Experimenting...

Okay, I had an idea on the train home tonight. I was thinking about how I want to find some lavender to make my lavender shortbread which is...amazing. So, my eyes are peeled.

Then I got to thinking ... there's a huge tea boom going on (at least in NYC). I love tea. I love tea related baked goods. Perhaps this is my time to start formulating some recipes.

So I pose this question ... what would you like to try??

Thanks for the input!!

Guinness and Baileys Irish Cupcakes

I apologize ... I had meant to blog this prior to St. Patty's Day and I just am not sure where my time has gone!! (Well...I do know between rehearsals for one project and performances for another, but still. A girl should have time to blog!)

The Irish in me loves loves loves this cupcake. I've found another variation, which I intend to try out and will report back! These cupcakes are moist and delicious. I was amazed at how rich and chocolaty the Guinness made the cupcakes! I've actually made these twice thus far - the first time I used the Guinness 250 (the Anniversary addition), and this time with the regular Guinness. I was afraid it wouldn't be as rich with the regular Guinness, as the 250 is a bit more chocolaty - but it worked wonderfully in this recipe.

So...while this cupcake is PERFECT for something like St. Patrick's Day, I think it's wonderful anytime of year.

Guinness and Baileys Irish Cupcakes
adapted from IrishCentral.com & Annie's Eats

Yields: 24 medium cupcakes
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients:

For Cupcakes:

• 1 cup stout (Guinness)
• 16 TBS (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cups sour cream

For Baileys Ganache Filling

• 8 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 TBS butter, at room temperature
• 2 tsp Baileys Irish cream

For Baileys butter cream frosting

• 8 TBS (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3-4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
• 4-8 TBS Baileys Irish Cream

Recipe

1. To make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. Combine the Guinness and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
   
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the eggs and sour cream to blend.
4. Add the stout-butter mixture and beat just to combine. Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed just until incorporated. Dived the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 - 3/4 full.
5. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes - rotating the pans once halfway through baking. Allow them to cool in the pan for 5 - 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
6. TO MAKE THE GANACHE FILLING: Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until simmering, then pour it over the chocolate. Let sit for one minute and then whisk until smooth. If the chocolate is not completely melted, place the bowl over a double boiler or give it a very short burst in the microwave (15 - 20 seconds). Add the butter and Baileys and stir until combined. Set ganache aside and let cool until it is thick enough to be piped. (You can use the refrigerator to speed the cooling process, but be sure to stir every 10 minutes or so to ensure even cooling.)
7. PREPARE CUPCAKES: Scoop out the center of the cupcakes for filling. There are a variety of methods for this. My favorite method for scooping out the insides is to take a large piping tip and use that to core the cupcake.
8. Once the ganache has reached the correct consistency, transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a wide tip and pipe it into the cupcakes.
   
9. TO MAKE THE FROSTING: Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Gradually add the powdered sugar until it is all incorporated. Mix in the Baileys until smooth. Add more if necessary until the frosting has reached a good consistency for piping. Frost the cupcakes.

Enjoy!!

Lemon-Poppyseed Muffins

I gotta say...I'm not really a huge muffin fan. But, people really enjoy when you bring a batch of fresh muffins to work. So, sometimes I make muffins. I'm not anti-muffin or anything.

For some reason I've always been drawn to lemon-poppyseed muffins. Something about citrus just does it for me. These muffins don't have a lot of lemony tang in the muffin bit, but have a lovely lemony glaze that really just makes the flavor pop. There are a lot of variations on this basic muffin recipe - today I'll just do the lemon-poppyseed but as I work my way through making the other muffins I will be sure to post.

Lemon-Poppyseed Muffins
courtesy of the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Yields: 12 large muffins, or about 22 medium muffins
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 + 1/4 cups sugar (divided)
  
• 1 TBS baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 TBS poppyseeds
• 1 TBS grated lemon zest
  
• 1 1/2 cups lowfat plain yogurt
• 2 large eggs
• 8 TBS (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Generously coat muffin tin(s) with vegetable oil spray, or line with baking cups.
2. Mix the flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and poppyseeds together in a large bowl. Whisk the yogurt, eggs and lemon zest together in a medium bowl. Gently fold the yogurt-egg mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula unil just combined. Fold in the melted butter.
3. Use a large ice-cream scoop or measuring cup to divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes.
4. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then flip out onto a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before serving
   
5. While baking - heat 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice in a small saucepan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture forms a light syrup, 3 to 4 minutes. Brush the warm syrup over the warm baked muffins and serve.

Enjoy with a nice cup of coffee or afternoon tea!

Chocolate Scones

Typically, I'm not a scone person. Never have been. I know lots of people who like scones, however, so....occasionally I go out on a limb and bake something that I'm not enamored with for the good of the people.

Now...this scone recipe comes from one of my FAVORITE cookbooks, which I had misplaced for years. In Illinois, there is this amazing monk, Father Dominic. He had (has?) a show on PBS that I would watch when in college called "Breaking Bread with Father Dominic", and he has a few cookbooks which you have to search for. But the search is worthwhile...all the items I've tried are amazing and he seems like a fantastic individual. I'd actually love to meet him and bake with him sometime.

This scone recipe is great for someone who is not a scone fan ... they are amazing, have wonderful taste and texture. So, weather you are a scone fan or not...I recommend throwing a batch of these together next time you have a house guest, are going to a brunch, or just want a tasty coffee-time treat.

Chocolate Scones
courtesy of Breaking Bread with Father Dominic 2

Yields: 8 scones
Active Prep Time: 5 - 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 - 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups white flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cold, cut into small pieces
• 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
• 1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Sift flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl, stir thoroughly. Using a pastry blender or two sharp knives, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in chocolate morsels.
3. Combine cream, egg and vanilla in a small bowl; whisk until well blended. Add cream mixture to flour mixture; stir with a wooden spoon until just moistened. Do not overmix.
4. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently 8 or 10 strokes. Place dough on lightly greased baking sheet and pt into a flattened circle, about 8 inches in diameter. Using a large knife or long spatula, cut circle into 8 wedges, but do not separate the pieces.
5. bake in preheated 400-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes. The scones should be firm on the edges, but still soft in the middle. Remove from baking sheet and let cool on a wire rack. Cut into wedges before serving.

Scones can be served warm or cool, with clotted cream or butter and preserves.

Enjoy!!

Becky's Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

I always love a classic chocolate chip cookie. In fact, I think it was probably the first thing I learned to bake many many many years ago. There's something about a chocolate chip cookie when you've had a long day that reminds you (or me at any rate) of Mom. So, when I need to run in the kitchen and whip something up quick I tend to turn to the chocolate chip cookie. Or, if someone I know needs some comfort...chocolate chip cookies. And not all chocolate chip cookies are made equal I've learned over time.

So, this is my favorite recipe that I use whenever I have a need for cookies (and believe me...I have a batch in the oven right now and they smell AMAZING!)

Chocolate Chip Cookies
courtesy of Me

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoon homemade vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F.
2. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.
   
3. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy.
   
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
   
5. Gradually beat in flour mixture.
   
6. Stir in the chocolate chips.
   
7. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
8. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Enjoy with some milk, soy milk or ice cream!!!

The always classic brownie

Another one of my deep dark baking secrets, for many years, was my lack of desire to make brownies from scratch. It seemed like no matter what recipe I tried, the box mix was always better. A lot of the recipes I tried would be too cake-like, and when I want a brownie I want a nice, chewy brownie. Not a version of chocolate cake...if I wanted chocolate cake, then I'd make a cake, you know? Anyway...I finally stumbled onto this brownie recipe. Since I like almost anything in the Chocolate Bar cookbook, I knew that this would be a good one to try.

It's an easy recipe to throw together when you are just wanting something nice and chocolaty...holds up well if you warm it up and throw a dollop of ice cream on-top, or if you need something for the bake sale.

Deep Dark Brownies
courtesy of The Chocolate Bar Cookbook

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 TBS cocoa powder
• 4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 3/4 tsp instant espresso powder
• 5 oz semisweet chocolate
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup (4 1/2 oz) semisweet chocolate chips (optional - though it should really only be option if you don't have them. They are a definite asset to the brownie!!)

Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (If you are using a dark-colored baking pan reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.) Butter the bottom of an 8-inch square baking pan.
2. Sift the flour, salt and cocoa powder together into a bowl; set aside.
3. In a medium-large, heavy saucepan, combine the butter and espresso powder and stir over low heat until the butter is melted. Add the chocolate, stirring constantly until the mixture appears completely smooth, approx. 2 minutes.
4. Take the chocolate mixture off of the heat and add the sugars, mixing until combined.
5. Add the eggs and vanilla and continue stirring until they are evenly incorporated and the mixture does not appear grainy.
6. Sprinkle the sifted flour over the mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in chips if using. Pour the batter into the greased pan and smooth the top. Bake the brownies for 28 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Do not overbake. Cool completely on a wire.

Enjoy!!

Pledging my undying love for my KitchenAid Mixer & Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake

So far, I'm enjoying my new kitchen! We have a teeny bit more counter space than the old one and are in search of additional counter space for the kitchen. So, what's the first thing that I found a place for in the kitchen? That's right, my KitchenAid Stand Mixer. It is a beautiful piece of machinery. After drooling over these babies for years, my folks finally got me one about a year and a half ago as a gift. And where has she been for the past year and a half? That's right...sitting in the original packaging in my bedroom. Our old apartment was counter-space challenged, and we just couldn't find any place for the old girl. (I'm still in the process of naming her...I'm thinking something French or an old lady name...thoughts?) And tonight I was in the process of making a cake...the perfect instance to give her a spin! She's quite and mixes beautifully & quickly. I think my life may have just changed....

And now, onto the main event:
Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake

I was recently approached by a client to make a traditional chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. I'm not normally a cake girl, not that I don't like it...I just never have cause to bake one. Thus I rose to the challenge. This recipe is from one of my absolute favorite cookbooks: The Chocolate Bar (Thanks to Michelle PaoPao for introducing me to it! Sometime I will post about my pilgrimage to THE Chocolate Bar in NYC). Anyway, in the recipe in the book this cake is referred to as a "Stalwart" of a cake. Yup...that's a really accurate description. My client asked for chocolaty and that is just what she is getting!! Without further ado...the recipe:

Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake
courtesy of the Chocolate Bar Cookbook

Yields: 10 Servings (one 8" or 9" 2-layer cake)
Active time: About 25 minutes
Bake time: 35-40 minutes (for 9") or 50 - 55 minutes (for 8")

Ingredients:
Fudge Cake

• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened nonalkalized cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 1 TBS vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted & cooled
• 1/2 cup corn oil
• 1 1/4 cups ice water

Fudge Frosting

• 6 oz unsweetened chocolate
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1 TBS vanilla extract

The recipe:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of two 8-inch or two 9-inch round cake pans. Cut parchment to fit in the bottom, then butter the parchment in the bottom of the pan. Dust the pans with flour and tap out the excess.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, sugars, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir the dry ingredients together with a whisk.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream and vanilla until blended.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer (aka my beautiful new KitchenAid...), using the paddle attachment or beaters, beat the melted butter and corn oil on low speed until blended. Beat in the water. Add the dry ingredients all at once and mix on low speed for about 1 minute, until blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the egg mixture and mix for about 1 minute, or until blended. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans.
• Bake the cakes for 50 to 55 minutes (for 8" cakes) or 35 - 40 minutes (for 9" cakes), or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans on wire racks for 15 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the racks and cool completely.

Make the frosting...

• Put the chocolate in the top of a double boiler and melt over barely simmering water. Remove the top of the double boiler and let the chocolate cool.
• Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed for about 1 minute, or until creamy. Add the sifted confectioners' sugar and beat for about 2 minutes, or until well blended and light. Beat in the vanilla extract. Reduce the speed to low and beat in the cooled chocolate.
• Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for about 1 minute, or until glossy & smooth.

Assemble the cake...

• Using a long, serrated knife, slice off the domed top of each cake layer, so that the cakes are flat. Either crumble to decorate the cake, or reserve to enjoy on your own.
• Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Scrape about 1/2 cup of the frosting over the cake, and using a small offset metal spatula, spread it into an even layer. Top the cake with the remaining frosting.
  
• Serve the cake immediately, or refrigerate and bring to room temperature before serving.

Enjoy!!