Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Apple Cider Doughnuts

Apple Cider Doughnuts
adapted from Diana’s Desserts
serves 24

Apple Cider Doughnuts

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: You will need a mini bundt baking pan with 6 or 12 cavities or a 6 or 12 cavity doughnut baking pan.

approximately 3 tbsp sugar for baking pans
hazelnut oil* for baking pans
2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp grated nutmeg
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup apple puree
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup apple cider
1/3 cup plain yogurt
3 tbsp hazelnut oil*

ICING (optional)
1 cup icing (confectioner’s) sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp milk

*Hazelnut oil is basically oil that is pressed from hazelnuts that possesses a delicate nutty and buttery flavour. If hazelnut oil is not available, you can substitute with macadamia oil or vegetable oil.

Preheat oven to 190ÂșC.
Brush cavities of a mini bundt pan or doughnut pan with hazelnut oil.
Sprinkle with sugar, shaking out excess.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; set aside.
In another bowl, whisk together egg, brown sugar, apple butter, maple syrup, cider, yoghurt and hazelnut oil.
Add dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.
Divide the batter among the prepared mini bundt pan or doughnut pans, filling only about halfway up the pans.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the tops spring back when touched lightly.
Loosen edges and turn the doughnuts out onto a rack to cool.
If required, clean the pans then re-coat it with oil and sugar.
Repeat with remaining batter.

TO MAKE THE ICING
Combine the icing sugar, vanilla and 1 tbsp of milk in a small bowl.
Mix until the icing is of a drizzling consistency. If not, add more milk.
Turn over the doughnuts into the bowl of icing and dip for about 5 seconds until the tops are completely covered.
Return to wire rack to allow icing to set.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Martha's Monkey Cake - DONE! SUCCESS!

1153_recipe_monkeycake.jpg


Ingredients

Serves 10 to 12

  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
  • 3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising), plus more for dusting
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3 very ripe, large bananas, mashed (about 1 1/3 cups)
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup chopped pecans, optional
  • Fluffy Chocolate and Yellow Buttercreams
  • 2 black-licorice drop candies
  • Black-licorice rope, for decorating

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8 1/2-inch-diameter 3-quart stainless-steel or ovenproof bowl and 1 cup of a large (1-cup capacity) muffin tin; set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla.
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and brown sugar; mix on medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to medium; mix in flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with banana mixture. Stir in pecans.
  4. Fill prepared muffin cup three-quarters full. Transfer remaining batter to prepared baking bowl. Transfer to oven, side by side. Bake cupcake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool in tin on a wire rack. Continue baking large cake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes more (1 hour and 40 minutes total). Let cool in bowl on a wire rack 30 minutes. Invert bowl to remove cake; let cool completely.
  5. Trim flat side of cake to be level. Trim away top of cupcake to be level. Cut cupcake in half vertically for the two monkey ears. Cut bowl cake in half horizontally to make 2 layers. Spread 3/4 cup chocolate buttercream on top of flat layer. Top with domed layer. Transfer to a cake plate. Spread a thick layer of chocolate buttercream over entire monkey head. Spread buttercream over cupcake ears. Attach ears to sides of head, top of cupcake facing forward, securing with toothpicks.
  6. Place remaining chocolate frosting in a piping bag fitted with a small plain round tip (such as Ateco #5). Pipe dots around bottom edge of cake in a continuous line. Switch to a small multi-opening tip (such as Ateco #233); pipe hair on top of head.
  7. Fill another piping bag fitted with a large plain round tip (such as Ateco #11) with yellow buttercream. Pipe an oval near the front base of cake. Fill in with frosting, and smooth. Place 2 small pieces of licorice rope inside for nose. Add a long piece of rope for mouth. Place licorice drops above oval for eyes. Pipe yellow half-circles in centers of ears; fill in with frosting, and smooth. Decorated cake can be refrigerated up to 3 hours.

First published: May 2006

Monday, September 24, 2007

Marbled Banana Bundt Cake

Marbled Banana Bundt Cake


1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 ripe, medium bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream (low fat is fine)
1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted

Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease a 12-cup bundt pan (12-inch diameter).
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in the eggs one by one, waiting until each has been incorporated to add the next. Beat in vanilla extract and mashed bananas.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mix and stir to combine. Add in the sour cream, followed by the remaining flour mixture.
Remove 1 1/2 cups of batter into a small bowl and stir in cocoa powder.
Pour 2/3 of the plain batter into the prepared bundt pan, top with cocoa batter and spoon the rest of the plain batter on top. Run a knife through the batter gently to swirl.
Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly pressed.
Turn cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
Serve plain, or dusted with powdered sugar.

Serves 12-16.

‘Perfect’ Chocolate Chunk Cookies

mkcookies.jpg

*Wendy Gaynor’s ‘Perfect’ Chocolate Chunk Cookies

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 cups semisweet chunks (preferably imported).

1. Place the butter in a large bowl and cream at high speed until
fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 4
minutes, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs, one
at a time, until completely mixed.

2. In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt and baking soda. Add to the
butter mixture at low speed until just combined and add vanilla
extract. Beat on medium speed, scraping bowl down, until blended. Do
not overmix.

3. Add chocolate chunks and mix till thoroughly combined. Refrigerate
batter until cold, preferably overnight.

4. Preheat a conventional oven to 350 degrees or a convection oven to
300 degrees, and line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop
heaping spoonfuls of batter 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheets
and bake, turning tray once, until golden brown around edges and soft
(but not bubbly), about 9 minutes in a convection oven or 12 in a
conventional one. Cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 36 to 72 cookies, depending on size.

*This recipe appeared in The New York Times on October 27, 2002.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

This is disgusting.

Bacon Exotic Candy Bar - New

who would even THINK about creating this. yuk.

Recipe - Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

kids_spring06_giant_choc_chip.jpg

Ingredients

Serves 16.

  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
  • 40 ounces (5 packages) cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Put butter and brown and granulated sugars into mixer bowl; mix on medium until pale and fluffy. Mix in vanilla, eggs, and yolks. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the cream. Stir in chocolate chips.
  2. For each of the 5 layers, drop 1 level cup batter onto center of a baking sheet lined with parchment (keep unbaked dough refrigerated). Using a small offset spatula, spread into an 8-inch circle. Bake until edges are pale golden brown, about 12 minutes. Remove from oven. Use offset spatula to reshape circle. Return to oven; bake until edges are golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes more. Transfer to wire rack; let cool. Can be stored airtight up to 1 day.
  3. Mix cream cheese and confectioners' sugar in clean mixer bowl on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Spread onto 4 cookies. Stack cookies, placing unfrosted cookie on top. Refrigerate until frosting is set, at least 20 minutes or up to 4 hours. Serve at room temperature.

First published Spring

Recipe - Stareos

Stareos Classic Stars Desserts

Stareos


Servings:

18 cookies

Ingredients:

  • Chocolate Shortbread
  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
  • Pinch of kosher salt
  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa power, sifted
  • 8 ounces (16 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • Flour for dusting

Filling

  • 1 cup mascarpone cheese
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

To make the chocolate shortbread:
In a bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder and set aside. Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on low speed until the butter and sugar begin to incorporate, about 15 seconds. Add the dry ingredients and continue to mix until the dough comes together, about 3 minutes. It will look dry just before it comes together.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough ¼ inch thick. Using a 2-inch star cutter, cut out scraps, reroll, and continuing cutting out cookies until you have 36 cookies. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Bake the shortbread until firm, about 35 minutes. At the midway point, switch the baking sheets between the racks and rotate them 180 degrees to ensure even baking. Let cool on the baking sheets to room temperature.

To make the filling:
In a small bowl, stir together the mascarpone, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Turn 18 of the cookies bottom-side up on a work surface. Using a table knife or small icing spatula, spread about 1 tablespoon of the filling on the bottom of each cookie. Top with remaining cookies, bottom-side down Planning Ahead The shortbread dough may be made and cut out a week in advance. Wrap tightly and refrigerate or freeze.

The cookies may be baked 2 days in advance. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. The mascarpone cream may also be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate, but bring to room temperature before assembling the sandwiches. The cookies should be assembled the day you are going to serve them and keep covered and refrigerated until serving.

Tuesday, January 9, 2007

whiskie bits bakeshop

they deliver in the bay area. need to find an excuse to have a cupcake delivery. stat.