By Jeanne, on April 27th, 2012
The Daring Bakers’ April 2012 challenge, hosted by Jason at Daily Candor, were two Armenian standards: nazook and nutmeg cake. Nazook is a layered yeasted dough pastry with a sweet filling, and nutmeg cake is a fragrant, nutty coffee-style cake.
It feels good to be back to baking. The familiar whir of my stand mixer and the arm soreness that results from working cold butter into flour and sugar welcomed me back to my place in front of the oven. But the aroma of this cake really swept me away. The scent of nutmeg and cinnamon melding with butter and brown sugar is completely intoxicating.
Continue reading “Daring Bakers Challenge: Armenian Nutmeg Cake” »
By Jeanne, on April 2nd, 2012
The official title for this recipe is “The Heart-Healthiest Chocolate Chip Cookies in the World”. They also happen to be vegan, but with the title as long as it is, the vegan label seems to have been dropped. I’m more inclined to name this recipe “Go Ahead, Just Try To Get These Cookies in the Oven Before You Eat All the Dough”.
Continue reading “Monochrome Monday: Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies” »
By Jeanne, on March 19th, 2012
Monochrome Monday has been on a bit of a hiatus, but I’m working on making it a more regular event and encouraging more participation from all of you! I’ve been posting mostly film images, which accounts for the delay in between posts. If I’m not shooting Polaroid, I’ve got to wait until I shoot the entire roll of film and set aside a few hours to develop and scan it. This process is one that I love dearly but it’s not one that can be rushed. After a lot of hemming and hawing, and wondering if I can step fully into the digital photography world without abandoning my analog SLR, I took the leap and purchased a DSLR this weekend. As soon as I can figure out how to shoot monochrome with it, you can expect to enjoy the complete spectrum of photography for Monochrome Monday: Polaroid, 35mm film, and digital.
This cupcake is the baker’s equivalent of the analog/digital photography debate. The best vegan chocolate cake I have ever had, topped with buttery non-vegan vanilla buttercream. Shot with Kodak BW400CN film and developed by the photo lab.
Have a Monochrome Monday post to share? Leave a link in the comments.
By Jeanne, on March 15th, 2012
Happy belated Pi day! I meant to have this pie constructed, consumed, and posted in time for Pi Day yesterday. It might even have been decorated with mathematical equations. But life got in the way. A trip to the emergency vet in the wee hours of the morning and the subsequent sleepless nights kept me from the kitchen and delayed my Pi Day festivities. But since it contains two types of liqueur and the filling is a subtle green color, this grasshopper pie serves double duty as Pi Day celebration and St. Patrick’s Day dessert.
Continue reading “Grasshopper Pi(e)” »
By Jeanne, on March 4th, 2012
If ever there was a brownie that called (rather, screamed) for a glass of milk, this is it. This cake-like dark chocolate brownie, with streaks of peanut butter that make their best effort to glue your mouth shut, is definitely intense. And intensely addictive.
Continue reading “Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies” »
By Jeanne, on February 27th, 2012
The Daring Bakers’ February 2012 host was – Lis! Lisa stepped in last minute and challenged us to create a quick bread we could call our own. She supplied us with a base recipe and shared some recipes she loves from various websites and encouraged us to build upon them and create new flavor profiles.
When I saw that this month’s Daring Bakers challenge was quick bread, and our hostess required us to create a bread that can be thrown together and baked in less than 90 minutes total, I breathed a sigh of relief. Between a camping trip, visits from friends, and out-of-town parents, it’s been a hectic month to say the least. But that’s not the exciting part. The Boyfriend and I have adopted a new member of the family, of the four-legged canine variety.
Continue reading “Daring Bakers Challenge: Blueberry Yogurt Quick Bread” »
By Jeanne, on February 16th, 2012
In 15 minutes flat, you can have two servings of chocolate cake on your table. Warm, gooey cake topped with melty chocolate chips. Sure, it may come from the microwave instead of the oven (oh, the horror for baking purists such as myself!), but when it comes to a warm slice of chocolatey goodness, there’s no need to discriminate. These cakes are best when shared with a friend, but it’ll be our secret if you happen to eat both of them yourself.
Continue reading “Chocolate Mug Cake” »
By Jeanne, on February 14th, 2012
I know there are plenty of die-hard Valentine’s Day revelers out there. Me, I could take it or leave it. Flowers, jewelry, and all that – not my thing. But chocolate cookies are definitely my thing. Homemade chocolate valentines, with icing? Yup, those are also my thing. Homemade valentines, whether they’re edible or made from construction paper and paste, are the best way to show someone that they are loved.
Continue reading “Chocolate Sugar Cookie Valentines” »
By Jeanne, on February 9th, 2012
No camping trip is a proper camping trip until you’ve set a few marshmallows on fire. Or, if you’re patient and the coals are red-hot but not too much so, roasted those marshmallows to the perfect degree of brown and blistered with a gloriously gooey center. A center that’s hot enough to just slightly melt a slab of chocolate when pressed between two graham crackers. Unless you’re camping in the desert, and keeping your chocolate bar in the cooler. That might result in a rock hard chocolate bar that resists the heat from a gooey marshmallow and threatens to break your teeth when you try to bite through it. Helpful hint: if the desert heat requires you to keep your chocolate in the cooler during the day, remove it from the cooler an hour or two before attempting to make s’mores.
Continue reading “S’mores Cookies” »
By Jeanne, on January 20th, 2012
Don’t panic. Hostess may have filed for bankruptcy, but Twinkies aren’t going to disappear anytime soon. And even if the day comes when they’re no longer on supermarket shelves, don’t fret. I’ve got you covered. You can bake your own classic vanilla Twinkies, try something a bit different with pumpkin Twinkies, or satisfy your chocolate cravings with these double chocolate Twinkies. Each of these varieties has far fewer ingredients than the store bought version, and is far superior in taste. Besides, they’re so much fun to make! You can bake them in a cupcake pan, but using a canoe pan guarantees that authentic Twinkie shape.
Continue reading ““Death By Chocolate” Twinkies” »
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