baking – Melodrama

Poached Pear Mummy Pies

Published on October 19, 2016October 19, 2016 by Krys5 Comments

Awhile ago I was watching The Great British Bake Off and Paul Hollywood challenged the contestants to recreate his mini pear pies, which are poached pears wrapped in pastry. My husband and I immediately commented on how we wanted to make them, but then as I watched the bakers wrap the pears in strips of dough like little pear mummies a light bulb went off in my head…PEAR MUMMIES!

This adorable dessert will take your Halloween shindig to the next level. Here’s how you make them.

Adapted from Paul Hollywood’s Mini Pear Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

Store bought puff pastry
6 large, firm pears (preferably ones that are straight and tall)
10½ oz caster sugar
18 oz white wine
14 oz water
2 cinnamon sticks
1 orange, zest only
12 whole cloves

Directions

Peel the pears, keeping the stems intact. In a large saucepan combine the water, white wine, cinnamon and orange zest and slowly bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Boil for three minutes.

Add the pears to the pan. Bring back to the boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Reserving the syrup, remove the pears from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool on kitchen paper. Use a melon baller or small teaspoon remove the core from the pears.

Return the syrup to the heat and boil rapidly for 10-15 minutes until the volume of the liquid is reduced by half and the syrup is thick. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

When the fruit and syrup are cool, roll out the chilled puff pastry to a thickness of no more than 1/4 inch. Then use a knife to cut into thin, long strips, about 1/3 inch wide.

Brush the pears with the cooled sugar syrup and starting from the bottom, wrap the pastry strips around the pears. When you come to the end of the pastry strip, brush the end lightly with syrup and press to adhere to the next pastry strip. Leave an opening near the center of the pear for the eyes. Continue wrapping until you reach the top of the pear. Place two cloves into the pear where you want the eyes to be.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Place the pastry covered pears on a baking tray. Brush the pastry with beaten egg and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10-15 minutes then serve with a drizzle of the reduced sugar syrup.

Mixed Berry Cornmeal Skillet Cake

Published on July 3, 2016July 3, 2016 by KrysLeave a comment

First of all, Happy Fourth of July weekend! I’m literally sitting on the beach right now as I type this but I just HAD to share the amazing strawberry and blueberry cornmeal skillet cake my husband made for breakfast this morning.

It was so good I forced him to write down the recipe for you guys because you need this in your life. It has crispy buttery edges and a nice tender middle with lots of tart berry flavor. It’s so easy to make, too! Ok blah blah blah enough talk. Here’s the recipe.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, plus more for sprinkling
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 Stick of unsalted butter, melted, set aside 1 tablespoon for skillet
6 oz fresh blueberries
8 oz fresh strawberries, halved lengthwise

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and place a 10-inch cast iron skillet inside to heat while you make the batter.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, eggs, and the melted butter, reserving 1 tablespoon for the skillet. Pour the wet ingredients over the flour mixture and whisk until just combined.
Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven. Coat the bottom and sides of the hot skillet with the remaining butter. Pour the batter into the skillet; scatter the blueberries on top, and place the strawberry halves evenly over the blueberries. Sprinkle with as much sugar as you’d like, we used about 3 tablespoons.
Bake for about 45 minutes, until the top is evenly browned. Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes and serve.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Pot de Creme with Campari Whipped Cream

Chocolate Pots de Creme with Campari Whipped Cream

Published on February 10, 2016February 10, 2016 by Krys3 Comments

Alright, you guys, I’m not going to waste your time with a cute little intro to this recipe. It’s too good for words so I’m just going to say it’s delicious, easy to make, and totally perfect for any occasion. The creamy chocolate custard and the fluffy whipped cream are like a beautiful food love story.

Here’s what you do.

Chocolate Pots de Creme
Ingredients
10 ounces good semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
6 large egg yolks
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Place the chocolate in a blender (Or in a large bowl if using an immersion blender). Whisk milk, 1 cup cream, egg yolks, granulated sugar and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Be careful not to over-whisk, you don’t want a lot of bubbles to form. Stir constantly with a spatula for 6 to 7 minutes until the mixture is thick enough to coat the spatula.

Immediately pour the milk mixture through a sieve over the chocolate in the blender (or in the bowl if using an immersion blender). Blend until combined and smooth. Divide the chocolate mixture amongst the vessels of your choice.

I like to use cocktail glasses because I think it looks very elegant and romantic, but you can use tea cups, ramekins, or small bowls.

Refrigerate for several hours until the chocolate is set and firm.

Lastly you need to finish it off with a dollop of whipped topping, chocolate shavings, and a chocolate truffle. You can make regular whipped cream but I threw some Campari in mine. It is me after all, and I think the bitterness of the Campari plays well with the sweetness of the dessert.

Campari Whipped Cream
Ingredients

1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon Campari

Whip with a whisk until fluffy.

Voila. Enjoy!

Autumnal Brown Butter Butternut Squash Loaf Recipe

Published on November 11, 2015November 11, 2015 by Krys2 Comments

You guys, today is my wedding anniversary and I woke up to the most delectable baked treat from my hobby baker husband. I’m a big fan of pumpkin loaf and bread, but honestly this is the best squash variety of loaf I’ve ever had. Any loaf for that matter. He’d been playing around with the idea for this recipe for awhile and I think he nailed it. It’s perfectly dense and moist with a nice crust and the right amount of sweetness. So naturally I will share it with you and take all of the credit.

But without further ado here’s the recipe.

Brown Butter Butternut Squash Loaf (No I didn’t stutter)

Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1 medium sized butternut squash, oven roasted, peeled (should yield about 2 cups)
2 sticks of butter, plus more for greasing pan

Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan.

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices.

In a different bowl beat the eggs with the butternut squash. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until combined.

In a small sauce pan, brown the butter and stir it into the mixture until thoroughly combined.

Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake for 70 to 80 minutes and cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool for 20-30 minutes before removing from pan.

Enjoy!

Devil’s Booze Cake Recipe

Published on October 16, 2015 by Krys3 Comments

If you’re in the mood for something super rich, chocolate-y, and boozy for your Halloween shindig, I’ve got the perfect cake for you. It’s a chocolate cake soaked in coffee flavored vodka, with gooey dulce de leche in between the layers and on top, and finished with black sea salt. It basically tastes like a boozy candy bar. In the words of Ina Garten, “How bad could that be?”. It’s perfect for Halloween! Or for when you’re generally feeling dark and want to eat your feelings, have PMS, etc. This cake has no limits, but it really is most perfect for Halloween.

Let’s bake.

This recipe was adapted from Beatty’s Chocolate Cake.

Butter, for greasing the pans
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
2 cans sweetened condensed milk
1 cup coffee or espresso flavored vodka
Black Hawaiian Sea Salt for finishing

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8-inch x 2-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and dust the pans with cocoa powder. (I like to flour chocolate cake pans with cocoa powder. I think this gives it a nicer finish.)

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Meanwhile, make your dulce de leche. Place two cans of sweetened condensed milk to a pot of simmering water. Make sure the cans are completely submerged in water or they will explode. Simmer for 3-4 hours. Remove from water and let cool to the touch. Be cautious of opening cans. If they are still too hot they may splatter.

Once cakes are cooled, use a tooth pick to poke small holes around the layer. Brush the coffee flavored vodka onto each layer (about 1/2 cup each layer). Let the cake soak up the vodka.

Place 1 cake layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. Pour a good amount of dulce de leche on and spread around. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and pour remaining dulce de leche on top and let it run down the sides.

Top with a sprinkle of black sea salt. SO. GOOD.

Pink Pearl Apple Galette Recipe

Published on October 9, 2015October 9, 2015 by Krys1 Comment

We all know that one of the most popular (and basic) autumn activities is to go apple picking. You’ve probably already noticed all the posts on Instagram with boots, scarves, cider, and apples galore. This is mostly known as a North Eastern tradition, but believe it or not we have orchards for apple picking in Southern California, too!

Last weekend the weather cooled down for a whole day and we finally got some rain, so my husband and I took the trip out to our favorite apple picking spot, Oak Glen, to take advantage of the cool, rainy, fall-like weather.

Oak Glen is a quaint little town about 2 hours outside of LA. There are lovely orchards where you’ll find all of the traditional autumn favorites, from apples to hayrides to hot cider donuts.

The reason I like going to pick my own apples is because I can usually find varieties that aren’t found in our local markets. This time we came home with Pink Pearl apples. These apples are sweet and tart with a gorgeous pink color.

We had some left over pate brisee dough hanging out in the freezer, so I decided to make a galette with the apples and apple jelly we got from our trip. These apples are amazing for baking. They’re super juicy and I think the flavor gets even better when they’re cooked.

Plus, they’re really pretty.

Here’s a recipe to make your own apple galette. You can use any apples you want, but if you can get your hands on some Pink Pearl apples, I highly recommend you do.

Galette Dough
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water
Apple Filling
1 lb apples, cored
1/4 cup apple jelly
3 tbsp sugar
whole milk

In a bowl combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and use a dough cutter or food processor to mix the butter in until the mixture until it reaches a course meal texture. Add ice water slowly (1 tbsp at a time) until the dough just holds together without being wet. Divide the dough in half and into balls. Flatten dough balls into discs and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for one hour.

Roll out chilled dough on parchment paper or a lightly floured surface into a 1/8 inch thick circle. Chill again for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile core and slice the apples. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Remove chilled dough round from refrigerator and spoon two tablespoons of jelly on to the dough, leaving at least a 1.5 inch boarder.

Place apple slices over the jelly in slightly overlapping concentric circles. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of sugar.

Fold the plain dough boarder over the apples. Brush with milk and sprinkle with remaining sugar.

Transfer galette and parchment paper onto a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 375 degrees for another 15 minutes or until dough is golden brown. Heat remaining apple jelly and brush on top of cooked apples for a nice shiny finish. Let cool for 10 minutes and serve.

Tangerine Olive Oil Cake Recipe

Published on September 23, 2015September 23, 2015 by Krys3 Comments

Now that summer is over it’s time to start the glorious task of baking with autumn and winter fruits. Sure, pumpkin and cranberry are popular seasonal favorites, like the king and queen of the holiday season prom, but what about our old friend the tangerine? If you’re craving something other than pumpkin pies and cranberry bars, I’ve got a citrusy treat for you.

Tangerine Olive Oil Cake.

This aromatic olive oil cake has a nice crisp crust with an ultra-rich spongey middle, and just enough tangerine flavor. It’s perfect to eat with tea or coffee for breakfast or with ice cream for dessert. Try a drizzle of orange blossom honey on for a special treat. It’s so easy to make, you’ll find it hard to resist whipping one up whenever you get the chance.

This recipe was adapted from Maialino Restaurant’s olive oil cake recipe.

For a 9 inch round (2 inch deep) cake pan you’ll need:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/3 cups tangerine olive oil (I like Pasolivo)
1 1/4 cups whole milk
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons grated tangerine zest
1/2 cup tangerine juice

Pre-heat the oven to 350°. Oil and line bottom of pan with parchment paper. In a bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and powder together. In separate bowl, whisk the olive oil, milk, eggs, tangerine zest and juice. Add the dry ingredients to the wet; whisk until just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, until the top is golden and a cake tester comes out clean. Transfer the cake pan to a rack and let cool for 30 minutes. Run a knife along the edges and remove cake from pan and let continue to cool.

Enjoy!

Boozy Cherry S’mores Brownie Bars

Published on August 10, 2015August 10, 2015 by KrysLeave a comment

Today, the 10th of August, is apparently National S’mores Day. I had no idea until I woke up to social media rubbing gooey marshmallows and chocolate in my face. You bet your ass I jumped on that bandwagon immediately.

I didn’t want to just make basic s’mores though. I bounced some ideas off of my husband and we agreed on s’mores bars. I looked around at the ingredients I had around and spotted a jar of Moonshine Cherries. I love cherries and chocolate…and booze. This is how Boozy Cherry S’mores Brownie Bars were born.

What’s in them? Everything. Graham cracker crust, chocolate brownie filling, moonshine cherries, and roasted marshmallow topping.

You can adapt the recipe to use your favorite graham cracker crust and brownie recipes, but here are the ones I used.

Graham Cracker Crust:

1 1/2 graham cracker crumbs, about 1 pack (12) graham crackers
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Crush crackers into crumbs and then combine with sugar, salt, and butter. Mix until it reaches a wet sand consistency and press into bottom of 8×8 pan. Bake for 6 minutes at 350 degrees.

Brownie Filling

3/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (about 14) Moonshine Cherries, halved
1 package of jumbo marshmallows

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat melted butter, sugar and vanilla. Beat in eggs one at a time. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Gradually blend into the egg mixture. Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Press cherries into the batter in an even pattern. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. (Optional: Once brownies are done, brush top of brownies with moonshine cherry juice for an extra kick.)

Turn oven to broil, place jumbo marshmallows on top and broil until roasted.

Let cool to room temp before cutting.

Coconut Lime Tequila Cake

Published on May 26, 2015August 4, 2015 by Krys1 Comment

We’ve been having some majorly cloudy mornings lately and that makes me want to do one thing: Bake. I don’t know why really. Maybe it’s because it feels like Christmas, or maybe that’s just the lie I tell myself, but either way, I bake.

Anyway, I woke up the other morning and it was cloudy, so I said to myself “Eff it, self. Let’s bake a cake.” I have all this tequila laying around because of my projects with Patrón, so I also decided to make it boozy. Because why not? Day drinking and cake for breakfast sounds grand.

I had that “put the lime in the coconut” song stuck in my head. So I did. In a cake. I went a little crazy, so it might seem like there’s a lot of steps, but it’s still super easy.

Coconut Lime Tequila Cake

Cake Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
3 cups sifted cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup coconut cream

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. With a mixer, cream room temperature butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar and continue to beat for 5 minutes. Gradually add the eggs (one at a time) and mix well. Sift together the dry ingredients. Add them to the butter mixture alternating with the coconut cream.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Let cake cool in pans for 15-20 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. Let cool completely.

Coconut Custard Filling Ingredients

1/2 cup coconut cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbs cornstarch
1 cup Flaked coconut
Mix cornstarch with cream until dissolved. Add cornstarch/cream mixture, coconut cream, and sugar to a small sauce pan. Gradually heat to a simmer while stirring. Remove from heat. Whisk egg yolks in a bowl. Slowly add half of the cream mixture to the egg yolks while whisking constantly. Pour the egg yolk mixture back into the sauce pan and bring back to a simmer. Cook for 2-4 minutes until thick and creamy. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. Cool in an ice bath or cover mixture with plastic and store in refrigerator for 2-3 hours until chilled. Toss flaked coconut in a pan over medium heat until toasted. Set aside.

Tequila Lime Soak Ingredients

2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup white tequila (like Patrón Silver)
2 tablespoons lime zest

In a small pot over medium heat, mix lime juice and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved and starts to simmer. Remove from heat. Stir in tequila and lime zest. Set aside.

Buttercream Frosting
(I just used a standard buttercream with lime zest thrown in. You can use your favorite frosting.)
Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk
zest of one lime

Cream together the butter and vanilla. Sift the powdered sugar and add it to the butter mixture. Scrape down the bowl often to make sure all everything is mixed in. Add milk one tablespoon at a time until it’s your desired consistency. Beat until smooth for about 2-4 minutes.
Cake Assembly Directions

Slowly spoon the tequila lime mixture over both of the prepared cake rounds and let the cake absorb the liquid.

Next spoon the custard filling and half of the toasted coconut on one cake round and place the other on top.

Ice the cake and then coat the sides with the remaining toasted coconut.

Cut. Eat. Nap.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Pie with Maria Cookie Crust

Published on April 29, 2015April 30, 2015 by Krys5 Comments

One of my favorite treats when I was a kid was Abuelita Mexican hot chocolate and Maria cookies. I would always dip the cookies in my hot chocolate, just like my grandma did with her coffee, and experience the pure joy that only food gives me. I was having a late night craving and had the wild I had the idea of putting the flavors together in pie form. Sometimes I don’t want to drink hot chocolate, but I pretty much always want to eat pie. So I made my dream a reality.

This pie has a crispy buttery cookie crust, much like a graham cracker crust. The filling is fudgey and gooey with a crackled top, and has all the flavor of Mexican hot chocolate.

Quick Note about Pie Pan Size:

For this recipe I used a 9 inch pie pan. You can use whatever you have, but if you use smaller pans you may not end up using all of your crust mixture or filling. But that’s ok, it’s better to make more and have some left over than not have enough.

Maria Cookie Crust

2 cups Maria cookie crumbs (1-2 packages of Maria cookies)

1 stick butter, melted

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Use a blender or food processor to finely crush your cookies into crumbs. (If you don’t have either of those appliances, put the cookies in a large ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin.) Melt butter on stove stop or microwave. Mix melted butter and crumbs together until it has a wet sand consistency. It should hold together when you pinch it. If your crust is still a little dry and won’t hold together, you can add a bit more melted butter until it does. Put in pie pan and use your hands or a measuring cup to press and flatten the crumbs to the bottom and up against the sides.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 7-10 minutes until it has just set to the touch. You don’t want to over-bake or over brown it, since it’ll bake more with the filling. Set it aside to cool.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Filling

4 ounces Mexican Hot Chocolate, such as Abuelita

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1.5 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 cinnamon stick

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Beat eggs in a small bowl and set aside. Chop chocolate to make it easier to melt. Melt butter and chocolate together in a sauce pan with cinnamon stick over medium-low heat. Add the sugar and remove from heat. Remove cinnamon stick. While stirring constantly, add eggs and beat well until smooth.

Pour filling mixture into prepared pie crust until it almost hits the top edge of the crust. Do not over fill the pan.

Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes on center rack. The pie should be just barely set but remain gooey in the middle, and have a crackled top. It will set more as it cools.

Serve warm or room temp with ice cream or whipped cream. YUM!

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