Fiori di Sicilia Buttermilk Pound Cake

This is no doubt the best pound cake I’ve ever made. Soft and fluffy, but still a perfect pound cake. The glaze just makes it perfection. P.S. Fiori di Sicilia is a extract flavored with a combination of citrus and vanilla.

Ingredients: Buttermilk Pound Cake

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon Fiori de Sicilia

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup buttermilk

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

5 tablespoons heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon fiori de sicilia

Recipe: Buttermilk Pound Cake

Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9×9 loaf pan.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In another bowl, beat the butter until pale; add in the sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in the extracts and eggs, one at a time.

Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet batter until almost completely combined.

Mix in the buttermilk.

Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Glaze

Mix all ingredients together until smooth. Pour on warm cake.

Enjoy!

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Strawberry Cream Pie with Cake Crumbs

No, it’s not the best picture, but it is a really, really, good pie. Strawberry infused milk creates a yummy custard topped with thick and fluffy whipped cream which is then topped with delicious cake crumbs. Yum. Plus it’s pink so, duh, make it for Valentine’s Day.

Ingredients: Strawberry Infused Milk

2 cups whole milk

1 cup half-and-half

2 cups chopped strawberries

Strawberry Cream Pie

3 cups strawberry infused milk

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Cake Crumbs

2 and 1/4 cups cake flour

1/4 cup dry nonfat milk powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Recipe: Strawberry Infused Milk

Bring all ingredients to a boil.

Let boil for 30 seconds and then remove from heat and cover for forty minutes.

Sieve before using.

Strawberry Cream Pie

Warm the strawberry milk for a minute on medium heat.

Add the sugar, cornstarch, and salt.

Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat.

Cover for two minutes.

Temper egg yolks with a tablespoon of the milk mixture and then add the egg yolks back into the custard.

Cook for one minute, stirring constantly,

Remove from heat and blend in the butter and vanilla.

Let sit until lukewarm before filling into the pie crust.

Cake Crumbs

Preheat the oven to 35oF.

Blend the flour, milk powder, salt, and baking powder together.

Mix in the butter and then the eggs and vanilla.

Beat until smooth.

Spread into a cookie pan and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the bottom is golden brown.

Let cool.

Whipped cream

Beat whipped cream until lighter, then add in the sugar, slowly, then the vanilla extract.

Whip until very light and fluffy.

Enjoy!

 

Cherry Bread Pudding with Chocolate Sauce

If you like bread pudding, cherries, and chocolate you will love this. Soft warm cinnamon-y bread pudding filled with dried cherries and covered in homemade chocolate sauce. Absolutely delicious.

Ingredients: Bread Pudding (from here)

8 cups cubed day-old bread (I used Challah)

9 eggs

2 and 1/4 cups whole milk

1 and 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup butter, melted

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup dried cherries

Chocolate Sauce

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 tablespoon butter

4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped

Recipe: Bread Pudding

Place bread cubes in a buttered 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, cream, sugar, butter, vanilla and cinnamon. Pour evenly over bread and sprinkle on dried cherries.

Bake, uncovered, at 350F for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting and pouring on chocolate sauce.

Chocolate Sauce

Melt together the cream and butter over medium-high heat, add the chocolate and mix until smooth. Let cool.

Enjoy!

Bluberry Crumble Pie

This pie is so awesome. It’s kind of like a thicker blueberry crisp in a pie shell. And the crumble topping? It’s crunchy, cinnamony, and so, so good.

Ingredients: Pie Filling + 1 9 inch pie crust (from here)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 cups fresh blueberries

1 tablespoon butter

Crumble Topping

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 stick unsalted butter, chopped

*optional 1-2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Recipe: Crumble Topping

Mix together all the ingredients except the butter.

With your hands, mix in the chopped butter.

Blueberry Pie

Preheat oven to 425F.

Mix all the dry ingredients together (not the butter!) and sprinkle over the blueberries.

Line the pie dish with the crust.

Pour the blueberries into the pie crust and dot with butter.

Crumble the crumble topping over the pie and sprinkle the crumble with sugar.

Bake until crust is golden brown.

Enjoy!

Ginger Cookies

Happy friday, guys! I made you some ginger cookies. These ginger cookies are soft and full of flavor, they’re also rolled in sugar so the outside has some crunch.

Ingredients: Cookies (from here)  *Makes 16

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

1/4 cup molasses

2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

Additional sugar

Recipe: Cookies

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Beat in the egg and the molasses.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Gradually add to the wet mixture and mix well.

Form 1 and 1/2 tablespoon sized balls and roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

A Liebster Award!

A few days ago, Shatarupa from Calorielicious nominated me for the Liebster award! Thank you, Shatarupa! Her blog is fantastic and you should really visit it. 🙂 The Liebster Award is awarded to new blogs.  Here are the rules for acceptance.

1.  Thank the person[s] who nominated me
2.   Answer questions given to be by the person[s] who nominated me
3.   Nominate 5-10 people for the award
4.   Ask about 10-11 questions the nominees have to answer
5.   Comment on the nominee’s blog to let them know they received the award

Here are my answer’s to Shatarupa’s set of questions.

1.           Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging because I really love to bake and wanted to share my recipes. It also seemed like fun to connect with other bloggers/bakers. 🙂

2.         What do you consider comfort food?

Mac n’ Cheese. I’m not sure why, it might be because of all the cheese.

3.         Fruit or chocolate?

Chocolate. Always. I am a baking blogger after all 🙂

4.         Are there any foods that you hate? If so, what?’

I hate mushrooms. I think they taste reminiscent of dirt.

5.         What is your current favourite TV show?

My favorite TV show is definitely Chopped. I especially love the dessert round and seeing what they create.

6.         Do you have a food idol? Who and why?

I don’t really have a food idol but I like pretty much everybody on FoodNetwork/Cooking Channel.

7.         What is your favourite spice?

My favorite spice is….. cinnamon! It goes so well with a lot of desserts.

9.         Besides cooking, what are your other passions?

I love the movies and writing.

10.       Summer or winter?

Winter! The best foods are in fall/winter. Like peppermint.

11.       Your biggest fear?

Getting buried alive 🙂

My nominees are…

The Not So Creative Cook 

Giraffes Can Bake

My Year of Cupcakes

Goan Imports

Cook AZ I Do

My questions!

1. Why did you start your blog?
2. What is your favorite dessert?
3. Chocolate Chip Cookies or Brownies?
4. Do you collect anything?
5. What is your favorite color?
6. The beach or mountains?
7. If you could be any animal…?
8. What’s the last movie that made you cry?
9. What’s your birthstone?
10. Favorite quote?

Thank you so much! 🙂

Sunshine Award

I’ve been nominated for not one, but two awards! Today I’ll do the Sunshine Award, the Liebster Award is for tomorrow 🙂 I was so surprised and happy to be nominated for this award. It’s awarded to bloggers by other bloggers who “positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere.” Yay!

The Rules of the Sunshine Award are…

1. Display the award on your blog

2. Show your gratitude and link back to the person who nominated you.

I was nominated by Mrs. Choux of The Recipe Box. I happen to love, love, love her blog and the recipes she posts on it. Thank you so much for nominating me, Mrs. Choux!

3. Nominate ten of your favorite bloggers and let them know they’ve been nominated. There were so many blogs I could’ve picked. It was a hard decision!

I nominate:

Sweet Simple Stuff

Mom-Makes

Cooking with Aunt Juju

The Old Crone

6 or Less

Katie at the Kitchen Door

eAsybAKED

Chez Chloe

A Pug in the Kitchen

Anna’s Cuisine 

The fourth rule of the Sunshine Award is say ten interesting things about myself

1. I’m a twin

2. I hate writing bios

3. I love fluffernutter sandwiches

4.  I have a very crazy border collie

5. My favorite things to bake are cookies and cupcakes

6. I really, really, really love going to the movie theater

7. The only shoes I wear are combat boots

8. My favorite animals are lions and horses

9. I prefer rainy days over bright and sunny ones

10. I’ve never read Harry Potter

 

 

 

Fudgy Brownies

Finally! The perfect brownie. Chewy, fudgy brownies with white chocolate ganache, garnished with chocolate curls. They’re thin, but dense and super rich in chocolate flavor.

Ingredients: Brownies (I got the recipe here)

10 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 rounded  teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, cold

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

White Chocolate Ganache

2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

4 ounces white chocolate

Recipe: (Makes 15 brownies)

Preheat the oven to 325F. Make sure there is an oven rack on the bottom third of the oven. Grease, then line with parchment paper the bottoms and two sides of an 8×8 pan. This helps when you lift the brownies out of the pan.

Add 1-2 inches of water to a medium saucepan. Heat the water until it’s barely simmering. Mix butter, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium heat proof bowl. Rest bowl over saucepan, make sure the bowl’s bottom does not get wet. (If it does remove some water)

Stir mixture occasionally until the butter is melted and everything is combined. Don’t worry if the batter if gritty.

Remove bowl from heat from 5 minutes until the batter is no longer hot. Stir in vanilla and then add eggs one at a time, beating hard after each one.

When the batter is shiny and well blended, add the flour. Stir until fully incorporated, then continue beating for at least 60 strokes. The batter will be very thick. Spread in lined pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Leave brownies in pan until fully cool, then remove from pan. Before making the ganache keep brownies in the fridge.

White Chocolate Ganache

Put chopped chocolate into a small bowl. Pour heavy  whipping cream into saucepan and stir until simmering. Then pour half of the cream onto the chocolate and mix until smooth, then add the rest of the cream. Refrigerate the ganache for 45 minutes.

Put a bowl and the beaters (from the mixer) into the freezer for 15-20 minutes. When ganache has been in the fridge for enough time, remove bowl and beaters from fridge and scoop ganache into bowl. Whip the ganache until stiff peaks form, then spread on the cold brownies.

(Optional: Garnish with chocolate curls)

Enjoy!

Cherry Crisp Bars

Cherry crisp bars- sounds delicious right? They are. A soft shortbread crust beneath warm cherries and topped with brown sugar coated oats.

Ingredients: Crust

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup brown sugar (I used dark)

Cherry Filling

two  16 ounce bags of frozen sweet dark cherries, thawed

3/4 cup granulated sugar

6 tablespoons cornstarch

Crisp Topping

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup quick oats

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 cup (1 and 1/2 sticks)  unsalted butter, softened

Recipe: Crust

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 8×8 pan.

Beat flour, butter, and sugar on high until soft and crumbly. Press into pan.

Bake for 15 minutes. Take out and cool.

Cherry Filling

Place cherries in a medium saucepan and place over low-medium heat. Cover saucepan and let cherries lose their juices for 5 minutes. Mix sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. When the 5 minutes are up, remove cherries from heat and add the sugar mixture. Put back on heat for about 5 more minutes. When the cherries have lost a lot of juice, drain them. And pour over the cooled crust.

Crisp Topping

Preheat oven to 350F

With your hands, pastry cutter, or fork, in a small bowl, mix all ingredients together. They should eventually form small light brown clumps. Generously sprinkle over the pan (the one with the crust and cherries).

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the crisp starts getting golden brown.

Enjoy!

Hey, guys

Sorry I haven’t posted a recipe in a while. (Well it hasn’t been that long) I just wanted to say hi to you guys and tell you that there will DEFINITELY be a great recipe tomorrow. Tell me what dessert you would like me to see here!