Welcome to My New Kitchen

As I said in a previous blog posts, I moved into a new apartment on the 4th of July weekend. My kitchen is a bit much smaller than my last apartment, but there are benefits: gas range, stainless steel counter top, and more windows (which means better lighting for photos).

So, without further ado...

Welcome!

My workspace!

Yup, it's small. Also, since taking the photo above, I put my microwave to the right of my range... temporarily. I have most of the cabinets full, but I'm waiting on my boyfriend to arrive for me to put most of it away.

See all of my appliances still in boxes? That's because my boyfriend is bringing a 3-tier shelf/cart that I will be using to hold my appliances (including my microwave), as well as other kitchen things.

This will help free up my counter space, which is very little as is! So, until then I will be using hard work (not my Kithchen Aid mxier!) to do my baking, cooking, etc.

I haven't baked anything and haven't even cooked very much at all in the 2 weeks I've lived here. With all of my appliances (except my microwave) and some of my cookware still in boxes, I've been unmotivated to make do with what I have at my disposal thus far. That is... until this afternoon!

First, I had to hunt through my two remaining kitchen boxes to find my mixing bowls, as well as hope when I found them that they were all still in one piece! Luckily they were! Now, it's time to bake!

Mocha Oat Mini-Muffins

Makes approx. 44 mini-muffins.

Nutrition and recipe here.

• 1.25 cups whole wheat flour
• .75 cups rolled oats
• 1/3 cup dutch process cocoa
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 packet Starbucks Via coffee granules
• .5 cup coconut oil
• 3 egg whites
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup light soy milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix all wet ingredients ins a small bowl and add to dry mix.

When combined, fill greased mini-muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake for 10 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove muffins and let them cool on a wire rack.

If you want to make large muffins, bake for about 15 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test.

LOST (...in baking)

The series finale of LOST was just over one week ago. It was my favorite show on TV and the finale was awesome (at least in my opinion; others definitely feel differently!). In the past, I've baked some stuff for LOST, but definitely nothing compared to what I brought to my friend's finale party!

The best thing about this cake is a combination of two things: it looks complicated, but it's really a very basic technique!

LOST Finale Cake

1 box white cake mix (I used Reduced Sugar Pillsbury)

1 box dark chocolate cake mix (I used Reduced Sugar Pillsbury)

1/2 batch Creamy Vanilla Almond Icing + 1/4 cup Hershey's Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder

1 tub creamy vanilla frosting (I used Reduced Sugar Pillsbury)

2 ounces Semisweet Baker's Chocolate

blue food coloring

green food coloring

Follow directions for cake using two 8" round cake pans (for each flavor of cake). I made the following substitutions:

• Margarine for the butter
• Unsweetened apple sauce for the oil

Let cakes cool completely before frosting. In the meantime, make the frosting (link above) by adding the cocoa powder before you add the powdered sugar. Set aside.

Also, make yourself the numbers... not just any numbers... but the numbers! ;) Melt the chocolate, put it in a piping bag (I used a Ziploc bag and cut the tip off of it), write the numbers on a piece of parchment or wax paper, and put in the fridge until hardened.

When cakes are cooled, stack them on top of each other.

I made 2 round chocolate pieces, one round white cake piece, and one square white cake piece (which will come into play later). My white layer was a bit wider than the chocolate so I trimmed it to fit.

Next, find something round to trace that's about half the diameter of the cake rounds. Mine was a cookie jar lid.

Using a knife with small serrations, I cut through all the layers of the cake at the same time. I repeated this through the one layer of square white cake. (You can use another round, but I only had 3 round cake pans, haha!) Then you'll have a core.

Rearranged the core to be the opposite of the outer ring. So, the outer ring is black-white-black and the inner ring is white-black-white. I used the black cake to make the dome on top, carving it as best I could.  In between each layer I put the previously-made chocolate frosting to hold it all together.

I dyed 3/4 of the white store-bought tub of frosting blue (for the water) and the other 1/4 I dyed green (for the island's jungle).

 

First thing's first: let me explain why I'm not using home-made frosting. I didn't have the stuff, and I always keep an emergency stash of boxed cake mix and pre-made frosting for emergencies! If you want to make your own frosting, I always say go for it!

Now, it's time for the "crumb layer" of frosting. When frosting most cakes (especially when they've been cut into, like the dome "island") you'll get tons of crumbs in the frosting. So, I used about 1/4 of each frosting and did a thin layer, then let it sit for a little while (about 10 minutes) so the crumbs would stick more to the cake.

See the difference? :) All you need to do now is grab the numbers, and put them on the outside!

Now, what's with all of those cores and layers and stuff on the inside? Well, check it out!

For all of you LOST fans out there, I used three main themes from the series in this cake:

1. Black vs. White (the two kinds of cake)
2. The Island (the colored frosting)
3. The Numbers (the chocolate on the outside)

Dorky? Yes. Yummy? For sure! You can make boxed mixes into fabulous baked goods by just using simple techniques!

Subway Series Super-Simple Cupcakes!

All you need to make a delicious, easy, not-too-bad-for-you cake (or cupcakes) are two ingredients:

12 ounces diet cola

1 box cake mix

That's it. If you've never heard of this or tried it, I bet it sounds weird. The first time I did this was about a year ago and I was really doubtful. At the time I used Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper and devil's food cake mix. (This time I used Diet Cherry-Vanilla Pepsi and devil's food cake, as you can see above.)

 I mean... look at that! It looks so weird! But, when you mix it up a little and the carbonation dies down...

...it looks like regular [cup]cake batter. Go figure! 

Give it a try and be creative with it! I've heard using diet cream soda with french vanilla cake mix tastes delicious. And that diet orange soda with vanilla cake mix tastes like a Creamsicle. Just beware of any potential color changes - don't use dark cola with a white cake mix unless you want a confusingly brown cake!

The full nutrition information for a 16-serving batch of this wonderful recipe can be found here.

Subway Series Cupcakes

Makes 16 Cupcakes

12 oz diet cola

1 box devil's food cake mix

1 batch Creamy Vanilla Almond Icing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pan with 16 paper liners.

Combine both ingredients until combined. Distribute batter evenly into liners (about 3/4 full) and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from center. Let cool completely before frosting.

I used the above mentioned Almond Icing recipe but colored 1/4 of it orange (for the Amazin' Mets), left 1/4 of it white (for the stupid Yankees), and the remaining half was dyed blue (because both teams have blue as their color). Because I used liquid food coloring, it needed a bit more powdered sugar to hold the shape when the stars were piped on them; otherwise, the frosting recipe was followed completely and yielded great results! I've had horrible luck with frostings, but I think this will be my go-to recipe as it is easy to remember (equal parts cream cheese and butter, then powdered sugar until desired consistency... so simple!) and tastes great.

Oh, by the way: the Mets won the series 2-1. I'd like to think my cupcakes helped. :)

Carb Addiction? Maybe!

I'm realizing more and more as I look at the foods I'm eating on my SparkPeople nutrition tracker that I'm totally enamored with carbohydrates. Not necessarily white sugar (as I tend to use Truvia in my coffee, baking, etc.) or breads, but I eat lots of cereal, oatmeal, fruits, and other things that are high in carbs and naturally-occurring sugars.

But, since I've been baking and cooking more frequently due to this blog (more so baking than cooking!) I've been completely carb-crazy beyond what I've been previously!

Anyway, here are some delicious creations that were pretty simple! One is my very own creation, and one is from another blog.

Strawberry-Banana Flax Pancakes

Makes 6 Pancakes

1 cup Heart Smart Bisquick mix

2 tbsp ground flax meal

1 banana, mashed

3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk

4 strawberries, diced

2 packets Truvia sweetener

1 egg white

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Make pancakes with a 1/4 cup measuring cup and cook until brown on both sides.

I don't think these need any syrup because when you get a bite that has a bit of strawberry in it, you get a punch of sweetness! Man, Bisquick is awesome -- perfect for lazy folks like myself!

Cocoa Banana Cupcakes

Makes 12 Cupcakes

Taken from Love and Olive Oil.

This was really simple to make! Substitute apple sauce for the oil and Truvia for the sugar and it will be not-so-bad for you in the end... right? (Haha.)

Flavor-full, photo-full, and recipe-full!

It's been a while since I've posted any recipes, and for that I am so sorry! Despite this, I have been baking like crazy lately, so this post will be full of many delicious recipes!

But, first...

My last recipe that was posted was a layered minty brownie. Despite the components of them tasting very good that night, when I brought them to work it was kind of disastrous. The frosting slowly melted while at work. It only took about 10 minutes out on my desk for it to start getting really messy. My coworkers also gave it mediocre reviews. Edible, but not delicious, so I don't think I'll make these again.

Determined, I continued on with the baking and came up with many other delicious things to compensate for this semi-failure.

Apple Doughnuffins

About 15 Muffins

Based on this recipe.

Full nutrition is here.

For muffins:
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
.5 cup sugar
3 packets Truvia sweetener
.25 tsp ground cinnamon
.75 cup light plain soy milk
3 tbsp egg whites
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract

For topping:
2 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp Earth Balance spread, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease muffin tray with non-stick spray.

Mix all wet ingredients until thoroughly combined, followed by dry ingredients. Distribute evenly in muffin tray and bake for 15-20 minutes or until it passes the clean toothpick test.

For topping, melt the margarine. In a separate bowl mix the cinnamon and sugar. When muffins are done baking, brush tops with melted margarine and dunk in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Serve immediately or let cool.

Fun fact: The apple sauce I used was home-made by a friend's mother! It's so so so yummy! I named them "doughnuffins" because they are extremely airy like a doughnut!

What I learned: These muffins stuck to the paper liners. I never used to use liners, but decided on a whim to try them a few months ago. I loved how little clean-up there was after baking (hell, I'm lazy, so this was great!) but now I know that the less butter there is in something, the more it will stick... and holy crap... these were practically PLASTERED to the liners! Whoops. Now I know.

So, this was a bit of a failure, too, but what you could separate from the liner was yummy!

Mocha Brownies

Makes 32 Squares

Based on this recipe.

Full nutrition here.

Because I precisely followed the recipe (for probably the first time ever!) I'm not going to post the full recipe here. I even used all of the ingredients... even heavy cream! *shock!* The only thing I did differently was use two 8x8 glass dishes instead of one 13x9 dish. Because I'm a dork, I know that the usable square inches is nearly identical so I figured it wouldn't affect it too much... and I was right!

These were a complete and utter success!

What I learned: Firstly, I made ganache for the first time! This taught me patience, yet again.

Heating the cream on medium-low heat took a while, especially staring at it waiting for the bubbles to start forming. Letting the hot cream sit on top of the chocolate for 5 minutes was absolutely painstaking! In the end, it was totally worth it and it yielded a creamy, delicious ganache!

I also used a pastry bag for the first time! I only did some simple dots of ganache with a #4 tip, but it was still fun to use!

In the middle of the large dot in the center is not a jelly bean - it's a Trader Joe's Espresso Pillow! These things are delicious just as a snack, but they totally worked with this brownie treat!

Finally, I learned that sometimes the full-fat, original recipes can be the best. I was told by many of my friends and coworkers that this is the best recipe I've ever made. A few wanted the recipe, too, and I totally gave credit to the original!

Strawberry-Banana Bread

Makes 12 Slices

Loosely based off of this recipe.

Nutrition info is here.

1.5 cups whole wheat flour
.25 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 eggs
1/4 cup agave nectar
1.5 cup diced strawberries
2 tbsp ground flax meal
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 bananas, mashed
2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp light plain soy milk
1 tbsp quick oats

Spray the bottom and sides of a loaf pan with non-stick spray. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, mix the diced strawberries and agave nectar and set aside.

Mix together the mashed bananas, vanilla, flax meal, soy milk, apple sauce, and eggs in a large bowl. When combined, add the strawberry-agave mixture and mix.

Add all remaining ingredients to the mixture except oats. When everything is mixed together, pour into prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle oats on top.

Bake for 20 minutes. Cover with foil and bake for another 25 minutes. Remove bread from the pan and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before slicing.

...isn't strawberry season the best season??!! :)

A Busy Baking Weekend

This was a busy, busy weekend for me. I had two events to bake for on Saturday, then I had to contemplate a delicious treat to make for my coworkers tomorrow. Be prepared: yummy photos ahead.

Event #1: Keeneland Tailgating

My goal was to come up with something not easily perishable or melt-able (since it was going to be sitting out in the sun for long periods of time) but easy to share among a large group. I took this recipe and made it my own:

Cinnamon Butterscotch Cake

Serves... many!

For cake:
6 oz (weight) unsweetened apple sauce
6 oz (approx. 1 cup) whole wheat flour
4 oz brown sugar
4 oz granulated sugar
2.5 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
3 tbsp light soy milk

For butterscotch glaze:
1 cup butterscotch chips
1/4 cup light soy milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease an 8x8 glass baking dish with non-stick spray.

Mix the apple sauce and sugars until combined. Add eggs. When completely mixed, add in cinnamon and baking powder.

Slowly add in flour, alternating with milk. Pour into the baking dish and bake 20-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in center.

Remove from the oven and put on a cooling rack. While cooling, prepare the glaze.

Heat soy milk until boiling (I did this in the microwave). Put butterscotch chips in a glass mixing bowl and pour the boiling milk on top of the chips. Let it sit for 3-4 minutes then vigorously mix until smooth. (If it needs to be melted more, put the bowl in the microwave for 15 second intervals, mixing after each time in the microwave, until everything is melted.)

Let the liquid sit for 5 minutes to thicken a little bit, then pour over the entire cake as evenly as possible.

You can serve immediately, but I recommend letting it sit overnight so the glaze can penetrate the cake and harden a little. When cooled, cut and serve!


Event #2: BBQ

This one had to also be able to sit in a car during the tailgating, since my friend and I were heading straight to a mutual friend's house immediately after the horse race. It had to also be able to be shared, and because my friends have been spoiled by my baked goods lately, it had to be different than anything I've made for them before. I chose to give this recipe an almond twist.

Almond Butter Filled Cocoa Cookies

Yields approx. 32 cookies

For cookies:

1½ cups whole wheat flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ cup margarine, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup light soy milk

For filling:
½ cup powdered sugar
½ cup natural creamy almond butter


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

Mix flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda in a small bowl. In a large bowl, cream white and brown sugar with margarine. Combine wet and dry ingredients. It will be a little dryer than your average cookie dough because you'll have to manage the dough in your hands.

In a separate bowl, combine the almond butter and powdered sugar.

With your hands, scoop up about 3 tablespoons of the chocolate batter and form it into a disk. Place about 1 teaspoon of the almond butter mixture in the center of the disk and fold the sides of the disk up, smoothing out the seam. Place on the cookie sheet seam-side down.

Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes.


Event #3: Spoil My Coworkers

I've sort of been baking my coworkers things that I know they'd like. Now I'm thinking about myself. One of my favorite combinations is mint and chocolate, and I've been wanting to take a stab at cream cheese frosting, so I used this recipe and this recipe as inspiration for this funky-looking confection.

Icy Cool Layered Brownies

32 servings

Brownies:

1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 cup sugar
12 packets Truvia
3/4 cup egg whites
3/4 cup Hershey's cocoa
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp almond extract

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 lb powdered sugar
8 tbsp Earth Balance spread at room temperature
1 package 2/3 Philadelphia cream cheese (8 oz) at room temperature
1 tsp peppermint extract
24 drops blue food coloring

Chocolate Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
4 tbsp Earth Balance spread
2 tbsp fat free sweetened evaporated milk
1 oz 72% cacao bittersweet chocolate, chopped


Heat oven to 325-350 degrees. Grease 13x9 glass baking dish, or two 8x8 glass baking dishes.

For brownies:

Stir together apple sauce, sugar, and almond extract. Beat in eggs egg whites. Add cocoa, flour, and baking powder; beat until well blended. Pour batter into pan and bake 30-35 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from the sides and toothpick tester comes out clean. Cool completely.

For cream cheese frosting:

Beat together butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and pepperment extract. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until you have used it all and the frosting is smooth. Pour over cooled brownies and chill.

For the chocolate glaze:

Melt chocolate and butter in double broiler, mix with powdered sugar and add milk one tbsp at a time.

Pour glaze over frosted brownies. It didn't cover all of it for me, so I took a toothpick and swirled it around to give it a fun swirly look.

Currently they are in the fridge getting solid so I can slice them easier. These are the only things I've yet to taste... but based on how each component tastes separately, I'm confident it will all come out okay!

A Lazy Girl's Best Friend

The first time I've ever used parchment paper was yesterday afternoon when baking crackers. I've always substituted "parchment-lined cookie sheet" with "spray with Pam" due to sheer laziness, but now I think I'll always use parchment paper when I can! It's awesome!

I also used parchment paper when baking my version of Chocolate Sandwich Cookies with Strawberry Cream this evening. I've been eyeing this recipe for a while and have all of the ingredients, except for strawberry preserves. All I did was substitute what I did have on hand: raspberry preserves!

Also, to cut back on the oodles of sugar, I cut the sugar in half and used 12 packets of Truvia. Sure, it was minimal since the cream has so much sugar in it, but you really can't tell because... well... the cream totally sweetens things up!

If you ever try this recipe (which I highly recommend!) just be forewarned that the amount of filling that the recipe makes gave me way too much for the number of cookies I yielded! I have at least half of it still in my fridge... I don't think I have enough cocoa to make another batch of cookies for it, but I'll have to find something to do with it. Maybe vanilla cupcakes? Any suggestions will be more than welcome!

I have a feeling my coworkers are going to love me tomorrow when I bring these goodies in!

Full recipe & nutrition here.