts with back of fork. Freeze until firm, scraping mixture with fork every 30 minutes to form icy crystals. DO AHEAD: Granita can be made 3 days ahead. Keep covered and frozen.

Garnishes: 

1. Mix sliced berries, wine, and sugar in medium bowl. Let stand at room temperature until sugar dissolves and juices form, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Divide sliced strawberry mixture among 8 wineglasses. Scrape granita with fork to loosen ice crystals. Divide granita among glasses. 
2. Garnish edge of each glass with 1 whole strawberry and serve.

Happy baking!