Pumpkin Chocolate Loaf Plus+

I got this book (Baked: New Frontiers in Baking) and that says a lot since I rarely (almost never) buy cook books... there is a WEALTH of recipes online and among friends, why spend money for these recipes? Well, I am so glad I bought this book. 1.) Its beautiful 2.) It inspires 3.) It is creative and you actually can't find these recipes online 4.) There are fun little bio's of the recipes, like where they came from and how they came about 5.) It gives small quick tips on baking throughout.

I adapted a quick bread recipe in the book, here is my version:

Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients in different bowls:

DRY, combine the following:

3 1/4 c. flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp ginger

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp salt

WET, whisk in this order adding things one at a time:

15 oz. pumpkin puree

1/2 c. oil

1/2 c. apple sauce

3 c. sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 c. chocolate chips

1/2 c. cinnamon chips

1/2 c. grated apple w/ skin

Fold dry bowl into the wet bowl. Do not over mix.

Bake in two greased/floured loaf pans in pre-heated oven on 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 min (or until toothpick comes out clean). I like to lightly sprinkle the tops of my sweet breads with pure white sugar before baking.

NOTE: This bread is not overly sweet. This bread is not the usual powerful pumpkin flavor you might be used to. The flavors are subtle. It would go great with many different flavors of honey, jams, hot coco, or mulled cider.

Martha Stewart Chocolate Pistachio Torte

I made this for Christmas. It was scrumptious. Enjoy!

Here is the recipe:

Serves 10

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for pan
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 3/4 cup shelled, unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup shelled, unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped

Directions

1. Make cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan; line bottom with parchment or waxed paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
2. In a large heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water, melt butter and chocolate, stirring frequently, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove bowl from pan. Whisk in sugar and vanilla, then eggs, buttermilk, and pistachios. Fold in flour mixture just until combined.
3. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 60 to 70 minutes. Let cool in pan 5 minutes; run a knife around edge, and invert onto a wire rack. Remove paper, and let cool completely, about 3 hours. (To store, wrap in plastic, and keep at room temperature, up to 3 days).
4. Make ganache: In a small saucepan, bring cream to a simmer; remove from heat. Add chocolate, and let stand 5 minutes; whisk until smooth. Let cool until mixture falls back in ribbons when lifted with a spoon, 2 to 6 minutes.
5. Set cake on a serving platter; tuck strips of parchment paper under edge of cake to prevent ganache from dripping on platter. Pour ganache onto center of cake; using a table knife, spread evenly over the top and down the sides. Let set, about 30 minutes. Remove paper from under cake; sprinkle top with pistachios.

Here is the link to the original recipe: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/chocolate-pistachio-torte

cakes and such

Here are a couple cakes and things I have done over the past couple months...

Barbie Cake: I used a medium sized Pyrex bowl to bake the "base" and then put a naked doll upper body on top, frosted the entire thing (the doll too).

Yankee's cake: Freehanded the logo.

US Capitol: One rectangle pan, one square pan, one mug of cake shaved/shaped post baking.

For the elephants, I simply piped on the ears and nose, chocolate chips for the eyes and used the birthday candles for the tusks.

and here is the "doctored" up cupcake recipe that I always use:

1 box cake mix

1 cup sour cream

4 eggs

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup oil

Mix Master- Gingerbread Apple Cinnamon Cheesecake Cookie Bars

Sorry, no picture, but you can imagine...

This recipe was easy to throw together and tasted "homemade".

Let me preface: I don't love pre-made cookie dough, at all. But I do love those betty crocker cookie pouches. Often they are on sale for less then 2 bucks and you just add a few things. Easy.

This was the method to the mix madness:

One pouch gingerbread cookie mix

One Egg

One Stick (1/2 cup) butter

One very large apple (I used honeycrisp, but any would work)

Approx. 1 1/2 cup of ready made philadelphia cheesecake filling (found in dairy section in tub)

Cinnamon

Sugar

Prepare one pouch of gingerbread cookie mix according to directions (egg, butter). I threw in a dash of orange juice instead of the water it called for and then splashed some real vanilla in the mix too.

Press into bottom of pam-sprayed cake pan.

Peel & dice apple. Press apple bits onto gingerbread layer. Sprinkle cinnamon over top and then dust sugar (brown sugar would be best, but I used white) covering the apples and then bake for 7 min on 350 degrees.

Take half baked thing out of oven and top with a layer of the cheesecake stuff. I stirred it around in another bowl first to make spreading it over easier. With the warmth of the half baked gingerbread/apples it was able to smooth on fairly easily.

Put the thing back into oven and bake for another 20 min or until gingerbread is done.

Fall in a bar. Enjoy!

Take

Fennel Seed

The secret to making great Italian food is Fennel Seed.

That is all.

Pineapple Mango Angel Food Cake with Ginger Whipcream

Ok, here is the important things to know:

*I made this in about 3 minutes

*It is fat free (cake alone)

*It tastes delicious

This is how it works:

Use a boxed Angel Food Cake Mix (make sure its a one bag mix, not egg seperate one)

Add one 20 oz can of crushed pineapple with the juice

Bake as directed. Enjoy!

Now, here are my variations to the basic recipe above:

- I used the drained pineapple plus 8 oz of Mango Nectar

-I also made a simple whipped topping by mixing heavy cream and a few shakes of ginger together. I used 16 oz of heavy cream, a few shakes of ginger and about 3 tablespoons of powder sugar. (obviously, this makes it un-fat free)

Open Faced Veggie Panini's

cooked & ready to devour

uncooked/raw without the cheese

Hey look, sometimes I actually make healthy things. This is so easy, so nutritious and so good. 

Sliced Sourdough Bread

Diced Tomatoes (I used canned with basil in it already)

Diced mushrooms

Diced Zucchini

Diced Olives

Italian Seasonings (I used onion powder, garlic powder, a touch of thyme and oregano)

Shredded Cheese (I used a six cheese light italian blend- parm, asagio, mozz, etc- but whatever you like would work)

TIPS:

Cook on bake for about 10 min on 375 and then broil the last 3 min to crisp the bread

Line your pan with non-stick foil to catch the burnt cheese and easy clean up

Enjoy!