Jun.
20

Bagels

Posted by Em at: 1:18 pm | 4 Comments


Who doesn’t enjoy bagels? I guess there’s gotta be someone out there… but no one I know, that’s for sure! There’s sweet bagels.. (cinnamon raisin, blueberry, chocolate chip)… there’s savory bagels… (onion, garlic, rye)… there’s bagels & cream cheese… there’s bagel-bites… there’s even bagel-dogs. While I know a lot about bagel-eatin, I didn’t know much about bagel-makin until I enlisted help from the fab folks at the King Arthur Flour Company…

The King Arthur Flour Company has one of the best instructional websites around. At least in my opinion. I can’t count how many times I have turned to them to learn new techniques. And their blog is one that I read regularly. Not just recipes… heck, anyone can post a recipe and leave it at that… but these folks give you a step-by-step tutorial in words and pictures. Now THAT’S what I’m talkin about! When I’m trying something completely new I like the step-by-step pics so I have a clue if I’m on the right track.

Case in point… the first time I attempted to make the bagels I didn’t know there was a difference between Active Dry Yeast and Instant Yeast. Okay, yeah, I know, the *name* is different but color me clueless because I thought yeast was yeast. HA! Now I know better. I made the starter at night and in the morning expected it to have thinned out and gotten bubbly. Well, it didn’t. It was like a super-mini rising bread. But even after looking at the pics of how it was *supposed* to look (and I shoulda stopped right there knowing mine didn’t resemble their pic AT ALL) I valiantly marched on-ward. Uhm… big mistake. 4 cups of flour + other ingredients and a one hour rising-period later, my dough did not rise. Nope, no way, no how, uhn uhnnn… it wasn’t goin anywhere. But… not to be deterred in my enthusiasm… I left it alone for another three-and-a-half hours thinking it was maybe just a slower-riser. HAHAHAHA Yeah, right. Good one, huh? On more than one occasion I dejectedly walked it toward the bin but decided to give it “just a little more time”. When I’d had enough and decided it WAS getting binned, DJ convinced me to just try baking it to see what would happen. He loves bread, btw ;-) To make him happy I kneaded in some garlic powder and italian seasoning… then pressed some sesame seeds into the top and tossed it in the oven on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Lo-and-behold if that thing didn’t bake up into one delicious loaf of artisan-looking bread which I promptly named “Ooops Bread” hahahaha

As good as the Oops Bread turned out, I still wanted to, yanno, make **bagels** :) I went to the store and purchased Rapid Rise yeast (closest thing I could find to “instant” yeast)… then one morning before work got the “starter” going. Hey, I figure bagel-makin can’t look at the clock and tell time and if it needs an overnight resting period, that’s no different to starting it before I leave for work and then come home 10 hours later to finish it off. The starter still didn’t look like it did in the King Arthur pictures… but it was closer to that – much much closer. After all of the requisite needing and proofing periods… then rolling into balls… then putting in the holes and shaping like bagels… then boiling in a mixture of water and brown sugar (cuz, yanno, I just don’t *have* non-diastatic malt in the cupboard! LOL)… and then baking… I HAD BAGELS :) :) :)

Okay so they don’t look like professional bakery-style bagels, but for a first attempt I’m pretty darn proud of em! LOL. The idea of making a dozen plain bagels didn’t rock my world so I made 2 of each of the following variations… Cinnamon Raisin, Sesame, Garlic, Sesame Garlic, Onion Garlic and Cheese-&-Pepperoni. And ya know what? They’re pretty darn tasty… each and every different kind. DJ loves sesame bagels (heck, sesame ANYTHING) and he said the sesame and sesame garlic bagels are as good as the bakery makes. HA! I don’t think they’re THAT good but it was super sweet of him to say it, huh? What a guy… gotta love him :)

Here is the step-by-step how to for making bagels. I learned a lot in this process and I can’t wait to make bagels again. Hopefully it inspires you to try making bagels too. It’s really not that hard… and they’re really very good :)

Have a delicious day!

Posted in bread, breakfast, recipes | 4 Comments »

Jun.
19


If baking is something you want to do… often… and well… it’s essential to find your “go to” recipes. Having them in your repertoire is the first step to making your baking life easier and less time consuming. Never underestimate the power of a good basic cake recipe… and a good basic frosting recipe too :)

For me, the recipe for Dorie’s Perfect Party Cake (DPPC) has proven time and time again to be the best basic cake recipe I have in my baking arsenal. I’ve shared it with you guys in in this post and I’ve heard from so many of you that it is indeed the perfect basic cake recipe.

I used it here for lemon cupcakes that I topped with cream cheese icing

I used it for the orange cupcakes and raspberry cupcakes pictured below (as well as the first/cover photo)…

But it started here when I baked it as the recipe was written for one of our Daring Bakers challenges (the pic is from when I re-did the recipe, not the original time)

The recipe itself is so incredibly versatile that I recommend it every time I get asked if I have a good basic cake recipe. I’ve made it more often than I can count and I don’t have pictures of each time. DJ’s son “graduated” from 5th grade yesterday and I’m going to use the recipe again for the cake I’m making for his party this weekend. Some of you have read the recipe and told me “but I don’t want to make a *lemon* cake”. Okay fine… omit the lemon zest in the batter and you have a basic white cake… a VERY GOOD basic white cake :) The point is that by having a good basic cake recipe, you can add extracts/flavorings and colors (like I did with the orange cupcakes and raspberry cupcakes posted a couple of times above) and play around with it and customize it to your liking. Heck, add chocolate chips or pistachios if they float your boat. As long as you have a good solid consistently performing basic cake reicpe, you’ve opened up a world of possibilities!

Dorie also has a really great Cocoa Buttermilk cake recipe too… it’s in her book Baking From My Home To Yours (available thru Amazon.com at an amazing STEAL of a price!). I used it to make these cupcakes pictured below…

And I’ve already pointed you guys to my absolute favorite buttercream icing in this tutorial of how to make it. I wish I could take credit for creating that recipe… but it’s just something I came across one time and found it to be so perfect that I recommend it anytime someone asks “do you have a good buttercream icing recipe”. Same rule applies here about having a good basic recipe and being able to add to it. I’ve added lemon zest to it (paired it with the DPPC recipe) and created these…

… paired it with the DPPC recipe and just colored the icing to create these…

… added cocoa powder to it and created chocolate buttercream… added peanut butter to it and created peanut butter buttercream… added mint extract and icing color to it and made mint buttercream as well


But these are my no-brainer, go-to, consistent performers. You probably have others in your toolkit that are perfect for you. I’ve found that if you don’t have great basic recipes, you end up in a never-ending-cycle of time-consuming experiments… sometimes at the expense of your guests taste buds.

I recently made three dozen cupcakes for a pot-luck dinner and instead of using my tried and true DPPC recipe, I decided to try something new. In a word… no good. They were dry and lacked flavor – redeemed solely by the beauty of the frosting. But beautiful and delicious frosting can only hide so much and more than half the cupcakes were untouched. Sure didn’t make me feel very good but I learned a valuable lesson… to trust what had proven itself worthy of being called my go-to white cake recipe… to trust in Dorie’s Perfect Party Cake :)

If you’re going to invest the time and money (hey, ingredients aren’t cheap! LOL) to make something from scratch, you owe it to yourself (and your guests) to make it look **and** taste good too. So invest the time and find your great basic recipes… then trust them :)

Have a delicious day!

Posted in Chocolate, buttercream icing, cupcakes, fruit, lemon, peppermint, recipes, vanilla | 4 Comments »

Jun.
17

Cream Puff Ring

Posted by Em at: 7:01 am | 16 Comments

Puff pastries are sooooooo good! Very light… slightly sweet… and usually filled with creamy goodness. The opportunity to make Dorie Greenspan’s Peppermint Cream Puff Ring brought a smile to my face – until I realized I’d run out of Mint extract a few days ago and not replenished it. Not to worry… I omitted the mint extract, opting to use vanilla sugar instead, and the result was… in a word… HEAVENLY!!!


This week’s Tuesdays With Dorie was hosted by Caroline of A Consuming Passion and I really have to thank her for an amazing choice! Growing up, cream puffs were always among my favorite pastries. I talked about it here in this post. Sure I’ve made cream puffs before – I’m certainly no stranger to working with puff pastry – but making puff pastry from one of Dorie’s recipe is special.

The process isn’t difficult. Combining water, milk, butter, sugar, salt, flour and eggs. Using the stand mixer to bring everything to the right consistency. Loading the dough into a pastry bag. Piping out the circles. Baking the ring to its golden puffy perfection. Waiting for it to cool before slicing off the top with a serrated knife.

Making the cream was as easy as can be. Heavy cream and vanilla sugar. Whipping until stiff peaks form and then loading the sweet whipped creamy goodness into a pastry bag. Piping rosettes of sweetened deliciousness into layers of rows covering the bottom of the puff ring.

Carefully replacing the top so that the cream isn’t “crushed” and finishing with a glaze made from chocolate and cream. Lastly, a sprinkling of sliced almonds as the piece de resístance!!

Once the individual components are assembled, this is a beautiful – - – and palate-pleasing – - – dessert that satisfies on so many levels. Oh sure, it may look elegant and you may want to eat it daintily… but uh uhn, no way, no how… just go for it, dig in greedily and enjoy every last bite! Heck, go ahead, make all those nom-nom-nom happy noises. I know I sure did :) :) :)

Now that you’ve seen my creation, why not check out some other talented folks who bake Tuesdays With Dorie. And if you want to check out the recipe, head over to our hostess Caroline’s site A Consuming Passion

Have a delicious day!

Posted in Tuesdays with Dorie, recipes | 16 Comments »

Jun.
16

Sugar Cookies… 2 ways!

Posted by Em at: 10:01 am | 1 Comment

Are you one who waits for holiday time before you start baking cookies? Well don’t be! Sugar cookies are a big hit… year round. Roll them in flavored sugar and you’ve got a treat that’s sure to delight!!

The other day I realized that although I’d been baking up a storm lately, I hadn’t made cookies in a while. It was time to change that. Not many homemade cookies are easier than a drop sugar cookie. There’s no chilling, no rolling, no cutting, no frosting… just quick and easy and goooooooooooooood :) Cinnamon sugar cookies are typically called Snickerdoodles… I don’t know of a typical name for lemon sugar cookies so I got really creative and called them Lemon Sugar cookies. Outdid myself, huh? LOL!!

Sugar Cookies… with lemon or cinnamon options
(adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

lemon sugar options:
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1/3c sugar
zest of one lemon

cinnamon sugar options:
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/3c sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 375F.

If making lemon sugar cookies, combine the zest of one lemon with 1/3c sugar by using your fingertips to massage the zest into the sugar until it is moist and fragrant. Set aside.

If making cinnamon sugar cookies, combine 1 tablespoon of cinnamon with 1/3c sugar. Set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. If making lemon sugar cookies, add the lemon extract. If making cinnamon sugar cookies, add the 1 tsp cinnamon.

Working slowly, blend in the dry ingredients until the batter is thoroughly combined.

Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls.

If making lemon sugar cookies, roll the balls in the lemon sugar mixture and place each on ungreased cookie sheets.

If making cinnamon sugar cookies, roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place each on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until just golden brown (take care not to overbake as this will produce a dry cookie).

Cool on cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Posted in cinnamon, cookies, lemon, recipes | 1 Comment »

Jun.
15

Happy Father’s Day!

Posted by Em at: 7:01 am | No Comments


This was an interesting couple of days. On Friday, a friend of mine, who is a terrific father, told me I inspired him to make banana bread… and take pics! And then Saturday I spent the day giving my first private baking lessons to a co-worker’s wife. The family would be attending a Father’s Day gathering of 50+ people and she wanted to make a few of the recipes she’d seen here on my site. Good things are happening all around!!

My father passed away last August and this is my first Father’s Day without him. I’m very sad about that. Much moreso than I expected to be. But on Friday, my dear friend Rich (aka Mr. Crankypants) called me up – - – and that always makes me smile. Not only is he a terrific person but Rich is also a terrific father and although he’s too young to fully appreciate it, one day Rich’s son will realize what a terrific guy his dad really is. Everyone should be so lucky to have a friend like Rich. No, he doesn’t pay me to say these things… I just really feel blessed that he puts up with me cuz Lord knows that’s not easy! LOL!

I think Rich has a love of bananas. Recall that in this post last month, I wrote about the peanut butter and banana cupcakes I made for his birthday. Well, when we talked on Friday he told me how I’d inspired him to bake some banana bread. And not some regular old box mix banana bread (which would have impressed me right there) but he baked this banana bread from scratch! He used Jessica Seinfeld’s recipe and adapted it to his own liking. I’m so proud of him for taking an existing recipe and making it his own!!! In making his super-special banana bread Rich omitted the cauliflower, added more banana instead, and a tablespoon of ground flax seed. Pretty snazzy huh?? He said it was really good and next time he’ll add even more banana, and leave in more banana chunks. His son helped him measure out the ingredients and eat the yummy results. What a fantastic Father-&-Son project and I thought it was something really appropriate to share with all of you on Father’s Day :)

As you know, I take a lot of baked goods to the office. I mean, I bake… a lot! And even though DJ and the kids consume their fair share… and I give a lot away to my neighbors… I take quite a bit to work. Last week, a co-worker who has eaten plenty of my cupcakes and cookies visited my blog for the first time. He was really impressed and emailed the URL to his wife thinking she’d like the recipes. She contacted me and asked if she could pay me to make her husband’s favorite Red Velvet cupcakes for Father’s Day. We chatted about it for a while and she confided that she’s really not much of a baker but asked if I would teach her because she wanted to learn. I enthusiastically agreed! As it turned out they had plans to attend a Father’s Day gathering for over 50 people and she wanted to make the Red Velvet cupcakes w/cream cheese icing that she’d seen here as well as the Mint Chocolate cupcakes she’d seen here.

We spent about 7 hours together and I coached her thru baking, frosting and decorating about 84 cupcakes from scratch. She made the cupcakes, the icing, frosted and decorated them all with me just doing the coaching, demonstrating and supervising. She’d never used a pastry bag in her life but I’m really proud of how she did. The photos below aren’t the best since the lighting in their kitchen was a bit of a challenge… and it’s hard to see the green color of the mint icing… but she did a great job and I was happy to share my love of baking. I hope her family appreciates her hard work in making these cupcakes for Father’s Day :)

Here she is using the pastry bag to pipe cream cheese icing on the red velvet cupcakes

Sprinkling red sanding sugar on the red velvet cupcakes

The finished red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

The undecorated mint chocolate cupcakes with mint buttercream icing (the mint green color of the icing doesn’t show very well in the picture – sorry)

And the tray of decorated mint chocolate cupcakes with mint buttercream icing (again, the mint green color of the icing doesn’t show very well in the picture – sorry)… some are dusted with cocoa powder and some have chocolate sprinkles

She was a great student! As I said, I’m really proud of the results she achieved… and I really enjoyed playing teacher for the day.

Have a delicious day…. and Happy Father’s Day!!

Posted in Holiday, bread, cupcakes | No Comments »

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