Tag Archives: sweet

Ode to a Power Couple

Breakfast, , , , , , ,

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Ah, yes – Cinnamon and Raisins, the beloved power duo of the breakfast world. I really do wish that every meal could hinge on the presence of the perfect pair, but alas, one cannot maintain sustenance on bran muffins, cinnamon buns and oatmeal alone. Believe me, I’ve tried. Eating disorders aside, in all honesty it’s been a lifelong goal of mine to make the perfect cinnamon raisin bread (I know, I dream big). So, this weekend between biking across Los Angeles, refinishing some old chairs and a much anticipated Dodger game, I managed to cross that milestone off my bucket list! (Cue the applause) This recipe is actually quite easy, as time consuming it seems. You can let the dough rise for basically as long as you need while you run around crossing those other less-pressing items off your weekend to-do list. And then, magically when you bike back from Dodger Stadium past your bedtime, all that’s standing between you and cinnamon-y goodness are 25 minutes and 375 degrees. The perfect reward for a perfect weekend!

Cinnamon Raisin Bread - Loaf

Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Recipe adapted from here

2 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup almond milk
1 large egg
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons instant dry yeast
2/3 cup raisins (or any dried fruit – I added dried peaches and dates since I was low on raisins)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

1. Make the dough.
Measure out 1 1/4 cups very warm water and check the temperature; it should be 120 degrees F to 130 degrees F. Combine both flours, the dry milk, egg, canola oil, honey, salt, yeast and warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix 3 minutes on the lowest setting, then increase to the next highest setting and mix 5 more minutes. The dough should be soft and sticky.

2. Let it rise.
Transfer the dough to a large bowl lightly coated with oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until the dough has nearly doubled in size, about 1 hour, 30 minutes.

3. Soak the raisins.
Dry raisins will rob moisture from the bread, so soak them first in boiling water until plump, about 30 minutes. Drain and pat dry.

4. Fold the dough.
Transfer the dough to a floured work surface. Picture it as a loose square. Lift up one side of the dough and fold about one-third of it across; press down on the dough with spread fingers to remove any air bubbles. Repeat with the remaining 3 sides of the dough.

5. Add the filling.
Mist two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans with cooking spray. Divide the dough in half; roll out each half into an 8-inch square. Brush each square with canola oil, then sprinkle with the cinnamon (it’s high in antioxidants!), brown sugar and raisins.

6. Form the loaves.
Roll up each square of dough into a tight cylinder; place seam-side down in the prepared pans. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until the dough fills the pans and springs back when touched, about 1 hour, 30 minutes.

7. Bake the bread.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Brush the loaves with canola oil and bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the pans and transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Let them eat…

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Title_Image_1Although I definitely have a complicated relationship with my own birthday, I am totally down with O.P.B. [YEAH YOU KNOW ME] For those of you who don’t appreciate the Naughty by Nature reference, I think we can all agree that the beauty of celebrating Other People’s Birthdays is that we are all able to partake in the merriment without the burden of the spotlight. (Unless you’re into that sort of thing, weirdos)

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For my fellow introverts, I’m sure you appreciate the following:

  1. The sadistic enjoyment of watching the Birthday Boy/Girl’s comfort level plummet as he/she is obnoxiously sung to and clapped at before receiving a mediocre, but hopefully comped dessert. Usually in the form of: a) “Molten” Lava Cake (Chili’s), b) créme brulée (Upscale Chili’s), or c) ice cream scoop with candle (Japanese restaurant).
  2. Reveling in the continuity of your own youth while family members or co-workers around the water cooler repeatedly ask the Birthday Boy/Girl “So, HOW old are you NOW??”
  3. Cashing in on the comp’d lunch and cake at work while the Birthday Boy/Girl wishes they were a million other places.
  4. The Pay-it-Forward feeling when signing that “Hope all your wishes come true! XOXO” card.

Cheesecake

Ultimately, we get to sing off-key, stay “x” years young, eat cake, and revel in the celebrations at the expense of the celebratee. Bystanders’ win. Of course we don’t get presents or anything, which kind of rock, but cake! We get cake!

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And on that note, a chocolate cake and a cheesecake: 

Fudgy Chocolate Cake:
(Adapted from Emandal Farm Celebration cookbook)

Cake:
1.5 C sugar
1.25 C Flour
.75 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1.5 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp salt
1 C buttermilk
3 eggs
2.5 tsp vanilla
6 tsp butter
1 C hot coffee

Filling:
.75 C half and half
dash of salt
2/3 C sugar
.25 C butter
1 egg
1tsp vanilla
1 1/3 unsweetened coconut
.5 C walnuts or pecans (chopped)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 3 8″ round cake pans.

In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Whisk buttermilk, eggs and vanilla in a separate bowl. Melt butter in the hot coffee in another small bowl.

Beat half of the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients. Beat in half of the coffee mixture. Scrape the batter down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the remaining buttermilk and coffee mixtures.

Evenly pour batter into the prepared pans and bake for 25-30 mins, or until the cakes spring back when lightly pressed. Allow to cool in the pans for 10 mins. Cool completely (or freeze) before frosting.

To make filling, combine all ingredients (except vanilla, coconut and walnuts) in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until thick and bubbly – about 12 mins. Cool lightly and add the rest of the ingredients. Let cool completely before spreading on cake.

Cheesecake
Courtesy of the Miette Cookbook. Buy it- you’ll thank me later. (Thanks Sam!!)

Ivory & Ebony

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I appreciate diversity. I actually require diversity in every facet of my life – e.g. demographically, culturally, dietarily, in social circles, trail mix, and (of course) in dessert options. Following suit, I recently made these two flourless cakes for a dinner party and then subsequently to celebrate a lovely coworker’s birthday the next day – a total multitasking baking win for no leftovers! The first is a chocolate lover’s dream: a deceivingly light Nutella cake with hazenut dark chocolate and a rich ganache. The second: an airy cinnamon snacking cake made with almond flour, then topped with roasted almonds and dusted with spices. Both are gluten-free (’tis the craze these days, so let’s hop on that bandwagon), using nut flours that I whipped up in my mighty mighty Vitamix. All hail the all-powerful Vitamix!

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The importance of diversity is really about balance – anything too homogenous automatically becomes uninteresting (and unappetizing – 50 filet mignons in an aluminum vat, gross). Also, I firmly believe that as a baker we can adopt the model that too much of a good thing – when accompanied by other good things – is never a bad thing. People appreciate their options!

Cake #1: Almond Cinnamon Cake

Adapted from Nigella’s iphone app Nigellissima (beautifully done, btw), also seen here.

8 egg whites
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
Zest of 1 orange
½ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing tin
1 ½ cups almond meal
1 teaspoon
1 cup sliced almonds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Powdered sugar, to decorate

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F, and grease the springform cake tin and line the base with baking parchment.
  2. In a clean, grease-free bowl, whisk the egg whites until they are opaque and start to hold their shape, then slowly add the sugar, whisking until it’s all incorporated and the mixture is thick and shiny. Add the almond essence and the clementine or orange zest. Then, in about 3 goes each, alternately whisk in the oil and the almond meal (mixed with the baking powder) until they are both smoothly incorporated into the meringue.
  3. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, then mix together the flaked almonds and cinnamon and sprinkle them over the top of the cake.
    Bake for 35-40 minutes (though start checking at 30), by which time the top should have risen and be set and the almonds become golden, and a cake tester should come out clean, barring the odd almondy crumb.
  4. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool in its tin on a wire rack. Once it is no longer hot, spring open the sides of the tin, but don’t try to remove the cake from the base until properly cool.
  5. When you are ready to serve, dust with powdered sugar.

Cake #2: Nutella Cake

Adapted from here.

For the cake
6 large Eggs
1 pinch of Salt
125 g Unsalted Butter (softened)
400 g Nutella (1 large jar)
1 Tbsp of Frangelico liqueur
100 g ground Hazelnuts
100 g Dark Chocolate (melted)

For the icing
100 g Hazelnut (peeled weight)
125 ml Double Cream
1 Tbsp Frangelico liqueur or Water
125 g Dark Chocolate (chopped)

  1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC (degrees Celsius).
  2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and Nutella together, and then add the Frangelico, egg yolks and ground hazelnuts and set aside.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites and salt until stiff but not dry.
  4. Fold in cooled, melted chocolate to the Nutella mixture, then lighten the mixture with a large dollop of whisked egg white before gently folding the rest, bit by bit.
  5. Pour into a greased 23cm/ 9 inch round and lined springform tin and cook for 40 minutes or until the cake’s beginning to come away at the sides, then let cool on a rack.
  6. Toast the hazelnuts in a dry frying pan until the aroma wafts upwards and the nuts are golden-brown in parts: keep shaking the pan so that they don’t burn on one side and stay too pallid on others.

  7. Make the ganache: put a heavy-bottomed saucepan onto the stove and add the cream, Frangelico (or water) and chopped chocolate. Stir continuously until the chocolate has melted.

  8. Take it off the heat and whisk until it reaches the right consistency (should be a smooth cream like texture).

  9. Release the cooled cake from the mould carefully, leaving it on the base (as it is wet and heavy and will break). Slowly glaze the top of the cake with the chocolate ganache.

  10. Finish it all off by placing the toasted (and cooled) hazelnuts onto the cake.

Staying classy

Dessert, Snack, , , , , , ,

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A great friend of mine graciously gifted me with the Santa Monica Farmers Market Cookbook for Christmas last year. Now, I typically cannot commit to a recipe without an overload of imagery (of both process and final product – note to foodisbomb.com) but the recipes in this cookbook have made me finally overlook my pictorial needs.

In a genius move, each recipe is grouped not only by course but also by season, with notes on picking the freshest batch of the bounty. These shortbread cookies are categorized as “evergreen” and thank god because they are so simple and perfect for any occasion. Even just having some frozen dough on hand for an impromptu tea or wine sesh with friends would be absolutely clutch.

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Something about eating a shortbread cookie makes you feel so proper: perhaps it’s the way you have to daintily hold each cookie between thumb and index finger while ever-so-slightly cocking your chin out to gently take a bite (and avoid an unnecessary crumb attack). Or, maybe it’s because they are always an accessory to a high tea or coffee date. Whatever it is, these cookies are definitely a snack to stroke our inner elitist, which is ironic since they are unbelievably easy to make.

I drizzled some orange honey on top for a little extra somethin-somethin but I also think these would make great jam sandwich cookies.

Happy shortbreading my classy friends!

Pistachio Shortbread Cookies

Adapted from the Santa Monica Farmers Market Cookbook

1/2 cup roasted and unsalted pistachios
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temp)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup pistachio meal
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tbs honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set aside a good 24 whole pistachios and finely chop the rest. Sift together flour, salt and set aside. Cream together the butter and powdered sugar on high speed untel blended. add the pistachio meal and beat until creamy. On low speed add the flour mixture.

Scrape dough onto parchment paper and shape into a log about 8.5″ long (like a sushi roll). Make sure there are no cracks in the dough. Brush all sides with the egg. Roll the dough in the chopped pistachios and chill for at least an hour.

Take the dough out of the fridge and let sit for 10-20 mins before slicing into 3/8″ rounds. Place on an ungreased baking sheet 1″ apart and press one pistachio in the center of each cookie. Bake for 16 mins or until cookies are slightly golden and puffed. Let cool and drizzle with honey to your hearts content.

A Little Rock N’ Roll

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One of the things I love about getting a CSA box is that it forces you to get a little adventurous with your meals every once in a while. (What can I cook with beet greens? How do I cut a butternut squash? What the hell do I do with all these oranges?? #bougieproblems) Now, I’m definitely not saying these are daredevil-like risks we’re taking here, just a little push to get out of the weekday safety meals. As noted in a previous post, I received a festive box of fresh cranberries in my last shipment from Farm Fresh to You, so never having cooked with them before, I hit the blogosphere for inspiration. After a solid hour had past (this is why I don’t need a television) and a good twenty recipes had been added to my food board on Pinterest, I found a recipe in the LA Times for this cranberry orange cornmeal cake. It is perfection.

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I am drawn to simple, no-fuss recipes with equally low maintenance ingredients and prep time, and this one definitely fits the bill. This cake is a little bit country and a little bit rock ‘n roll: the cornmeal creates a lovely homey texture, and the cranberries give a tart little kick. The ricotta is the secret ingredient that makes the cake super dense and ridiculously moist-two adjectives used only on rare (and lucky) occasions when describing cornbread.

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To top it off, I drizzled a bit of honey over the cake after pulling the it out of the oven. It just seemed right. This cake is also not too rich or too sweet, which makes it a perfect ending to a heavy holiday meal. Especially when accompanied with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. Just sayin.

Cranberry Orange Cornmeal Cake

find recipe here

2 cups flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) butter
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
2 cups ricotta cheese
2 1/2 cups cranberries, divided

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9-inch round by 3-inch tall cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and baking soda. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, maple syrup, oil and vanilla. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar, salt and zest. Mix just until thoroughly combined; do not overmix. With the mixer running, slowly incorporate the egg mixture into the butter just until combined.

With the mixer on low speed, add one-half of the flour mixture to the batter and quickly mix for 5 seconds. Turn off the mixer and add the rest of the flour, the ricotta and one-half of the cranberries. Mix the remaining ingredients into the batter over low speed just until combined, being careful not to overmix. Gently pour the batter into the cake pan and smooth the top. Scatter the remaining cranberries over the top of the cake, and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.

Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Place a loose piece of foil over the top of the cake if it starts to darken. Cool the cake on a wire rack before removing it from the pan.

Holiday Foreplay

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Pumpkin is the foreplay to the holiday season. This time of year, we are bombarded with pumpkin flavored everything, and for good measure- that shit is bomb. When you see that pumpkin latte at starbucks, you know it’s only a few days until you’ll start making those christmas (or Hanukah, kwanza??) lists and checking them twice. I’ve personally been amping up my pumpkin intake through my breakfasts (a little pumpkin in your oatmeal or green smoothie goes a long way), and of course dessert!

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This recipe is a take on pumpkin pie, and adapted from a recipe I found on a blog en Español (thank you google translate), which made for an interesting baking adventure. The crust is baked a bit beforehand, which browns the butter and makes a deliciously nutty base to a thick, rich pumpkin cheesecake-like bar. It’s really simple and only calls on a few ingredients. Pumpkin needs less than a bit of cinnamon and sweetness to take center stage.

Happy holidays y’all!

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Pumpkin Pie Bars

Adapted from here

Ingredients for the crust:

.5 C + 1 TBS butter, at room temperature
.5 C brown sugar
3/4 C flour
1/4 C + 1 TBS oats

Ingredients for the cake:

2 eggs
½ C + 3 TBS sugar
1.5 C (400 g) pumpkin puree
1.25 C (350 ml) sweetened condensed milk
½ TBS salt
1 TBS cinnamon
½ TBS ground ginger

Make the crust: In a medium bowl, beat butter brown sugar. Add flour and rolled oats gradually. Line an 8 x 8 baking pan with tin foil. Dump the crust mixture into the pan and pat down to condense. Bake at 350F degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven.

In a large bowl whisk the eggs with the sugar. Add the pumpkin puree, condensed milk, salt, cinnamon and ginger. Pour the mixture over the base and bake at 350F degrees for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted wood comes out clean (if it tends to brown too much, cover with foil ). Chill in the refrigerator overnight (or at least 4 hours, to desired consistency).

How to Make New Friends

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Ah, peanut butter and chocolate – such a reliable combination. Not only do these cookies employ the notoriously beloved duo, but they take it up a notch with a dollop of creamy, almost-too-decadent fudge and a hearty dose of oats. The oats make a moist and chewy cookie and set the perfect background for the fudge to take center stage.

If you want to get people to like you, bake these cookies for them. That is, unless they have a peanut allergy – these guys do have quite the (deliciously) lethal dose of PB. I made these a few weeks ago on a baking binge, and the people are still reminding me of their success!

A super easy recipe and one definitely worth trying (and subsequently inhaling). Bakers enjoy, eaters rejoice!

Peanut Butter & Fudge Oatmeal Cookies (Recipe from here)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, very soft
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups chocolate chips
One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350°F and line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix the butter, peanut butter, and sugars. (You can use beaters, but it’s easiest to just vigorously mix by hand.) Mix in eggs and vanilla until thoroughly incorporated. Add the oats, baking soda, and salt, and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate the dough while preparing the fudge topping.

Mix the chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in a small saucepan. Warm over low heat, stirring frequently, until the chocolate is completely melted. Stir vigorously to make sure the mixture is evenly mixed. Turn off the burner under the chocolate.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll half of it into walnut-sized balls, pressing each one semi-flat on the cookie sheet. Top each ball of dough with a teaspoon of the warm chocolate mixture.

Bake the cookies for 10 minutes or until just golden around the edges. Repeat with the remaining dough and fudge topping. (Warm and stir the chocolate over low heat if it has hardened too much to scoop.)

Blueberries and Battle Scars

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Don’t bake before 7am, especially when you are ill-equipped with caffeine and rudimentary baking implements like oven mitts. I had to learn the hard way. This weekend I forged on a baking rampage for a friend’s event (6 desserts in one morning- oh my), starting my day off in a Saturday morning fog that resulted in quite the gnarly burn as a side salad to these BOMB white chocolate glazed blueberry lemon brownies. I’d like to think that they – and the hello kitty bandaids that are now a staple accessory – were completely worth it. Battle scar, right?

These are obviously not your average brownies. Unlike their chocolatey counterparts, not only are these dudes super moist and dense, but they also employ one of nature’s greatest accomplishments in flavor combinations: blueberry and lemon! Taste-wise, the lemon tartness melts perfectly with the sweet blueberries and rich white chocolate. Aesthetically, the swirls of deep berry indigo gorgeously complement a perfectly yellow lemon cake. Okay, so the yellow comes mostly from the yolks, but they nevertheless create a beautiful canvas for summer’s best berry.

Beware of rouge oven racks and take the proper precautions when baking ambitiously.

Lemon Blueberry Brownies with White Chocolate Glaze (adapted from here)

Ingredients:

Brownies:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg, 2 large egg yolks (cage-free for a healthy conscious and a deeper yellow cake)
3/4 granulated sugar
6 tbsp butter, softened
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tbsp lemon juice (1/2 lemon)
2 tsp lemon zest (1 lemon)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup fresh blueberries

White Chocolate glaze:
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1 1/2 tbsp milk (I used almond)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter or line 8×8 dish with parchment paper. Mix together flour, baking soda and salt and set aside. In a large mixing bowl (or standing mixer) beat egg and egg yolks on medium speed until pale and fluffy (3-4 mins). Add sugar, butter, sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to mixture until well incorporated. Fold in blueberries. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake for 30-34 mins.

While the brownies are cooling, prepare the glaze. Combine white chocolate and milk in a microwave-safe bowl and nuke in 20 second intervals (stirring between each interval) until smooth. Pour over cooled brownies and spread evenly. Refrigerate for at least 30 mins (or put in freezer for 10 mins) before cutting.

What’s your type?

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There are two types of dessert lovers in this world: Those that love fruity desserts (I feel guilty about eating this, but even covered in whipped cream, strawberries are good for you right??) and those that cannot fathom the existence of a dessert without chocolate (What?? Cake comes in other flavors??) If you’re ever having difficulty deciding what to bake for a crowd, be forewarned that the latter far outweighs the former. The people LOVE their chocolate and this recipe is definitely a crowd pleaser.

I’ll admit I belong in the first category (A baker wit sweet-induced guilt? Masochistic, I know…) but whenever baking for a crowd, you really can’t go wrong with a good brownie. Novice bakers and fourteen year old girls will go for the boxed stuff, but there really is something magical about brownies made from scratch. Yes, I said magical: chocolate so simple, so fudgy and so goddamn good. It really doesn’t take much longer to melt the chocolate and break the eggs – I think you still have to break eggs into a mix, right? Even Betty Crocker herself would approve of this recipe! While your guests are bowing at your feet your waistline may not be as ecstatic, but we’re trying to rid ourselves of the guilt here so bake on bakers, bake on.

Find the recipe here (via Brown Eyed Baker). Oh, and add an extra tablespoon of espresso powder. Just for kicks.