It's My Birthday and I'll Bake If I Want To

I am a liar. 

It is not my Birthday.

However, it was my Birthday...  about 2 weeks ago now. Oops! Time flies!  BUT I kinda maybe really wanted to use this title.  So I am gonna just go ahead and do as I please. It is my Birthday after all. 

I mean, it's really not. But it was. And was it ever a great Birthday! One of my best.

 

It wasn't hard to beat, considering last year I spent the day at home with a recurring case of bronchitis. Pretty much anything would have been better than that. But it really was a great weekend. Old friends, new friends, a decadent brunch, a fabulous dinner here (so good I forgot to take pictures!), and oodles of presents! This girl was spoiled. Thank you to all my wonderful friends for making my day so special. You know who you are ;) Love love love you all.

Okay enough with the warm fuzzies. Let's get to the cake! I know that's why you're all here.

I actually whipped up this cake the day after my Birthday, when my girlfriends and I gathered at my house for a lil' slumber party. It was just like in the good old days: Movies, junk food, prancing around my bedroom in hair curlers and nightgowns, singing into hair brushes about boys we met on summer nights a la Sandy & crew in Grease...

Okay, maybe that last part didn't really happen.

Ahem... moving on. I was a teensy bit distracted when I made this cake, which resulted in a few... hiccups. FULL DISCLOSURE: This cake was SALTY. And not intentionally so. 

While making my much beloved Swiss Meringue Buttercream, I mistakenly grabbed salted butter from the fridge instead of unsalted. And I failed to notice until it was all almost mixed in. Now I wouldn't say this ruined the frosting, but it certainly made it more... interesting. After the first couple bites the salt was unnoticeable, and you just wanted more More MORE cake! Sodium will do that I guess. Anyway, it wasn't inedible (far from!), but I wouldn't recommend you try it on purpose. It can't be good for you.

The other problem I found was that the layers didn't rise quite as much as I would have liked. I am not sure if this was a cocoa/ leavener issue (hmm apparently leavener is not a word. good to know), or perhaps my oven temperature? Either way, they were a bit flat. For this reason, I didn't level them off as I normally would have, not wanting to lose any precious cake. Regardless, I really do like this cake recipe. It is nice and rich and moist, and is so easy to throw together. It would be nice if it were thick enough to split into four decent sized layers though. I will probably give it a shot again with some modifications, I'll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, you can check out the original recipes. If you do give it a try, be sure to let me know how it works for you. Or if you have a dark chocolate cake recipe you love, send it my way!

One Bowl Dark Chocolate Cake from Sweetapolita

Swiss Meringue Buttercream from Martha Stewart

Chocolate Glaze From Martha Stewart

Enjoy the rest of your week. I'll be back with some Valentine's treats very soon!

XO,

Maia

Just Desserts: Sweet Treats For Your Thanksgiving Table

We were a couple of very lucky ducks this Thanksgiving. We scored ourselves invites to not one, but TWO Thanksgiving feasts. Thanks to our wonderful groups of friends for stuffing us full of delicious food – Turkey, ham, 22 pounds ridiculously good of prime rib, the best stuffing ever and yummy candied yams (need that recipe!).

As much as I enjoy savory cooking, I loved that everyone else took care of the meal and I got to focus my whole heart and soul on these desserts. A lot of love went into these cakes and pies guys. I hope that you are inspired to create something equally delicious for your friends and family this holiday season. Enjoy!

Chocolate Bundt Cake with Cappucino Glaze

Chocolate Bundt Cake

Recipe from About.com. via Sweetapolita

Ingredients

1 Cup  butter

1/2 Cup high quality Dutch process cocoa

¾ Cup espresso (Or 1 Tbsp. instant espresso powder dissolved into 3/4 cup water)

2 Cups granulated sugar

1 Cup sour cream

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

2 Large eggs, lightly beaten

2 Cups all-purpose flour

1 Teaspoon baking soda

1/2 Teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter and flour a 10-12 cup bundt pan or Kugelhopf pan.

2. Melt butter in a large bowl  (I used the bowl of my stand mixer) set atop a pot of simmering water. Add cocoa and stir until smooth. Whisk in the espresso and remove from heat.

3. Add sugar, sour cream, vanilla, and eggs to the cocoa mixture, mix to combine. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the first mixture and mix until well blended.

4. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until it feels firm to the touch and has slightly pulled away from the sides of the pan. Cool in pan on a rack for 20 minutes. Carefully loosen the cake with a knife and invert onto a large plate.

Cappucino Glaze

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons espresso or strong coffee

1/2  Teaspoon vanilla extract

2-3 Tablespoons heavy Cream or half-and-half

1 Cup powdered sugar

Gradually add the espresso and vanilla to the powdered sugar while whisking constantly, making sure to get any lumps out. Add the cream a bit at a time until you have the consistency you like, I did not use all the cream. It should be thin enough to drizzle, but thick enough so that it does not all drip off the cake (test on a saucer before the cake). If it is too thin, add extra powdered sugar 1 tablespoon at a time.

Once the cake has fully cooled, use a large spoon to drizzle on the glaze. Don’t be too picky here, it won’t be perfect but it will be lovely no matter what. Allow the glaze to set before digging in.

The Pioneer Woman's Pumpkin Cream Pie

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

I am not a huge fan of the traditional pumpkin pie. I like the flavours but after a huge meal I don’t usually want something so dense and heavy. This pumpkin cream pie made with jello pudding is light and creamy, and oh so yummy. This came together the quickest and received the most praise of all the desserts. Thanks Ree!

Graham Cracker Crust

Ingredients

1-½ Cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs (buy them already crushed or make your own from about 15 graham cracker sheets)

½ Cup powdered sugar

1 Stick butter, melted

1. If your graham crackers are not already in crumb form, crush them either in a food processor, or by putting them in a big ziplock bag and pounding on them with a rolling pin (or get your big strong boyfriend to pound on them with a rolling pin).

2. Combine graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar, and melted butter. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 Inch pie dish. You have got to get in there with your fingers for this, there is no clean way (but its better than being the person with their hand up a Turkey!).

3. Bake the crust for 8-10 minutes or until it has set. Set aside to cool.

Pumpkin Cream Filling

Ingredients

1 Box vanilla pudding (cook and serve variety)

1 Cup half-and-half

½ Cup heavy/ whipping cream (33% - 36% MF)

1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (I am pretty sure I added more than this, but I failed to measure)

OR combine Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and clove to make your own

¾  Cup pumpkin puree

½ Cup (additional) heavy/ whipping cream

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to  350.

2. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine pudding mix with heavy cream, half-and-half, and pie spice. Bring to a boil, while stirring often, until mixture is bubbly and thick.

3. Remove pot from heat. Whisk in vanilla and pumpkin puree. Make sure it is well incorporated. Cover and set aside to cool. After a few minutes, transfer to refrigerator to cool completely (at least 30 mins).

4. Combine ½ cup whipping cream with the brown sugar, beat until light and fluffy (either in the bowl of your stand mixer or with a large bowl and electric beaters). Fold into cooled pumpkin mixture until just combined. Pour into cooled crust. Refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight.

Top each slice with more whipped cream if you are feeling really indulgent.

Apple Spice Bundt Cake with Maple Walnut Glaze

Apple Spice Bundt Cake

adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

2 ½ Cups all-purpose flour

2 Teaspoons baking powder

½ Teaspoon baking soda

1 Teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

1 Teaspoon nutmeg

1 Teaspoon ground cloves

1 Cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 ½ Cups brown sugar, packed

4 large eggs

1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

6 tart, green apples, peeled and sliced thinly

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a 9 inch bundt pan and lightly dust with flour.

2. In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda,  baking powder, salt and spices

3. In a mixer fitted with  a paddle attachment cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, beat in the eggs one at a time. Then add the vanilla and mix again.

4. With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture. Do not over mix.  Gently fold in the apples.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan. Bake for about 1 Hour. It is done when a cake tester inserted comes out almost clean, some bits of apple may stick to it and make you think it is not cooked. Don’t be fooled.  Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake, then place a plate on top of the pan and invert the cake onto it to cool completely.

Maple Glaze

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 Cup powdered sugar, sifted

¼  Cup maple syrup

1 Teaspoon maple extract (optional, it just inhances the maple flavour)

½ Cup crushed, toasted walnuts.

Wisk  all ingredients, except the walnuts,  together in a small bowl. Add more icing sugar or maple syrup if needed, to get the consistency you want. It should be thin enough to be easily drizzled over the cake, but not so thin that it all drips off and pools at the bottom.

When the cake is almost cool, drizzle with the glaze and sprinkle the walnuts over top. Cool completely before serving. This cake stays nice and moist for a day or two after it is baked and is easy to transport.

Note: I added the walnuts to my glaze before icing the cake, I do not reccommend this. It made the glaze very difficult to drizzle on the cake, and does not look nearly as pretty as I thought it would. But man, did it taste good.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

I don’t know the original source of this recipe. I have had a crumpled, stained piece of paper floating around my recipe box for a few years and I think it is a recipe that was dictated over the phone to me by my Mom. It is a pretty standard Chocolate Pecan Pie Recipe and is always a huge hit.

Basic Pie Crust

Ingredients

1 Cup all purpose flour

½  Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Sugar

½  Cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes

4-6 Tablespoons  very cold water

1. Whisk together the flour, salt, and sugar. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or 2 butter knives. The mixture will be crumbly, pea sized clumps of butter should start to form.

2. Add in the water 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture begins to stick together. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill, leave it here for at least an hour or overnight.

4. Roll out your pie dough onto a lightly floured surface – It does not have to be a perfect circle as you are going to trim the edges, but it should be a 10-12 Inch circular shape. Use your rolling pin to transfer the dough to a 9 Inch pie dish by rolling it loosly ON to the rolling pin, and then rolling it out on the pie dish (pictures of this technique here.) Trim any overhanging dough and crimp or fold as you please.

Filling

Ingredients

4 Oz. dark chocolate, chopped

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

½ Cup packed dark brown sugar

3 Large eggs, beaten

¼ Teaspoon Salt

¾ Cup light  corn syrup

1 ½ Cups toasted pecan halves

1. Preheat an oven th 325. Combine Chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat, stir constantly until smooth. Set aside to cool.

2. Whisk together the Brown sugar, eggs and salt in a large bowl (or the bowl of your mixer). Add in the corn syrup and chocolate/butter mixture, mix well to combine.

3. Sprinkle your lovely toasted pecans over the prepared pie crust. Pour the chocolate filling over the pecans. Bake uncovered for about 1 Hour, until the crust is golden and filling has puffed up. Set on pie rack to cook completely.

This can also be made a day ahead of time, but do store it in the fridge overnight, and be sure to remove well before dinner, as it should be enjoyed at room temperature. Top it with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Apologies to my Canadian friends for not having this up in time for our Thanksgiving, but I know there are many holiday parties to come for which a simply delicious pie or bundt will be needed. And for readers in the U.S., it would seem my timing is perfect. Try something new out for your Thanksgiving desesrt this year, and let me know how it goes.

P.S. The detectives out there will realize there was a 4th Cake. You can see the edge of it snuck into the first picture up top. It was the chocolate bundt cake with chocolate cinnamon glaze (a la Sweetapolita). I was attempting to move it onto its very pretty cake plate when ..... I broke it.

In half.

 It looked a hot mess and I was devestated.

I cried.

And then I ate it.

 It was delicious.

The end.

XO,

Maia

Chocolate Yogurt Zucchini Cake

I had a different recipe planned for today (okay, yesterday. Fine. Thursday). But it has been a hell of a week: sickness, eye infections, and birthday festivities have left me more than a little tired. Writing out a new recipe + editing pics just wasn't in the cards. This fall has been so busy! And it will not be letting up for the weekend. No rest for the wicked. 

This recipe and its accompanying post were scheduled for my very first week of blogging, but they were pushed aside and forgotten. I am so happy I remembered it, because it sure is a yummy recipe. In the first weeks of September, zucchini and summer squash were over flowing the farmers markets. At one point they were going for 0.70 cents per pound…. Never one to resist a deal, I packed my reusable shopping bags to the brim and lugged my bounty home on the sky train. Probably getting strange looks the whole way.  

But I didn’t care, I was the proud owner of 12 Zucchini. Which I’d acquired for under $10! What a bargain! But wait…. Twelve? Did I really just buy twelve zucchini? For two of us? TWELVE? What on earth am I going to do with TWELVE zucchini?

I had a some muffins in mind for a friend. And I knew a great deal of it was destined for soups and curries. But I wanted to find something delicious and snackable that we could indulge in throughout the first weeks of fall. When I returned home I scoured my recipe folders and came across this recipe, which I had bookmarked a couple of weeks before. Chocolatey-walnutty-yumminess, with the added bonus of vegetables. Perfect! 

But more trouble came when I realized that twelve zucchini do not just turn themselves into zucchini bread. How was I – a girl without a food processor – going to break down this abundance of vegetables into something more manageable?  This was surely no job for the magic bullet.  I lost hope for a moment before I decided to take advantage of my resources. My aunt loaned me her trusty food processor, and I spent an hour or so in a zucchini shredding frenzy. Disaster aborted.

Almost. Disaster Part II came about when I realized I only own ONE loaf pan. This recipe makes two loaf cakes. And although I could have baked one at a time, it was a busy day and I needed to get the baking in and out of the oven quickly. So I filled one loaf pan, and divided the remaining batter across 12 muffin tins. This worked out okay, although next time I would adjust the cooking temperature/ time for the muffins, as they were a bit drier than the cake.

It all worked out in the end. And the week that followed was a celebration of the end of summer harvest.  There was a plethora of zucchini creations: Vegan Zucchini Date Muffins, Curried Summer Squash Soup, Ratatouille, and grilled zucchini thrown into everything from pastas to grilled vegetable salads and sandwiches with smoked tofu. That was a good week.

Chocolate Yogurt Zucchini Cake

Adapted from Seven Spoons

Makes 2 loaves or many, many muffins (at least 2 dozen)

I adapted this recipe according to what I had on hand, and also reduced the sugar a bit, but the changes are subtle. If you are looking for something just slightly sweet to snack on for dessert, afternoon tea, or even a portable breakfast, this is just the thing. If zucchini has already disappeared from your local markets, try swapping them for bananas or even carrot. Adjust the recipe accordingly, and be sure to let me know how it goes.

Ingredients

Softened butter, for pans

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 cup chopped toasted walnuts

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup plain yogurt (full fat or Greek are best)

2 eggs, lightly scrambled

1 cups dark brown sugar (I used Demerera)

2 tsp.  vanilla extract

4 cups shredded zucchini

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F. Grease two loaf pans with softened butter and line with parchment paper. Leave an inch or two of parchment paper overhanging on each side, this will help you lift the cake out of the pan when it is done.

2. In a large bowl whisk together the flours, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the walnuts and chocolate and set aside.

3. In another bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the olive oil, yogurt, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

4. Add the dry ingredients 1 cup at a time while mixing on low (with paddle attachment if using your mixer) until just combined.

5. Gently fold in the Zucchini, being careful not to over mix.

6.Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 40-50 minutes, or  until a cake tester or tooth pick comes out almost clean. There will be bits of gooey chocolate or zucchini on your tester, and this may fool you into thinking it it not done. Don’t be fooled. Baking too long can result in a dry loaf. This was my mistake with the muffins, but I took the cake out when I still had doubts it was under done, and it was perfectly moist.

Let the cake cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes, then grasp the edges of the parchment to lift the cake out.

I have lots of cozy fall comfort food recipes in the works for you for next week. It was also a very special boy's birthday yesterday, and the celebrations seem to be spanning Saturday to Saturday. I'll have recipes for some of his favorite treats plus pictures and restaurant reviews from our many recent outings. 

Happy October! Have a lovely weekend.

XO,

Maia