homemade oreos « Sassy Radish When we arrived to America, I was quick in growing to love American traditions and foods and general popular culture. I ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with great zeal and often dreamt (and still do) of pizza. Hamburgers and French fries, chicken nuggets and fish sticks, potato chips and chocolate chip cookies, sweet potato and broccoli, Fourth of July clambakes and Thanksgiving turkeys – I embraced it all as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I forced these unknown traditions on my parents, arguing with them, a bold and foolish teenager that I was, that these were the new ways of the world, and that we had to let go of our old world traditions because they were archaic that no one, besides my parents and their Russian friends, understood. Except for the Oreos. No matter how hard I tried to love the Oreo, its white stuffing eluded me. With sadness, I accepted the fact that I was never to become an Oreos fan, when I spotted these homemade Oreos on Smitten Kitchen.
Chunky Chocolate Cheerios This is one of the most delicious if not the greatest chocolate dessert of all time. Really. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer knocked on Santa’s front door. Santa: “Who’s there?” Rudolph: “It’s me, Rudolph.” Santa: “What do you want, Rudolph?” Freezing in the cold Rudolph replies: “Ch-ch-ch…” Santa: “You want WHAT?” Rudolph: “Chunky Chocolate Cheerios!” And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I don’t normally tell any jokes because they tend to be terribly lame! It all started rather innocently on a day that I had this whacky idea to add some Cheerios to the White & Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chunks recipe of mine. I posted the recipe along with this by now familiar photo and that was that. Not quite. Always a bit stumped when it comes to gifts I wondered whether gifting these delightful nibbles would work. People went bonkers for it! Chunky Chocolate Cheerios sold out week after week when I ran a stall at the local farm shop. Adds crunch. If you can find another cereal that can do that, go ahead!
Lincoln’s Red Velvet (Cheesecake) Cake Wednesday, April 7, 2010 Lincoln’s Red Velvet (Cheesecake) Cake Psssst…. there’s a surprise inside this pale exterior! Oh yeah! I spent a LOT of time thinking about “Lincoln’s Cake” (which is what I always referred to it as when discussing it). When it came down to choosing the actual recipes I would follow, I wanted sources I trusted. Now for some notes on the structure and assembly of this gorgeous cake. Now, you probably want to know what this tastes like, right? I know I don’t usually write this much, but this cake was just so delicious, and surprisingly easier than I expected. This cake was so delicious and stunningly beautiful, I did something I’ve NEVER done before. (Love the idea of this cake, but are you more of a chocolate & peanut butter person? **Update** I’ve gotten so much great response on this cake, and I greatly appreciate when readers comment saying they’ve made the cake. Commenter #48 Amber’s cake: Commenter #49 Patrick’s cake: Reader Joyce’s cake, Christmas version!
Gianduja Mousse & Dana Treat - Treat Yourself I’m going to have to be brief with this one. This week has been a little crazy and it’s about to get crazier. I will be catering a party on Friday night for a wonderful babysitter who is turning 30. We are also going to a supper club on Saturday night for which I need to make a Rick Bayless appetizer and cocktail. So, sometimes you want chocolate mousse. One Year Ago: Spinach and Jerusalem Artichoke Soup Gianduja Mousse Adapted from Food and Wine Serves 4 ½ cup chocolate-hazelnut spread, such as Nutella ¼ cup crème fraîche 1 ½ tsp. brandy or hazelnut liqueur ½ cup heavy cream In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the Nutella with the crème fraiche and brandy at low speed until smooth.
Siew Bao (Baked BBQ Pork Buns/烧包 These days, I am so busy that I don’t have much time to explore blogoshere, so I rely on websites like Tastespotting to discover really good food blogs, and that’s how I discovered My Kitchen. Lydia Teh is a fellow Malaysian and her blog My Kitchen is full of great recipes and very beautiful food photography. Lydia is also a great cook and makes some of the most authentic Chinese and Malaysian dishes around. Please welcome My Kitchen to Rasa Malaysia as she shares her Char Siew Bao/Char Siu Bao recipe (Chinese roast pork or barbequed pork buns) with us. What’s more, she made her Char Siew Bao/Char Siu Bao (叉烧包) from scratch. (Check out my char siew/char siew recipe. A while ago, I received an email from Bee–Rasa Malaysia. What dish should I bring to Rasa Malaysia? It is a must order item whenever we visited a dim sum restaurant. Steamed buns made with the mixture low-protein flour and wheat starch are fluffier and softer than those using only low-protein or all purpose flour.
Some More Please! pumpkin cheesecake w/ nutella ganache When you go to bed at night, as soon as you hit the pillow, do you get all these pop up bubbles of thoughts of the day of what you didn't do or what you should have done? I hate that. Well, most nights I hate that. But last night I didn't hate. I am back to kind of loving Top Chef Desserts. pumpkin cheesecake w/ nutella ganacherecipe by dawn finicaneprint recipe crust1- 10 oz box of Lorna Doone shortbread cookies, crushed fine (I used all 2 sleeves)1 stick salted butter, meltedTiny pinch of sea salt1 ts vietnamese cinnamon cheesecake filling4 - 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, room temp¾ cup granulated sugar¼ cup heavy cream (maybe a little less)3 large eggs and 2 large egg yolks1 cup plus 3 TB pumpkin puree1 ts of pure vanilla extract1 ts cinnamonCouple dashes of pumpkin pie spice mix (use as much as you like; I’m not fond of it, so I used very little) cook notes:as I said above I should have used the milk chocolate chips instead of the bittersweet chips.
Banana and Chocolate Mascarpone Crepes | Evil Shenanigans - Baking &... The combination of chocolate and banana is highly underrated. Aside from some frozen bananas dipped in chocolate, and chocolate chip banana bread, the combination is largely overlooked. Well, break out your bananas because we are going to make something that will make chocolate lovers rejoice. The crepes are chocolate but they do not have any sugar in them. If you love chocolate and bananas then you need to make this recipe. Banana and Chocolate Mascarpone Crepes Yield 12 crepes For the crepes: 2 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 2 eggs 3 ounces all-purpose flour 1 ounce unsalted butter, melted and cooled 1 tablespoon coffee liquor 3/4 cup Milk, 1% or higher For the filling: 6 ounces mascarpone cheese 1/3 cup powdered sugar 1/2 cup heavy cream 3 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 tablespoon coffee liquor Pinch of salt 3-4 large bananas, sliced into 1/8″ disks Additional powdered sugar for dusting Chill the batter for 30 minutes.
Broccoli, Mushroom “Stir Fry” | Rawmazing Raw Food Ok..it is stirred, but not fried. Creating new raw food recipes is something that I love to do. Even more fun is getting surprised along the way. When I started this recipe, I had something very different in mind. A quick marinade, chop a few veggies, toss and eat. Equipment Needed: Food Processor Broccoli Mushroom “Stir Fry” serves 2 Marinade: 1/4 C Olive Oil2 T Nama Shoyu1 T Agave or Raw Honey Whisk olive oil, nama shoyu and agave or honey together. Stir Fry 1 1/2 C Sliced Mushrooms1 C Chopped Broccoli1 Large Parsnip2 Carrots1 C Pea PodsSesame Oil (optional)Black Sesame Seeds (Optional) Place broccoli and mushrooms in marinade. Peel and cut parsnip into pieces. Cut the carrots into match stick sized pieces. Chop the pea pods into 1/2 inch pieces and mix into the parsnip “rice” with the carrots. Stir in the entire broccoli, mushroom marinade mix.
Snickerdoodle Muffins Last Friday I finished my exams and was planning on coming home and having a baking extravaganza, but then I tripped on my cat and fell down the stairs. We're both fine, though I think he's a lot more fine than me because as soon as I felt his soft body under my foot I took all my weight off of him and slid down the stairs. Which has left me with a swollen foot. I recently discovered the insane deliciousness of snickerdoodle cookies. As for how they turned out, the muffins were incredibly moist and a great sour cream muffin texture. Snickerdoodle Muffinsslightly modified from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody 2 sticks unsalted butter1 cup sugar2 tsp vanilla2 eggs3/4 tsp baking soda3/4 tsp baking powder3/4 tsp cream of tartar3/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg1 1/4 cup sour cream2 1/4 cups all purpose flour 1/2 cup sugar and 1 TBSP cinnamon mixed together for rolling* 1.Cream the butter and sugar until soft about 3 to 5 minutes. 4.
Salted Caramel Brownies I first fell in love with salted caramel back on a chilly January day this past winter. It was a Friday. The night before, my Chief Culinary Consultant and I went to a Pens/Caps game (we won’t discuss the result), and he was in town and off the next day. So we did what we do best – we went shopping. We were making our way around town when we passed a cupcake shop and I’m pretty sure I was adamant about stopping in. Somehow it took me until now to actually make salted caramel instead of traipsing around eating it in the form of frosting. And if that weren’t enough, there’s more good news. If you received the Brown Eyed Baker weekly newsletter last week then you know the weekly baking challenge was… brownies! One year ago: Dulce de Leche Cheesecake SquaresTwo years ago: Zebra Cake
Vanilla Chai Cupcakes & Some More Please! July 15, 2010 When I first heard someone say “chai tea” I sort of cocked my eyebrow and thought to my self; “wait, what?”. Suddenly this phenomena of chai burst out of nowhere and at first I thought it was pretty funny. Then, I discovered the chai latte. They remind me a lot of Indian desserts with cardamom and cinnamon, things my Mother makes. Vanilla Chai Cupcakes (Makes 12) 100g butter 1 cup caster sugar ½ tsp vanilla bean paste 2 eggs ½ quantity chai spice mix (recipe follows) 1 ¼ cups plain flour, sifted ½ cup buttermilk ½ tsp bicarb soda ½ tsp apple cider vinegar (white vinegar is fine) Chai Spice Mix 1 ½ tsp ground cardamom 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp ground ginger ¼ tsp ground cloves ¼ tsp ground nutmeg Mix spices together in a small bowl. Vanilla Chai Buttercream 125g butter 3 cups icing sugar, sifted ½ quantity chai spice mix 1-2 tbs cold milk Preheat the oven to 160C Cream together the butter and sugar. Spoon into prepared cupcake cases and bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
White Chocolate Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tart | Rawmazing Raw Food Years ago, one of my family’s favorite desserts was a white chocolate, raspberry, chocolate tart. I have been thinking about it lately and decided that I was going to make a raw version to bring to the 4th of July celebration at my friend Kim’s house. I was the only raw food person there but I sure wasn’t the only person who loved the dessert. It was a huge success. If you want a light crust, like in the picture, you will have to peel the almonds. This is actually very easy once they have been soaked. White Chocolate Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tart Crust: 1 cup almonds, soaked 6 hours, drained and peeled1/4 cup coconut oil, melted 1. 2. 3. 4. Filling: 2 cups cashews, soaked at least 6 hours, drained1/3 cup agave nectar1/2 cup cacao butter, melted1/3 cup coconut oil, melted1 teaspoon vanilla2 pints raspberries 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Top with layer of Chocolate Ganache Chocolate Ganache recipe here: Chocolate Ganache Other similar recipes can be found here: Desserts