Sweet (and Salty) success!!

I am always on the lookout for a new cupcake idea! Last saturday I was watching the cooking channel when they aired a show, Unique Sweets (love it!) and they talked about a salted caramel cheesecake cupcake. It sounded sooo good. I was concerned that the cream cheese would overpower the salted caramel, as I wanted it to be the star, so I fooled around with ideas like: a chocolate cake with a caramel filling and cream cheese frosting. Then the idea of making everything salted caramel, cupcake, frosting, filling...OVERLOAD! then after careful consideration came to the idea of a Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcake..... here is my adventure!


I used a basic dark chocolate cake recipe:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• Mix all ingredients together until moist and well blended and bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes (20 was perfect for me!) Also I didnt have any vanilla on hand, and wasnt in the mood to go to the store, so I mixed 1 tsp of dark rum into the cupcake batter!

I then made a simple salted caramel filling:

1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cold, salted butter, cubed

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon of heavy cream (I actually used whole milk because I did not have cream on hand)

Whisk the sugar as it melts and cook until it becomes a deep amber color. Add the butter and stir it in until melted. Pour in the heavy cream (mixture will foam) and whisk until you get a smooth sauce. You may have some lumps but keep stirring until they have melted.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly.  


I then cut about an inch hole out of each cooled cupcake and filled with the caramel!

Next I made a salted caramel buttercream frosting....


1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick salted butter
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In a saucepan, stir together granulated sugar and water.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Cook without stirring until mixture turns a deep amber color.  Remove from heat and slowly add in cream and vanilla, stirring until very smooth.  Let caramel cool for about 20 minutes, until it is just barely warm and still pourable.

In a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and salt together until lightened and fluffy.  Reduce speed to low and add powdered sugar.  Mix until thoroughly combined.

I changed the frosting up a bit. As I didnt have sea salt (funny right?) I added 1/4 tsp salt subbed 2 sticks of salted butter. This heavenly frosting was perfection! I must admit these have to be one of my best creations, sweet, salty, sticky, creamy, buttery deliciousness (is that a word? well...it is now!)

I drizzled some with a dark chocolate sauce and left some plain! Its hard to see the caramel filling as it blends into the chocolate cupcake but you can taste it alright!!!!

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Birthday Cake!

HAPPY birthday to me!! nothing says a great birthday more than good food. So I of course decided to take on my own birthday cake and I found an amazing and super easy recipe with a wonderful result!!

The cake is from a Paula Deen recipe and is a Deep Dark Chocolate Truffle Cake. Crispy outside and a fudgy truffle inside... i was in heaven!

First you will use a 9 inch spring form pan lined with parchment paper. I also used a little bit of cooking spray just to guarnatee no sticking.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. While the oven is heating melt 8 oz semi sweet chocolate (I always use Ghiradelli) and 4 oz of dark (for this I used 60% cocoa) in a microwaveable safe bowl with 2 sticks of butter (gotta love Ms. Deen!!!!) in 30 second increments until smooth and shiny.

Mix 1 1/4 cups sugar into the melted chocolate.

Now separate 6 eggs, whites in 1 bowl and yolks in the other. Add the yolks, one at a time, into the chocolate and sugar mixture until combined.

Take the egg whites and mix (I used my stand mixer but a hand mixer will work perfect) until the egg whites form stiff peaks.

Something like this!!
Then gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture just until combined.

Pour into your ready pan and bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.
Let cool in the pan for another hour remove cake and cool in the fridge for ATLEAST 4 hours (its worth the wait I promise you!!)
During this time I whipped up an easy raspberry sauce combining a bag of frozen raspberries, a 1/4 cup of sugar and a tablespoon of lemon juice simmering until thickened.

The end result was heaven on a fork.... creamy rich fudge cake with the tart raspberry sauce was like heaven on my tongue...and with only around 4 ingredients its by far one of the best birthday presents I have received!! haha

Assemble Da Minions!!!

My oldest son is absolutely OBSESSED with the movie Despicable Me. And if you have ever seen it you will know why.... those cute little minions!!! So tomorrow we are celebrating his one year anniversary post-surgery, an amazing blessing, and I decided to turn these cute little minions into cupcakes!! I had so much fun making them because each turned into their own personality!!

I used smarties for the eyes, black licorice pinwheels and Twinkies for the bodies!! Here are some pics of the little guys! (oh and I used blue frosting to replicate their blue overalls) Martha Stewart perfection went out the window with these but...I love them!!!!

Eggplant Parmigiana

You didn't think I only baked sweets did you? I'd like to consider myself a die hard in the kitchen. I'm willing to try anything once and the best part about cooking is once you know the basics, you can play around and make anything yours...which is exactly what i did with this recipe!


I caught myself watching food network one day and drooling... classy right? but I was amazed... the eggplant parmigiana in front of my eyes was amazing. Crispy, fried, gooey, cheesy goodness!!


I've heard a lot of people have a bad rap with eggplant (my husband included) he describes it as "mushy baby food" well... lets change that!! By taking a few extra, basic steps, it will change everything and made even him a believer!!! Below I will highlight step by step.


First make the sauce.


If you have your own family recipe, by any means make that. We have ours but I only prefer to use it with meat sauce. This is a simple, flavor packed exception.

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 medium yellow onions, peeled, halved, and cut into thin slices
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled and grated
• Kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 3 (28-ounce) cans San Marzano whole plum tomatoes

Saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil until translucent, anywhere from 3-5 minutes. Top with salt and red pepper flakes. Add in the tomatoes and sugar then simmer for 10-15 and taste! 

Next (I suggest while the sauce is simmering) cut up 2 whole eggplants into 1/2" thick slices. Lay slices on a cookie sheet and salt both sides. Let sit, covered, for an hour. This step is crucial! it will draw out all the excess liquid and bitterness thus leaving crunchy eggplant perfection! After the hour is up, rinse of eggplant and let dry on paper towels. 

Next fry the eggplant:

• 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 5 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons whole milk
• 4 cups breadcrumbs (I love panko)
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• Vegetable oil, for frying, as needed, about 1 1/2 to 2 cups

Put the flour in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk and season with salt and pepper. In a third bowl, combine the breadcrumbs with the oregano and fresh thyme leaves and season with salt and pepper. Dip each eggplant slice in the flour and shake off any excess. Then, dip in the egg mixture, and finally in the breadcrumbs. Make sure to coat both sides of each slice of eggplant.
In a large skillet, pour enough oil to accumulate about 1/2-inch in the bottom. Heat the oil until it begins to smoke lightly (alternatively, test with a thermometer and wait until the oil registers between 380 degrees F and 400 degrees F). Use a pair of kitchen tongs to add a single layer of the eggplant to the pan. Cook them until they are golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from the oil and transfer to a baking sheet fitted with a kitchen towel so the eggplant can drain as the others cook. Season lightly with salt. Take care to reheat the oil back up to temperature before adding another batch of slices to the pan.

Next is all about assembley you will need:

• 1 1/2 pounds mozzarella cheese,shredded
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 pound provolone cheese, slices
• 2 handfuls fresh basil, leaves only, torn

To assemble: In a 9 by 13-inch baking dish, spoon about 1/4 of the tomato sauce on the bottom. Top with a layer of the fried eggplant; the eggplant slices can overlap slightly. Top with about 1/3 of the mozzarella slices. Sprinkle with about 1/4 of the Parmesan and provolone cheeses. Top with a layer of torn basil leaves. Spoon sauce and repeat the layering 2 more times to make 3 layers. End with the remaining mozzarella. Carefully press the layers down firmly into the dish once assembled. Place the dish in the top part of the oven and cook until the cheese is melted and bubbly, 35 to 40 minutes. For extra browning, put the dish under the broiler for a minute or two just before serving to get an extra brown cheesy top.

Amazing!!! Enjoy and I hope everyone tries this recipe out!
I would like to thank Alexandra Guarnaschelli for this recipe/show! Although I made some tweeks myself she was my guide to ultimate sublime!! Here is a link to the recipe if you would like that as a resource also: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alexandra-guarnaschelli/eggplant-parmigiana-recipe/index.html

Went fishing and caught...cookies!?!?!

So.... I have finally decided to undertake cookie decorating (AH!).
Today was literally my first day ever decorating cookies (well more than the sporadic sprinkle on Christmas cookies I was so used to as a child)

I went for a simple shape of a fish and a star.

I found a really easy Royal Icing recipe, although I am still working on the perfect consistency, and used your basic Sugar Cookie dough.

All in all....it was fun, tiring, hard and easy... all rolled up into one!!
Here are a few pictures of my very FIRST decorated cookies. Do i need work? yes. Will I try again? Man i just don't know... lol

Outline:

Flooding:

Finished:

Fun:

New York Deli by Way of Gardnerville, NV

I have always wanted to attempt homemade bagels. You know that sensation of biting into a warm, crispy, doughy bagel that just brings you home? so why not that.... just bring it HOME! Although a little time consuming it was worth every second to take a bite of these amazing bagels.

Essentially....once the dough is boiled you can top with any seasonings you like. Or even add raisins, chocolate chips or cheese to the dough. But, I'm getting ahead of myself....

It all starts out with a great dough. I did some research and came across this great bagel dough for the bread machine! Except I made some revisions, like letting them rise in the machine for an extra 30 minutes once the cycle had finished and then after *shaping the bagels let rise again for another 45 minutes!
I also added 2 tbsp of honey to my boiling water instead of the sugar and topped my first batch with a homemade "everything" bagel mix (quite simple yet a little too salted) and some with sesame seeds (my fave!)


*I don't have any fancy cutter and simply use a glass to shape my bagels. The hole was made by sticking my thumb in where I thought the center was, and twirling to expand!!


Now for some pics... Enjoy!

Typical Saturday Morning Cereal Turns to Homemade Eggs Bendict

I'm adventuresome...what can I say? And when I get an idea in my mind. I have to follow through. Success or not... I suppose this is how I was lead to eggs Benedict! I didn't want to make it easy on myself so EVERY thing was homemade. Minus the Ham (do not have a farm) which was roasted a couple of nights before in a smokey brown sugar glaze...anyways...

Lets begin with the English muffins. My favorite part! I searched high and low on the internet for different recipes and came to the conclusion: I would take my skills and switch up some things. But basically, this is the final recipe I used:

• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1/4 cup melted shortening
• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

1. Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in the sugar, stirring until dissolved. Let cool until lukewarm. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine the milk, yeast mixture, shortening and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Add salt and rest of flour, or enough to make a soft dough. Knead. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise.
3. Punch down. Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut rounds with biscuit cutter, drinking glass, or empty tuna can. Sprinkle waxed paper with cornmeal and set the rounds on this to rise. Dust tops of muffins with cornmeal also. Cover and let rise 1/2 hour.
4. Heat greased griddle. Cook muffins on griddle about 10 minutes on each side on medium heat. Keep baked muffins in a warm oven until all have been cooked

Let rise until nice and fluffy (and holey looking) Such an important step to get the wonderful crevices we all love!!!!

 Next step was a basic Hollandaise  recipe (thanks Tyler!) which I had my husband whip into submission (the perks of having someone with muscles in the house)
After poaching some eggs and compiling our meal we were set and I have to say...it was divine!! (excuse my liquidy Hollandaise, I unfortunately did not get the best picture before and I added a little of water to mine...although delicious I cant stand the texture of it...weird right?)