BAKE OFF!

i have been baking quite a bit in the last month! the holidays have been busy and it seems i have been neglecting the blog. so many recipes to share, so many sweet tales to tell.

to start off, please meet the new love of my baking life:


so. in. love. hanukkah harry is a good man!

about a month ago my lovely co-workers and i decided to have a bake off. there are a lot of skilled bakers in my office, so it was getting pretty competitive. lots of shit talking, lots of planning, but all in good fun. we even put out an email to the whole office to recruit judges. the bake off dessert had to have an autumn theme. this is what i made:



PUMPKIN CUPCAKES. BUTTERSCOTCH CHIPS. VANILLA CREAM CHEESE FROSTING. YUM!

I used this recipe for the pumpkin cupcakes, but also added a pinch of cloves, a pinch of black pepper, and a teaspoon of maple syrup. I also added butterscotch chips, folding them in before spooning out the batter into the liners.

i made vanilla cream cheese frosting. it's easy and delicious to make this from scratch. the key is to have your cream cheese and butter very soft at room temp. also, sifting the sugar helps keep the icing light and smooth. with an icing this simple, these factors will make a large impact. i also like to add the contents of one vanilla bean.

VANILLA CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
1 package of full fat cream cheese (8 oz)
1 stick unsalted butter
2-3 cups powdered sugar (i lean closer to 2 cups as the cupcakes were pretty sweet)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean (the seeds only, not the pod)

A TIP: save the vanilla bean pods- put them in a jar with some white sugar and shake it up. in a day or so you have homemade vanilla sugar. vanilla sugar makes a cup of pg tips with milk even more delicious!

the cupcakes were a big hit! although i didn't win first prize, i was a close second. i did hold the title for 2 years, so it's only fair someone else get the glory for a short while... i let them know, i am ready for a rematch!

from queen victoria to the queen of graphic design

i spent about two weeks in london, and it reminded me of a few culinary facts:

*london DOES have great coffee (broadway market!)
*some curries are worth hiking up a mountain for (or so stated the menu write up for the best curry i ever had)
*sharon's in stamford hill is worth a bus trip on the 149
*victoria sponge cake- when made right- is AMAZING!

so when i realized i had a very special birthday at the end of my first week back, i set out to make my first victoria sponge cake. shocking that an anglophile such as myself hasn't made one before- i know! i turned to the queen of british cooking, one of my idols, nigella. the cake was for one of my favorite people at work, and in general- willa. not only is she the queen of graphic design, but she's the queen of many hearts at our office. she is also always very complimentary of everything i cook / bake.

the victoria sponge is a pretty basic cake- so i think investing in quality ingredients is important more so than usual. they now sell kerrygold butter at trader joe's which makes me very happy. this cakes takes lots of butter, so this new development made my day. i decided on trader joe's blackberry preserves, because it's my absolute favorite jam they make. i wanted to use clotted cream, but couldn't find any... anywhere! i made fresh whipped cream at the last minute which was nice.

this cake can all be done using one big bowl, and a hand mixer. yes. mix in all the following ingredients- save the milk for last and mix that in slowly.

1 cup unsalted butter (very soft)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 large eggs
1 1/3 cups cake flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
3-4 tablespoons milk (mix in with the hand mixer on low)

put in two 8" round pans that are buttered. bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.



after the cakes have cooled for a good while, put them on two plates, and put whipped cream on one side, and jam on the other. sandwich together. i used a good amount of jam, so it ran over. i just used a knife to smooth it all out, and covered with powdered sugar. make sure this cake goes in the fridge if you are not serving right away.

this cake was delicious! even my cream-phobic friend rachel was lovvvvving it.

also- a special thanks to my #1 bunny rabbit for serving as sous chef :)

muhn rolls for nahal

muhn (AKA poppy seed) cake is one of my favorite desserts. when i was last in germany (berlin) it was my quest to find the best muhn cake possible... funny enough, nothing came close to the muhn cake i used to get at spitalfields market in london, around 2002. these german cake ladies were unstoppable! my friends and i used to bring back large moist slices of poppy seed, apple and rhubarb and slowly eat them with cups of pg tips. delicious memories.

recently on a trip to sahadis, i spotted poppy seed filling! i was excited, because i had been talking about making poppy seed filled something for so long. most traditional recipes for the filling require quark, which is really hard to find outside of germany/austria/hungary... i am going to work on a homemade filling recipe soon, but this was a great way to get my muhn fix in the meantime. i should also mention that while i was in line waiting to buy the filling, michael shannon was sanding behind me singing christmas carols...




it was my friend nahal's last day of work friday. i thought it would be nice to make something for breakfast that a bunch of us could share. originally i was going to make cinnamon rolls and then i remembered the poppyseed filling. mmm! i used a basic cinnamon roll recipe and just used the poppyseed filling instead. it was quick, easy, delicious and it looked lovely when i was done!



the dough:
3/4 cup cottage cheese (4% milk fat)
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tbs unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups flour; more for rolling
1 tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
sugar for sprinkling when done*

filling:
poppyseed goodness
melted butter

icing:
3/4 cup powder sugar
2 tbs milk (maybe more, depending on how thick you like it)
splash vanilla

combine the cottage cheese, buttermilk, sugar, melted butter, and vanilla. process until smooth. add the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. the dough will be soft and moist. put on a well floured surface. knead a few times. roll out into a rectangle. cover with melted butter. add poppyseed filling. slowly roll the dough to form a long roll. take a very sharp knife and cut out rolls. place in a well buttered dish/pan. sprinkle with sugar. bake at 400 for 20 minutes. after this has cooled, cover with icing.





nom nom nom! muhn rolls for nahal <3

hot chocolate boyfriend brownies!

a few months ago one of the legal interns brought in the most amazing brownies. of course i told her she had to send me the recipe. she finally did... going by her original recipe produces delicious results, but i decided to change it up a little bit. half of these went to my new boo, but some of them made it into the office, which was very appreciated. this recipe also produces some of the best brownie batter i have ever tasted--- i really didn't think you could beat box brownies--- but these do!

Ingredients



* 2 eggs

* 3/4 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla

* 1/2 cup butter

* 3/4 cup ghirardelli ground chocolate
* 2/3 cup flour

* 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

* 1/4 teaspoon salt

* teaspoon vegetable oil
* 2 teaspoons of milk
* 1 tablespoon cinnamon
* semi sweet chocolate chips
* hot chocolate mix for dusting (cadbury is my pick)


directions



1. oven at 350 degrees F.

2. cream butter with sugar and vanilla; add eggs. beat till well mixed.
3. mix ground chocolate with flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

4. stir into egg mixture; add oil, milk, and chocolate chips last.
5. 8 x 8 well greased pan
6. Bake 40-45 minutes







the flavor reminds me of the hot chocolate in barcelona. straight up brownies are effing delicious, but sometimes it's nice open yourself up to something a little different...

popcorn, marshmallows, chocolate and cinnamon... oh my

happy halloween from sookie stackhouse! one of my favorite days/nights of the year. a chance to dress up, play pranks, watch old horror films, be a little naughty and eat candy... popcorn balls has always been one of my favorite halloween treats. i had never made them before, but i discovered the recipe is almost the same as rice krispie treats. i decided to try adding some chocolate and cinnamon to make them a little more exciting, after all halloween is about sugar overload, so why not go ALL THE WAY.

what you'll need:
half a stick of butter
bag of marshmallows
3 quarts of popcorn
1/4 cup of light brown sugar
1/4 cup hot chocolate mix (cadbury for me)
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/2 cup chocolate chips

in a LARGE pot, cook the butter, sugar and marshmallows. melt them down till you have a big pot of ooey gooey melted marshmallow goodness. after that, turn the heat to low. in a large bag mix the popcorn, hot chocolate mix, cinnamon and chocolate chips. add the bag of 'seasoned' popcorn to the marshmallow goo. stir till well coated. coat your hands with butter and roll the mixture into tightly packed popcorn balls. let cool on wax paper and serve. i added a few smarties for fun.

mahalo! civil liberties fighters collab on calamondin cookies.

i work for a very special organization that i love. we protect civil liberties. we defend those that have no voice. we take on the man. bill o'reilly hates us, we are keeping the human rights on lock, and rachel maddow (LOVE HER) is our friend. also- we have affiliates all over this great big U.S of A! recently, on a trip to hawaii, i got to hang out with our hawaii affiliates. they are super awesome. one affiliate in particular, who always sends sunshine in her emails, also mailed me some delicious calamondin jelly she made herself! i had never tried calamondin. it's sweet and tangy and looks like honey. i have enjoyed it on crackers- but i wanted to attempt baking with the jelly.


HAWAII/NATIONAL COOKIE COLLABORATION EXTRAVAGANZAZAZA!

*also- my co-workers and i watched obama land today- i guess these cookies are also in his honor- son to hawaii!

i used a very basic butter cookie recipe.

i made thumb prints. i added the calamondin jelly, which was sticky (not easy)-- i decided to make a few blueberry jam cookies on a whim.



15 minutes later:



i should also mention i work in an office of culinary savages/foodies/cookie monsters. get ready kids.