last post/ the death of waking and baking

hey guys, in case you didn't know, i moved my website over to here

so... see ya there!

why would you click continue?

you had to have known there wouldn't be anything after the jump!

well congratulations, now you have to see my dad putting on his shoes and socks in a parking lot.

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elvis cake

declan told me what i should know, too much candy gonna rot your soul!

..except, of course, in the case of the elvis cake.

just a warning: this cake is a monster.

view with caution

(and a flashlight)

elvis was said to like fluffernutters, which would explain the name. i wouldn't know, but trust me, more than one slice of this beast might cause you to croak on the toilet.

err... i guess i just made that joke, sorry.

this cake is such a mouthful to explain, so bear with me and try not to explode:

banana cake layers with mini chocolate chips on the tops, with marshmallow peanut butter frosting in between the layers, and peanut butter frosting all over, then topped with crushed reese's cups and sprinkled with more chocolate chips on the sides. whew!

try this if you dare; it's certainly not for lightweights. though i gotta say it wasn't a sugar overload like i was expecting. i thought the flavors were pretty mild, but what can i say? i'm sort of insane. 

elvis cake

from eatmedelicious

cake:

3 eggs

2 cups flour

2 bananas, mashed

1+1/2 cups sugar

1 stick of butter, room temperature

1 cup milk

3+1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

dash of salt

bag of mini chocolate chips

mini reese's cups

frosting:

4 cups powdered sugar

2 sticks of butter, room temperature

1 cup of peanut butter

1 cup marshmallow fluff

2 tablespoons of milk

.: preheat oven to 350. line two 9-inch cake pans with parchment 

. whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt

. in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together

. add the eggs one at a time

. alternatively add flour and milk

. beat in vanilla and mashed bananas

. pour into pans and sprinkle with chips. i used enough to almost cover the tops

. bake for 35 minutes, and let cool completely 

. beat the butter and peanut butter together

. add powdered sugar one cup at a time, adding milk if it gets too tough to work with

. transfer 1/3 of the frosting to another bowl, add the marshmallow fluff and stir with a spatula to combine

. normally you place the first layer of a layer cake upside down, but we want all the chocolate chips in the middle, so keep it upright (mine barely domed so it wasn't a problem)

. frost the layer with the marshmallow frosting, add the second layer (top side down) and use the peanut butter frosting to cover

. press mini chocolate chips around the sides, and sprinkle the top with crushed reese's cups, or decorate however you like :. 

make this for the extreme peanut butter enthusiast in your life, and you won't be sorry. and as uncle jesse would say, 

"HAVE MERCY!"

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chocolate cinnamon bread

don't stop believin!

i know my last 4 posts have been nonchocolate items; this was merely a test for all you imaginary readers out there, to measure your loyalty.

and whaddya know, i still pretend people read this so i guess my blasphemy can be overlooked.

so to embrace the return of chocolate to my repertoire, i present this wonderful chocolate bread:

my brother scratched his head when i called this 'bread'.. it's really a chocolate loaf, but who wants to eat it with that name?

this killer loaf (ugh) cake is similar to the mrs greens chocolate loaf; moist and dense, but it's swirling with cinnamon and has a crispy sugar crust on top. 

it's got a really great chocolate flavor, and it's so rich and fudgy. you might wanna make this a day ahead, though... while delicious when you make it, it's better the next day. 

chocolate cinnamon bread 

from baking bites

cake:

3 eggs

2 sticks of butter, room temperature

1+1/2 cups sugar

1 cup flour

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

dash of salt

sugar crust:

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

.: preheat oven to 350. grease a 9x5 loaf pan and line with parchment 

. in a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar

. beat in eggs, one at a time

. in a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda + powder, and salt

. whisk together the buttermilk, water and vanilla extract

. alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture to your butter/sugar bowl, starting and ending with the flour

. pour into your loaf pan

. whisk together your sugar, cinnamon and cocoa and sprinkle all over the top of the cake, you should have enough to cover it completely

. bake for 50 minutes, and cool completely or overnight :.

make sure you use the right size loaf pan, too; mine must have been too small, because the cake ballooned over the top and would have looked so much nicer if it hadn't. but it's so awesome, you gotta try it.

and these pictures kinda blow, so here's a baby polar bear.

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blueberry buttermilk cake

how quaint! 

a simple one layer cake brimming with blueberries. no frills, no frosting, just good.

...time to break out the rocking chair?

alright, i don't know what's with me recently with thinking i'm gran from true blood, but sometimes i'm just really happy with a plain, un-fussy dessert.

(as opposed to my usual self; a chocolate-covered chocolate chip choco-cocoa fiend)

this cake is so light and perfect for a really hot day, when something like a layer cake would just be overwhelming and gross. it's not too sweet, it's got a springy density (almost like a scone, but less dry), and the dimples on top are just so cute.

it's really a shame my photography skillz are limited; these pictures do it no justice. sprinkled with sugar right before baking, the crust gets brown and sparkly and crackly, and the blueberries sink into it, making the top dimply and really rustic looking. 

blueberry buttermilk cake:

from smitten kitchen

1 cup flour

1 stick of butter

1 cup blueberries (or any berry you want)

1 egg

2/3 cup sugar 

1/2 cup buttermilk 

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

zest of one lemon

dash of salt

1+1/2 tablespoons (extra) sugar

.: preheat oven to 400. butter and flour a 9-inch cake pan

. if you don't want to run out and buy buttermilk, throw 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 a tablespoon of lemon juice into a ziplock and let it curdle for 10 minutes. buttermilk!

. whisk together the flour, baking powder+soda, and salt

. in a large bowl, beat together the butter and the 2/3 cup of sugar

. beat in vanilla and lemon zest

. beat in the egg

. shake up your buttermilk (hence the ziplock)

. alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to your butter/ sugar mixture, starting and ending with the flour

. pour batter into the cake pan and smooth

.. here's where you have to pay attention. if you add all of the blueberries before you bake it, they'll all sink to the bottom. this is what i did and it worked perfectly, giving me even distribution of bloobz throughout the cake ..

. sprinkle a quarter cup of the blueberries evenly over the top, and sprinkle with 1/2 tablespoon of the sugar

. bake for 5 minutes, and then add another quarter cup of berries

. bake for another 5 minutes, and add the rest of the blueberries (1/2 cup) and the rest of the sugar on top (1 tablespoon).

. bake for 10 minutes (so 20 minutes total)

. cool completely :. 

i got this recipe from smitten kitchen, my favorite blawg (next to bob loblaw's law blog, of course). deb made it with raspberries, which, hmm, i guess i'll have to try pretty soon. my dad's been complaining that i make something and he never sees it again.. but i think this one might live to see another day

this cake is best when eaten day-of, though no complaints next day either. 

enjoy!

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chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies

i'm not very interested in oatmeal cookies. i made these for a friend, and i couldn't decide on a recipe, and i didn't know what he wanted; hard and crunchy, or soft and chewy. all i know is what a disaster these cookies turned out to be! 

let me take you on a journey through my mishap:

- ok so first, i forgot to add the baking soda, which is probably why they're so flat. i realized my blunder after about 3 batches, and when i added the baking soda, i forgot to, you know, use less than the amount on the recipe. 

- i had no white sugar so i used all brown sugar. you can definitely taste it, and i think it's what made the batter so runny. 

- then, since oatmeal cookies are always a disappointment once you realize the raisins aren't chocolate chips, i added chocolate chunks. but i used way too many, so they completely overpowered the cookies. 

- and after all this, i proceeded to mail them to my bestie in boston, and a week later when they arrived, they were stale. 

the baking gods were not with me this day. 

and neither was my head, i suppose.

you know what though? they all managed to get eaten, the ones i sent to my friend and the ones i left home for my family. 

they turned out to be slightly crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. 

next time i'll use chocolate chips instead of chunks and actually follow the recipe, but hey, i don't do oatmeal cookies and i ate these, so they must have been ok.

...or i'm just a cookie monster

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peach crumble

confession: this is the first time i've ever made any sort of pie-thing. i've never baked a pie before, its kind of embarrassing. my mom knows how to cook like 5 things total, one of them being apple pie, so i never wanted to intrude onto her sacred territory.

but tonight, i did just that. 

alright.. so my family might have a problem. we're sort of obsessed with dessert; the cousins and the bennetts rarely get together for dinner, but we always manage to do coffee and dessert. and when we do, it's eaten straight out of the oven, no cooling time allowed. certain things are meant to be eaten after they've cooled, but the cousins do not abide. 

so that's the explanation of why i don't have pretty pictures of a big, beautiful dish of untouched crumble, but instead am leaving you with the sad remains that are actually able to be photographed. 

grandma helen's peach crumble

topping:

1 + 1/3 cups of flour

1 stick of butter, melted

6 tablespoons of sugar (if you can, use 3 tbs regular sugar + 3 tbs 'sugar in the raw')

1 teaspoon baking powder

filling:

5 peaches

1 cup of water, plus another 1/2 cup

1/2 cup sugar 

4 tablespoons cornstarch

juice of half a lemon 

pat of butter

dash of cinnamon 

.: preheat oven to 375. line a baking sheet with foil.

. combine flour, butter, sugar and baking powder, and refrigerate until needed

. peel and slice your peaches (you want slices, not chunks) and heat in a saucepan with the cup of water and sugar

. meanwhile, mix together the other 1/2 cup of water with the cornstarch

. when the water is boiling, add the water/cornstarch mixture to your peaches

. add the lemon juice, butter and cinnamon, and stir until mixture thickens

. once the mixture has thickened to a goop, transfer to your baking dish

. crumble up your refrigerated topping into thick crumbs and sprinkle on top of the peaches

. bake 40 minutes on the baking sheet. it will bubble over and spill out of your dish; don't worry, keep baking until the top has browned :.

seriously though? wait till it's cooled off. 

since we nonbelievers don't respond well to delayed gratification, we ate it warm with vanilla frozen yogurt and thought it was awesome at the time. but i just took these pictures of it from the fridge, and, oops i ate some. WOW what a difference! please do yourself the justice of eating this cold :)

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hummingbird cake

a lovely name for a lovely cake.

as you can see from my cheesecake post, i'm a very proud new yorker. but there's still a part of me that has always longed to be a southern belle who wears white, drinks lemonade, and whips up southern cakes.

so here's a hummingbird cake.

hummingbird cake is a southern specialty made with bananas, pineapple and pecans. before you go "ew" and dismiss it, hear me out. it's essentially a cake version of banana bread, covered in a sweet yet tangy cream cheese frosting.

the pecans are chopped to a powder so there aren't chunks of nuts; it's purely for flavor and texture. i never put nuts or raisins in my goodies.. you can trust me. as for the pineapple, it's there to keep the cake moist, and yea you might bite into a chunk here or there but its not weird at all, i swear (good carrot cakes use pineapple, for comparison).

look at it! it's such a hearty and down-home kinda dessert it just makes me wanna sit on a porch.

hummingbird cake

from southern living

cake

3 cups flour

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

2 cups mashed ripe bananas (4 bananas)

1 cup finely chopped, toasted pecans

8 oz crushed pineapple (do not drain)

3/4 cup canola oil

1 + 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

dash of salt

pecan cream cheese frosting

4 cups powdered sugar

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

.: preheat oven to 350, and line pans with parchment

. finely chop pecans into a powder

. spread onto a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, till lightly browned

. in a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt

. in another bowl, whisk the eggs slightly

. add oil, pineapple, mashed bananas, pecans and vanilla, and stir together

. add wet mixture to flour mixture and stir together

. bake 30 minutes (mine took way longer, at least 40-45 minutes)

after letting them cool, de-pan your cakes and chill in the fridge in saran wrap. once completely cold, make your frosting:

. beat together the cream cheese and butter

. gradually beat in sugar and vanilla

. stir in pecans

i garnished mine with a mixture of ground cinnamon and powdered sugar. another idea would be to sprinkle with crushed pecans :.

it's hard to say whether this is better day-of or next-day. after leveling the tops off the cakes, i spread the throw-away parts (the dome i cut off) with the extra frosting and it was supremely addicting. however, the next day when i actually tasted a piece, the frosting was set and it was definitely more of a cake experience. it's definitely great both ways but if i absolutely had to pick, i'd say same day.

enjoy!

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