Chocolate Fudge Frosting

This is the first time I have ever made Chocolate Frosting, but I would recommend this recipe to anyone. It is some of the best frosting I have ever had: Chocolaty, fudgy, spreadable, and has a nice finish. I used this to frost a basic yellow cake that had a Boston Cream filling.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting
Adapted from MarthaStewart.com: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/chocolate-buttercream-frosting?comments_page=1

Ingredients:

2 Cups Sugar

1 Cup egg whites (About 6 large eggs)

2 ½ sticks unsalted butter (room temp and cut into pieces)
16 oz Semi Sweet Chocolate chunks

1 tsp Vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Place chocolate chunks in a heat safe bowl and place over a pot of simmering water. Whisk white chocolate melts, until smooth. Set chocolate aside, and keep pot of water simmering on stove.
2. Place sugar and egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer. Set this over (but not touching) your pot of simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar and egg mixture is heated and sugar is dissolved.
3. Attach bowl to an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and continue whisking on med/high speed until cooled and stiff peaks form, about 7 minutes.
4. With the mixer running, add butter, one piece at a time, until completely incorporated. Continue whisking until a light, fluffy cream has formed. Stir in chocolate  and vanilla until well combined.
5. Frost! I used a small silicon spatula to frost an even layer over my cake which worked out perfect. You could definitely fill your piping bag and go to town. This is a really versatile frosting with great texture.
   

FYI:

This recipe provides A LOT of frosting - way more than I needed for my 9” round, two-layer cake. I would suggest this recipe for about 24 cupcakes. If you do use this for cake frosting and have leftovers, pour into small aluminum loaf pans, place in the freezer, and you’ll have fudge for gift giving (…or for eating all by yourself. Whichever).  Wrap loaf pans with cellophane and tie with a tag and a bow, and you’ll have perfect holiday treats.

Salted Caramel Cupcakes

Salted Caramel Cupcakes
Makes 18 cupcakes

CUPCAKE

recipe adapted from The Farm Chicks

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar
1 ¾  cup flour

¾  cup cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda

1 ½  tsp baking powder

½  tsp fine sea salt

2 eggs
1 cup milk
½  cup vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla
½ cup melted semi-sweet chocolate

1 cup boiling water

Instructions:

1.    Preheat oven to 350°F, line muffin tins with cupcake liners.*

2.    Sift together dry ingredients into mixing bowl

3.    Chop about ½ cup of semi sweet chocolate chunks in a double boiler

4.    Add all wet ingredients to dry ingredients.

5.    With a paddle attachment, mix on medium/low speed until incorporated. Be careful not to over beat so that the finished cupcake consistency does not turn out bread-like.

6.    Ladle mixture into cupcake liners

7.    Bake for 20 minutes (or until toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean)

*I ran out of cupcake liners and improvised by cutting 5”x5” squares of wax paper and pressing them into the cups in the muffin tin and smoothing out any creases. I actually preferred the way this looked – more professional.

SALTED CARAMEL (Used for filling and garnish) adapted from Cupcake Bake Shop by Chockylit

Ingredients:

1 cup white granulated sugar

4 tbs water

2 tbs light corn syrup

½ cup heavy cream

½ tsp fine sea salt

2 tbs unsalted butter

½ tsp lemon juice

Instructions:

1.    Put sugar, water, and corn syrup in a large saucepan stir until sugar is incorporated.

2.    Cover and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes.

3.    Uncover and raise temperature to medium/high and bring mixture to a boil. Make sure from this point on to constantly shake pan to circulate sugar mixture so it will not burn. It can turn to a burnt mess in NO TIME.

4.    Cook until sugar turns a nice amber color (on the lighter side of amber) then remove from heat.

5.    Add heavy cream and stir. Sugar and cream mixture WILL bubble up, so watch your fingers.

6.    Finish by adding salt, butter, and lemon juice. Stir until smooth and transfer to a heat safe bowl.

SALTED CARAMEL FROSTING  (I make frosting by adding “a little o’ this, a little o’ that” until I’m satisfied. This is my best guess as to measurements of the ingredients.)
Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter
1 stick salted butter

1/3 tbs fine sea salt
4 cups powdered (confectioners) sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 tbs water
1 tsp vanilla

1/3 Salted Caramel mixture

Instructions:

1.    Cream butter and salt together using a paddle attachment

2.    Alternate powdered sugar and heavy cream additions until all is incorporate

3.    Add caramel, vanilla, and water and beat until incorporated

4.    At this point I decided I wanted a fluffier frosting so I switched my paddle attachment to a whisk attachment and beat on high for about 8 minutes. Taste along the way to make sure it is the consistency you like.

ASSEMBLY

1.    Cut out a small hole in the center of each cupcake, reserving cut out cake piece.

2.    Fill with about 1/3 tsp caramel mixture and replace cake piece. Do this to each cupcake.

3.    To frost, fill piping bag with frosting. (I used an open star tip on my piping bag.)

4.    Frost in a circular motion beginning from the outside edge and ending in the center.

5.    Garnish by drizzling remaining caramel sauce and sprinkling coarse sea salt over top of each cupcake.

6.    Serve!

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backyard at the Candleberry Inn in Brewster MA - Cape Cod

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She Continues to Impress

I am dumbfounded by the quality of the photos my little cousin takes, and she's not even old enough to drive.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ali_campbell/

Banjo

This is our new puppy, Banjo! He is an 11 week old Australian Shepherd/Bue Heeler mix. Birdy and I rescued him from a shelter down in Arkansas and had him transported up here. He is the best little guy! Full of energy and a big snuggler. He is a great addition to our Family!

*http://www.petfinder.com/ is a great resource to find rescue pets!

pink peony and wildflower bouquet i put together at Stray Cat Flower Farm's booth at the Burlington Farmers Market!

An Eye for Beauty

This post is inspired by my younger cousin, Ali. She is so talented and so passionate - she is an inspiration. And she isn't even old enough to drive. I was taking a look at her personal photography and I was blown away. She has a real eye for beauty and can take a beautiful photo. What's even better is that she is self-taught. Here is a sample of her photography. If you like what you see, check out her flickr site.

Enjoy!

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Botanical Bliss

Now that spring has finally come - despite the few random snow flurries around Burlington - Birdy and I spruced up our apartment with some colorful, cheery flowers:

Red Pincushion Protea Flower

 

 Pink and White Lilies

 

Purple and Orange Peruvian Lilies

Healthy Snack: Peach Salsa

Hello fellow Foodies -
(I don't know if I've earned "foodie" status yet... We'll pretend)

Today, I finally sucked it up and went grocery shopping. I think I find every excuse in the world to avoid doing a big grocery shop.... Uhh.. the trees are too green today - Can't go to the grocery store... whoops!

So I piled on my shopping armor (aka re-usable bags, my list, a pocket full of coupons, and my own personal cart pusher - Birdy) and raided the isles of both Price Chopper and City Market. (Hey - you have to hit the sales at both places to really help your wallet!)

When all of a sudden I had a hankering for something sweet and savory and happened upon this little gem:

Newman's own Chunky Peach Salsa

$2.49

Plus, I have just recently been educated on this brand thanks to a friend of mine, Kelly Flynn. (Twitter: @Misskellyflynn) Newman's own uses all natural ingredients (not organic, however but that's okay.) and donates all... i repeat ALL proceeds to charity. Plus they do a a few other philanthropic campaigns, such as creating camps for children with illnesses and life threatening diseases. So not only are their products good, but more importantly they benefit the common good. For more info - Check out their website or give kelly a holla.

Also here is a link to their online coupons - you can save $.50 on their salsa!

Other (healthy*) bargains I found in the Isles today included:

• Miguels white corn tortilla chips are on sale at City Market for $1.79
• Cabot yogurt is on sale at Price Chopper for $.69 each
• Cascadian Farms frozen vegetables at City Market for $1.99
• Green Mountain Coffee Roasters whole bean coffee at Price Chopper for $5.99

Saving money just makes it all taste better.

Enjoy!

Spring Snow

Snow in April?

Picture of tulips @ Champlain College Campus

Picture taken with my mobile phone

Fun Finds for Friday

Love this "upcycled" Cork necklace from Etsy shop: Uncorked
$19.00

Love these yellow fingerless gloves from Etsy store: aandboriginals

"what's the point of gloves with no fingers?" you may ask... I don't know, texting? Who cares, they are a cute accessory.

$20.00

I thought these dress forms from PB Teen used to hang long necklaces, scarves or even used as a bulletin board would add an interesting element to a bedroom or home office. I'm sure if you hunted you could find one at an antique shop or flea market for cheaper. I used PB Teen to relay the concept.
$199.00

I have been seeing old card catalogs pop up in a number of different places for use around the home. Small ones to use in an entryway as a catchall or for mail storage to this fantastic idea from Apartment Therapy - Boston. They used this large one as a make shift wine cellar. L-O-V-E.
Now...where to store the boxed variety?

A Nice Surprise

Fool-Proof Asian Stir Fry

I just made a delish meal for Birdy and myself which took practically no effort. This was super easy to make, really CHEAP, and healthy to boot. What could be better? So if you're pressed for time, not in the mood to cook something extravagant, even if you make less than magic in the kitchen – you can’t screw this one up.

This was my own recipe that made plenty for dinner tonight, plus lunch tomorrow. (If we hadn’t been fat-asses and ate it all tonight. Whoops.)

Ingredients:

1 cup Uncle Ben’s Whole Grain Instant Brown Rice
1 10 oz bag Frozen vegetables (I used Cascadian Farms organic Thai stir fry blend)
1 tbs butter divided in two
3 large eggs
Soy Sauce (I used San-J organic wheat free tamari sauce)
Adobo seasoning (optional)
Black pepper to taste
Vegetable oil

Instructions

1. In a large wok (or frying pan) heat about a tablespoon of vegetable oil (enough to cover the bottom of pan) over medium heat. Once heated place frozen vegetables in pan and cover.
2. In a medium sauce pan cook Uncle Ben’s Rice according to directions on box. (I added ½ tbs. butter and about 1 tsp. Adobo seasoning to the water.
3.  Season vegetables with pepper and soy sauce to taste. Once they seem cooked through create a circle in the center and crack your three eggs into the center. Scramble so yolks are just barely broken and replace cover on wok. Cover for about 5 minutes to let eggs harden slightly.
4. Scramble eggs and incorporate with vegetables. Drain rice into metal sieve and add to vegetable and egg mixture along with ½ tbs butter and combine.
5. Taste and add any additional soy sauce or seasoning. Serve hot.

  

Other options:

• To make this meal a little more impressive top with a skewer of Teriyaki beef kabobs.
• Substitute the soy sauce for some lemon grass, a little coconut milk and some chili powder.
• Or if brown rice isn't your thing try quinoa, or rice noodles, or cous cous for your starch.

Enjoy! Now go out and be creative - more importantly, go make something fabulous!

I and Love and You - Avett Brothers

New favorite song Birdy introduced to me... it was also the song in my dream last night. Really listen to it. It's beautiful.

Don't You Just Love A Bargain!?

It's no secret, the Christmas Tree Shop and I have a very serious long term relationship. Sorry, Birdy. Some of you may think it's just a store full of junk (and shame on you!) but if you take your time and really look around you can find some great bargains. I know some of you must feel the way I do - ahem - Rachel Lefave! (She aspires to one day be one of those women on their commercials "And look! it's only 3.99!")
Anyways, also in an effort to become a pinch more environmentally friendly, I bought these large mason jars to store all my baking ingredients and my coffee beans. With such easy access to bulk ingredients (such as flour, white and brown sugars etc.) just down the street at City Market, now I can run down with my jar, and fill up. No more coughing through clouds of flour when you tear a bag open!

The large Jars were each $3.99 and the medium size were $2.99 so I bought two of each. I also have an assortment of small mason jars to store spices and the like, which are also relatively cheap. Jars like these can be used all around your house to eliminate clutter, create uniformity, and I just think they look really cool. Another fabulous find - Thank you Christmas Tree!

Sour Cream Double Chocolate Cookies

I came accross this awesome website: http://www.supercook.com/. Basically you go through and check off all the ingredients you have in your house, or click on some of the recommended ingredients and it comes up with a list of all the recipes that you have the ingredients for! I found this to be amazing since usually I find myself sifting through cabinets trying to come up with a recipe. Now I can have a website do it for me!
That is how I came up with the idea to try these Sour Cream Double Chocolate Cookies! They came out amazing and I treated my friends with a little something sweet during Lost last night. (Which, by the way, best episode this season so far!!!) This recipe actually came from http://www.recipezaar.com/, and I didn't change the recipe from the original since I have never baked with sour cream before. But try these out, they're a nice change from the typical chocolate chip cookies.

(I tried to take a picture where they didn't look like a bunch of poops on a pan, but - idk, that's just what they look like...)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter 
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup white chocolate chips 

 

Instructions:

1. In a electric mixer, cream butter with sugars. Beat in egg, sour cream and vanilla.
2. whisk together dry ingredients in separate bowl and add to the creamed mixture in three additions.
3. By hand with a spatula, fold in chocolate and white chocolate chips
4. Drop by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes, or until set.

 Enjoy!

 

Banana Streusel Muffins

I had a few bananas laying around and were way over ripe and perfect for baking. So instead of (...doing homework, laundry, or cleaning) letting them rot in my fruit bowl, I decided to try out this recipe I found on Allrecipes.com for banana streusel muffins! I did change it a little but, but the original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg lightly beaten
1/3 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Streusel topping:
1/3 cup packed light brown
2 tbs flour
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tbs butter

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.
• In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg, oil, and vanilla. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
• In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
• Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

I took them out at 18 minutes and they were perfect. Some of the streusel rolled onto the baking pan as the muffins rose, so right when they came out of the oven while the sugar was still soft, I trimmed the edges with a knife.

I packaged them in tall treat boxes and embossed flowers on the outside (with my new Martha Stewart Heat Embossing Kit) and labeled them with rubber stamp lettering. I punched a hole in the top right corner and tied charm tags on to the box with my recipients names. (For the tags I used a 1" paper punch, then a regular hole punch) Three muffins fit in a box. You can find all the tools at Michael's or any other craft supply stores.

Enjoy!!

Date Nut Spice Bread

Last weekend I went to Long Island to visit with Birdy's Brothers and celebrate his Grammie's 94th birthday! For a birthday present I thought I would give her something she could use and enjoy so I  put together a little gift basket. I made a date nut spice bread which I got from the Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network. Ina always makes delicious treats so I wanted to give this one a try. The original recipe is here. This recipe I actually didn't change because baking is such a science and I haven't yet mastered the science behind it all.

Ingredients:
2 cups coarsely chopped dates (10 ounces pitted)
1/3 cup orange liqueur (recommended: Cointreau or Triple Sec)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 extra-large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon grated orange zest (2 oranges)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (3 oranges)
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans (3 ounces)

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom of an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pan.
• Combine the dates and orange liqueur in a small bowl and set aside for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar together on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl. With the mixer on low, add the egg, vanilla, and orange zest. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. With the mixer still on low, add the flour mixture alternately with the orange juice to the creamed mixture, beating only until combined. By hand, stir in the dates with their liquid, and the pecans.
• Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

I paired this bread with a jar of the blood orange marmalade I made since I thought it would bring out the flavor of the orange zest in the bread. It smelled amazing and look fantastic. I wrapped the bread tightly in plastic wrap and nestled that and the marmalade on top of silver tissue paper in a wooden basket I bought on sale for $2 at Creative Habitat in South Burlington. I wrapped the basket in clear celophane and tied it with a bow made out of wide satin ribbon in a Cranberry color. It turned out to be a nice presentation and I think Grammie enjoyed it. Mission Accomplished.