Chocolate Strawberry Cake

I always love it when I have an excuse to make a whole cake - I can hardly justify the work of making an entire cake when its just the two of us. I made this cake this summer during Patrick's family reunion in Oregon. With two full houses of relatives, there were lots of mouths to eat it!

This is a layered chocolate cake with ganache frosting, strawberry jam, and fresh strawberries. I would have liked it to be circular, as the recipe calls for, but the rental house did not have any 9-inch diameter cake pans! Instead, I used a 9x13 (they didn't even have any 9x9s) and just cut the baked cake in half. It did the trick, and it still tasted great in rectangular form.

The ganache on this makes it super rich and quite messy to frost - especially if you don't have enough time to fully freeze and set the ganache like I did (there were too many outdoor activites to do - biking, hiking, swimming, floating down a freezing cold river.....). But, the drippings go nicely on the extra strawberries :) and you don't even have to wait for it to set!

And before the recipe, here's a beautiful view from the top of the hike that we went on before eating this cake :)

Recipe:

CAKE

2 cups all purpose flour

1 3/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup water

3/4 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

Preheat over to 350F and spray two 9 inch diameter pans. Blend flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl, form a well in the center. In a separate bowl, whisk water, buttermilk, oil and eggs. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry well and whisk to blend. Divide batter between pans and bake for about 30 minutes or until your toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans.

Meanwhile.... make the ganache!

GANACHE

18 oz chopped bittersweet chocolate

2 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Bring cream to boil, pour over chocolate in a medium sized bowl. Let stand 1 minute for chocolate to melt, and then stir until smooth. Refrigerate 1 1/4 cup ganache about 1 hour until it is thick enough to spread. Leave the other at room temp to cool - it should still be pourable.

Now its time to assemble...

STRAWBERRY TOPPING

Fresh strawberries

1 jar strawberry jam

Place one cake layer on plate, spread 4 tablespoons jam. Spoon several dollops of the chilled ganache over top, and spread until even. Place second cake layer on top of the first. Spread another 4 tablespoons strawberry jam on top. Pour almost half of the room temp ganache over the cake, spread over top and sides to cover. Freeze the whole cake until the ganache sets (20-30 min). Pour the rest of the ganache over the cake - spread evenly, smooth the edges, and make it pretty. Freeze to set ganache. Add strawberries in whatever pattern your heart desires, refrigerate until two hours before the time to eat, serve at room temp!

Homemade Challah

When I think back to what I enjoy most about the Jewish Holidays, I always remember the good food! Especially on Rosh Hashanah, when its perfectly acceptable to dip everything in honey (and not just when I go to fast food restaurants - fries dipped in honey are so delicious!). However, the BEST thing about the holidays is the challah. Since I can't get Ukrops round challah's down here - and I've never even seen a challah in the Harris Teeter - I decided to make my own this year. I ended up making a total of 4 loaves since the recipe that I found makes two - and they are almost gone!

This bread was actually super easy - it only rises twice, so you can make it in one night. I think that it tastes better the second day.... we've been living off of toasted challah the past two weeks (even Bailey loves it!)! I prefer my challah with raisins in them, which I added right before the knead step. The second time around, I ended up adding honey into the dough, which I thought made the bread tastier and also slightly firmer. I didn't measure, but just squeezed a bunch in there so hopefully I can replicate it next time!

Also, I left off the egg wash both times - once I forgot, the other time I was out of eggs! I didn't miss it - I actually prefer my breads without an egg wash.

Challah - adapted from bonappetit.com

1/2 cup warm water
2 tablespoons dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar

5 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
squeeze honey (optional)
2/3 cup warm water
7 1/2 cups (about) all-purpose flour

1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon water

Stir together 1/2 cup warm water, yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in a separate bowl. Let yeast mixture stand at room temperature until foamy.

Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, beat 5 eggs until blended. Add oil, salt, 3/4 cup sugar and honey (if you want) and beat until pale yellow and slightly thickened, about 4 minutes. Add 2/3 cup warm water and mix. Add yeast mixture mix. Remove whisk and fit mixer with dough hook.

Add flour 1 cup at a time until dough is smooth, beating well after each addition and making sure you don't add too much flour - you want the dough to not stick to your hands, but not be dry. At this point, the dough was overflowing my bowl, so I split it up into two equal pieces. Then beat dough on medium speed until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes, adding flour by tablespoonfuls if sticky (Add raisins here). Turn out onto floured surface and knead 2 minutes.

Lightly oil large bowl. Add dough, turning to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap, then with clean kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Divide each dough portion into 3 equal pieces and roll each piece into 9-inch-long rope on a lightly floured surface. Braid 3 ropes together; pinch ends together to seal and fold under to make a nice end. Repeat with remaining dough pieces, forming 2 braids. Place braids on a baking sheet and cover with a towel . Let rise in warm area until almost doubled, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°F. If you want, whisk yolk with 1 tablespoon water to blend and brush dough with egg mixture. Bake 10 minutes at 400, then reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake until bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, about 30 minutes. Transfer loaves to rack and cool completely. Eat and enjoy!

I'm baaaaack!

Hey y'all - Sorry about the 2 month hiatus. For those of you that didn't know, I was involved with planning The DOUGHMAN that took place last Saturday. It was on Man vs. Food last year (I had my 2 seconds of fame) and its basically a relay quadrathon where you have to eat a meal (think pork BBQ or a pizza) and then run, bike or jump into a flimsy inner tube and paddle across the pool. It was a lot of fun this year, but took up A LOT of my time. So, in addition to school, DOUGHMAN, and starting to coach summer swim league again, and throw in a trip to Italy, there wasn't much time to bake/blog.

So, let's start summer off in style - with a Fruit Pizza! I absolutely love this dessert and make it all the time in the summer. Its super simple and easy to take to a cookout, and its got fruit on it, so its gotta be healthy, right?

I always use strawberries and blueberries no matter what (they are my favorite), and here i've used kiwi and bananas, but you can change it up with whatever fruit you have! I've used mandarin oranges or peaches - this can really work with everything!

The icing is cream cheese "frosting" - my favorite by far. For the cookie crust, if you are really in a time pinch, you can use it with the pillsbury roll out sugar cookie dough and it tastes great. I recently made it with my own sugar cookie dough, and I liked it a lot better -I think the Pillsbury dough is too sugary.

There is an optional apricot glaze that you can put on top. Ever since the glaze leaked on my friends pants on our way to a cookout, I've left it off. I don't think it adds anything to the pizza, but it also doesn't ruin it!

The tart usually lasts a couple of days, but it can go soggy - so make sure you eat it up in a timely manner (shouldn't be problem). You can also use any shape of pan (square, rectangle, star, heart), so go crazy!!!

Fruit Pizza

Sugar Cookie Dough

1 8oz package Cream Cheese

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

assorted cut fruits (strawberries, kiwi, banana, blueberries, raspberries, peaches - anything!)

Optional Glaze:

2 tbsp apricot preserves

2 tbsp water

1. Spread out cookie dough on a flat pizza sheet (or any other sized sheet) until covered (use your hands!!!). Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes until just turning brown. Let cool.

2. Mix together softened cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Spread onto cooled sugar cookie - I like to spread mine right to the edge!

3. Arrange the cut fruit in any pattern that you like.

4. (Optional) - Mix together the apricot preserves and water, spread evenly over tart.

5. EAT!

Bran Muffins

In keeping with the health kick, I complemented my homemade granola making with some bran muffins. I had seen these on another blog a while ago, and filed them in the back of my mind to make them. The only problem was that they require wheat bran - and who has that on hand???

I finally remembered to pick some up on one of my rare Whole Foods Trips (I tend to overspend there so I limit my shopping trips - everything looks so GOOD!!). The recipe calls for toasting the bran - I ended up burning my first batch, so luckily I had another full two cups! Make sure you stir the bran every once in a while - burnt bran doesn't smell very nice.

I wonder who took that bite? These were gone in about two days. But they are good for you, right??? If you are feeling healthy, or just want to try a not so sweet, but still delicious muffin, give these a try!

(Please note the barbie-themed muffin liners. What a great find.)

Recipe by Nancy Silverton

2 cup (125g) wheat bran
1 cup, plus 1/2 cup (190g total) dark raisins
1 cup, plus 1/2 (370ml total) cup water
1/2 cup (120g) buttermilk or plain low- or non-fat yogurt
a few swipes of fresh orange zest (unsprayed)
1/2 cup (105g) packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (125ml) vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1/2 cup (65g) flour
1/4 cup (35g) whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Toast the wheat bran on a baking sheet for 6-8 minutes & STIR every once in a while (DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP UNLESS YOU WANT YOUR KITCHEN SMELLING OF BURNT WHEAT BRAN. not a good idea). Heat 1 cup raisins with 1/2 cup water - simmer for ten minutes until water is gone and puree raisins in blender or food processor. Mix together the toasted bran, yogurt or buttermilk, and 1 cup water. Then mix in the raising puree, orange zest and brown sugar. Stir in the oil, egg and egg white. Sift, or just throw in the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt - stir until combined. Mix in remaining raisins. Spoon batter into muffin tins - almost to the top! Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until set.

Homemade Granola

About a week ago, I had a granola craving, and instead of going out to the store to buy some, I decided to make my own. After a quick search online, I found a simple recipe with most of the ingredients that I already had in my kitchen. I made only half a recipe - and it was fantastic!! I didn't end up having some of the ingredients (walnut oil & flaxseed meal), so I wanted to try it again to see if it would make a difference.

The second time, I used the walnut oil that the recipe calls for, which was surprisingly not very expensive at the store. I actually liked it better the first time when I just used canola oil - maybe it wasn't quite as rich. Also, I couldn't really tell a difference with the added flaxseed in there. Either way, it works with almost any combination of ingredients that you want to throw in (walnuts, almonds, raisins, etc) and goes great with yogurt for a breakfast! Enjoy!

Recipe (adapted from bonappetit)

• 4 tablespoons walnut oil (I used canola), divided
• 3/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon (scant) coarse kosher salt
• 3 cups organic old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup walnut halves, broken in half
• 1/2 cup flaxseed meal*
• 1 cup pitted dates, coarsely chopped or torn into pieces
• 1/4 cup honey

Preheat oven to 350. Brush parchment with 2 tbs oil. In a bowl, whish 2 tbs oil with egg whites, sugar, and salt. Add oats, nuts, and flaxseed, toss well. Spread mixture on baking sheet, bake 10 minutes. Stir, bake 10 more minutes. Add dried fruit, drizzle honey over, bake for 10 more minutes. Let cool and enjoy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I made some festive shamrock sugar cookies for St. Patty's Day, and then iced them in green royal icing!

Here they are "in progress" before I flooded them with more icing.

After some taste testing, we decided that the fully iced ones are actually better - I just loved the look of the outlined ones though (and I ran out of icing so they didn't really have a choice). Everyone loved them, including Miss B (who also shares her dad's ability scarf down incredible numbers of sugar cookies).

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

THE ultimate oatmeal cookie???

After 24 long years of baking, I might be finished testing oatmeal cookies. How do I know this? Patrick, who does not like oatmeal cookies AT ALL, and who will never ever ever eat one under no circumstances whenever I make a batch, first, tried one (gasp) and second, said "These are pretty good for oatmeal cookies" (jaw dropping).

I made these to bring to an all day lab meeting, figuring that oatmeal can be eaten in the morning (it qualifies as breakfast, right?) or in the afternoon (it is in cookie form after all). With no raisins, which I found out was a plus, I made two kinds: walnut chocolate chip and white chocolate - craisin. I was impartial to the walnut chocolate chip, and I noticed that those went faster.

It was also nice to have people eat these cookies instead of the desserts that the Washington Duke Inn gave us (must be something they put in those Dook cookies). I will definitely be making these again and might be done looking for THE oatmeal recipe (until the next one comes my way).