Secret Recipe Club - Black and White Cookies

Hello everyone! This post almost perfectly coincides with my two year blogiversary. Wows! Time flies. This blog has become such a big part of my life, and I am so thankful for everyone who has even glanced at this blog. Without you...I dunno what this would be. A diary? Anyway...last year I talked about some highlight posts of the year, and I will now do the same! 

I have two posts I am most proud of - 

 

Eight Textured Tiramisu and Chocolate Marshmallow Malt Cake. Both of these took many hours and much ingenuity to finish, but it was all worth it in the end! Completing something like this makes me so happy.

Here is the most popular post - 

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream. By a long shot. Their popularity puzzles me, since they are so simple. I think the pretty frosting drew people in ^_^

But we will no longer dwell in the past! Today is my last Secret Recipe Club for a long time, since I don't know what my oven situation in Ireland will be. I am SO glad I got assigned to Melissa over at Smells Like Brownies! She's very funny and self deprecating, which I appreciate in a writer. And she had a post about black and white cookies! In which she referenced You've Got Mail! I think we could easily be friends, haha. 

Hello, little frog back there.

Do you know black and white cookies? They're kind of a New York thing and traditionally, like, as big as your face. Cakey like a whoopie pie, but...a little denser? All you need to know is they're delicious. I tried to make these a while back and something weeeeird happened to the chocolate frosting. It all just sank right into the cookie. This time, I felt the chocolate was a little too thick. Someday I'll find that middle ground. 

 

 On a side note, I had to re-enable word verification on my comments. I'm sorry, cause I know it's annoying, but I was getting so many spam comments that it was driving me nuts. Please don't stop commenting!

Black and White Cookies 

from Smells Like Brownies 

 

Cookie Ingredients:
10 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2½ cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
⅔ cup buttermilk
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
Vanilla Glaze Ingredients:
2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2–3 tbsp. milk
Chocolate Glaze Ingredients:
6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
3 tbsp. butter
1½ tbsp. light corn syrup
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Line two or three baking sheets with parchment paper.
Beat together butter and sugar in a mixer bowl until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest. Add the eggs, beating until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl at least once.
Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.
Mix the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture alternately into the creamed butter and sugar, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl between each addition.
Spoon ¼ cups of batter at least 2″ apart onto a the prepared baking sheets (no more than 6 cookies per sheet).
Bake 13–16 minutes, until tops are puffed and golden, and cookies spring back when touched. Remove the parchment with the cookies still on top from the hot cookie sheets and let cool on the counter for 30 minutes.
Prepare the vanilla glaze by stirring together the sifted confectioner’s sugar, vanilla extract, and milk. Add in the milk 1 tbsp. at a time until the mixture is smooth and liquidy, but spreadable.
In a separate bowl, melt the butter and the chocolate in a microwave for about 1 minute. Be careful not to burn the chocolate. Add the corn syrup and stir until smooth.
Glaze the backs of each cookie. First spread vanilla over one half of each cookie, then let it set for a minute or two. Then spread the chocolate over the second half, trying to keep a neat line down the center if possible.
Let the cookies set at room temperature for at least 1 hour. Store in an airtight container, or wrap individually in plastic wrap.

Secret Recipe Club - Chocolate Matcha Caramels!

Oy vey, it's been too long. I'm sorry. Life kind of got in the way...there is a very short window for leaf crunching you know. I've been baking of course. But things that I didn't feel like photographing, or that didn't turn out. And then there was this post, which I've been meaning to write for over a week now, but I just never got around to it, and then I left my camera with all my pictures on it at school, so I had to re-photograph everything with my phone...I shouldn't be making excuses for myself though. Shame! 

Let's get down to business, shall we? My SRC assignment for this month was The Novice Housewife, who has an incredibly diverse and appealing collection of recipes. And is also a great photographer. This is one of the few assignments that I actually knew about outside the SRC. I've been eyeing up her delicious looking Indian recipes :) 

 

But....matcha. I can't resist. And making caramel (something I hadn't tried before) seemed like fun sugarcrafting practice! There is something magical about candy making....watching sugar transform into something completely different. Nom. To add even more caramel, I actually used some caramel flavored matcha! It's super delicious, drink it, seriously. I cannot recommend this brand enough. Now, the matcha adds a delightful kind of earthiness to the otherwise very sweet caramel. I found that it got stronger over several days. If it's not your thang, chocolate caramel is pretty awesome just by itself :) 

Chocolate Matcha Caramel 

from The Novice Housewife

Ingredients
Unsalted butter for the pan
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate (99% dark preferable), finely chopped
1 tablespoon matcha powder Directions
1. Line a 9x9 pan with a piece of parchment paper (the paper will droop over the sides) and butter well.
2. Stir together the cream, sugar, corn syrup, and salt together in a heavy bottom pan. Bring to a boil and continue to cook until it reaches 250F. Remove from heat and let cool for a five minutes. (Be careful when waiting for it to reach 250 F because it might flow over. And since I had to put it on low it took a looooooong time. I would recommend using a really deep pan)
3. Add chocolate and the matcha. Stir together and pour into the pan and spread with an offset spatula. Let the caramel sit for a few hours.
4. Cut apart into 1-inch squares. Serve or store in an airtight container.

To Daniel - Yogurt Cereal Bars

Though I've had people I once loved fade out of my life in various ways, some more difficult than others, I have never lost lost someone I deeply cared for. It is a pain that I can't possibly comprehend. And when that person is a spouse or significant other, I think the heartbreak magnifies. This is a person you chose, out of all the people you've ever met, to remain faithful to. But sometimes that time is cut short. It's not fair and it doesn't make sense. But it happens.

You are so loved.

I've never met Daniel Saraga in real life. Our only encounters have been through the Secret Recipe Club. But he was always a friendly, welcoming, and vibrant personality. He ran a blog with his wife, Meredith, and I loved that a husband and wife could blend their different backgrounds in cooking together. For Meredith, this woman I have never met and probably never will meet, I am so sorry. Sorry for this devastating loss, and sorry that these words are inadequate. I wish I could take away your pain. No one deserves to feel this. Your love for each other was immediately apparent to anyone who visited your blog.

For my tribute, I chose something that Daniel and Meredith developed together for their young son. Yogurt and cereal bars – simple and sweet, but very deliberate, and filled with unconditional love. To Meredith and her children – hang in there. We're all sending so much love your way. I know I wish I could do more.

Yogurt and Cereal Bars

by The Haggis and The Herring

2 cups corn flakes
3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 tbsp flour

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
Combine corn flakes, flour, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
Cut in butter until coarse crumbs form.
Press half of the mixture firmly into the bottom of a greased 8-inch square pan.
Mix yogurt, egg and 2 tbsp flour in another small bowl.
Spread yogurt mixture over cereal mixture in pan and then sprinkle the remaining cereal mixture on top.
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Let cool and cut into bars.

Secret Recipe Club - Kugel with Frosted Flake Crunch!

I'm so happy I got assigned a blog for SRC this month that had a recipe for kugel on it. Kugelkugelkugel. I love saying it. And I love eating it. Thanks, Growing up Gabel. Besides your delicious recipes, your blog has a very clean and beautiful layout. That is very important to me. I wish my blog looked as cohesive as hers!

 

Kugelywoogly. Ahem. Do you know what kugel is? It's okay if you don't. It's simply a noodle pudding. It can be served hot or cold, sweet or savory, dinner or dessert or anything in between! I'm pretty sure no one knows what it is here in the Midwest because there isn't a huge Jewish population around me, and kugel is a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish dish. Growing up in New York, surrounded by a lot of Jewish influence, kugel was just something that was around a lot. My mom made it with cinnamon, apples, and raisins (I always picked those out). 

This take on kugel is sooooooo delicious. Eggs, butter, and cottage cheese combine to make it amazingly creamy. And it has a frosted flake crunch topping, which reminds me of my beloved Momofuku. People who had never even heard of kugel took and bite and were begging for more. So give it a go! It's easy, versatile, and endlessly entertaining (kugelkugelkugelkugel....)

Kugel with Frosted Flake Crunch

from Growing up Gabel 

1/2 pound, extra wide egg noodles
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
16 ounces, whole fat cottage cheese
1 stick melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Dash of salt
1-2 cups of Frosted Flakes cereal
1/2-1 stick melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large pot, parboil the noodles for about 5 minutes. Drain.
In a mixing bowl, beat eggs with electric mixer until nice and fluffy (this is ambiguous to me. I think I did like 1 1/2 minutes).
Slowly add in sugar, beating well after each addition.
Add in cottage cheese, butter, vanilla and salt.
Stir in noodles.
Pour noodle mixture in to a casserole or cake pan (about 2 quarts).
In a large skillet, melt additional butter.
Add cereal and stir to coat.
Top noodle mixture with cereal.
Bake until kugel is set and gold brown on top, anywhere from 1-2 hours depending on your oven. Serve warm or cold! I like it cold. 

Secret Recipe Club - Pumpkin Whoopie Pies + Mascarpone Filling

Ah, the final Secret Recipe Club of the summer. Next time around, I'll be back in a new and exciting dorm kitchen. Who knows what the future may hold? I'm okay with going back to school. I enjoy my time here, and I enjoy my time there. My mom commented that as I've gotten older, I've grown less restless. It's easy for me to be content with where I am. But not complacent. Let's not get those two confused. But on to the food, shall we? 

 

My assignment for this month was actually my SRC group's leader, Suzanne! Oh man, I hope she likes what I make! Will I get kicked out if she doesn't? Haha, I don't think so, she seems pretty cool. So I'm safe for now! Anyway, I know pumpkin is usually considered a fall flavor, but I do what I want! Cause I'm a rebel. 

This one looked messy, so I ate it instead of bringing it to work, haha.

Who came up with the name Whoopie Pie? Saying it makes me feel silly. So I usually just sort of mumble it and hope people get the gist. But man oh man are they awesome. If you've never had one, it's like a soft, cakey cookie with whatever the heck you want sandwiched in the middle. Like a macaron's less fancy cousin? Maybe. Okay also, and I highly, highly recommend doing this, I made my own mascarpone for the filling. It's so wonderful, and easy, and way cheaper than buying it in the store. I'll include a tutorial after the recipe.

 

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies + Mascarpone Filling

from Thru the Bugs on My Windshield

1 1/2 c Pumpkin Pie Filling or Puree

2 Tbsp Maple Syrup

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp ground Ginger

1 whole egg

1/2 cup Grapeseed Oil

1 cup packed Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

Pinch of Salt

1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

2 cups all-purpose flour

Ingredients for the filling:

8 oz Mascarpone Cheese

1/4 cup Powdered Sugar

1/2 tsp Vanilla

1/4 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

Mix the pumpkin, syrup, vanilla, ginger, egg, oil, and brown sugar in a big bowl and whisk until everything is smooth and incorporated.

Add the salt, baking soda, baking powder and flour and mix together.

Heat oven to 350ºF and line cookie sheets with parchment paper (or grease the pans lightly).  Spoon on batter in 2″ (mine were more like 2.5) rounds.

Place in the oven and bake for about 14 minutes.  When they turn a bit brown and crack a little, they’re done! Let them cool completely before filling.

To make the filling...mix everything together. Haha. Using a knife or pastry bag, swirl on some filling to a cookie.  Top with another cookie. If the filling seems a little gooey, place pies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to stiffen the filling.

Homemade Mascarpone

from The Pastry Affair 

2 cups heavy cream, pasteurized (but not ultra-pasteurized)
1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed

In a large saucepan, heat heavy cream over medium high heat until a candy thermometer reads 190 degrees F (88 degrees C). The cream should be at a simmer. Be careful not to scorch the bottom! Stir in the lemon juice and continue to heat at 190 degrees F (88 degrees C) for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. The cream should thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature, about 30 to 45 minutes.

Place a strainer lined with 4 layers of cheesecloth (or a few layers of coffee filters) over an empty bowl. Add the cream, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator. Allow the cream to strain out for 8-12 hours, preferably overnight. Discard the whey; I only ended up with a couple tablespoons. When finished straining, transfer the cheese to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.

Use fresh mascarpone cheese within the week.

 

Secret Recipe Club - Carrot Cupcakes + Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting

Hello from San Francisco! I've only been here one day so far, but I find it to be a lovely place and already had a delicious meal. I'll be sure to post about my adventures upon my return. Now, down to business. I will be honest, cause that's how I roll. I neglected this Secret Recipe Club post for far too long. Life got busy and there were so many recipes to choose from that I was paralyzed by indecision!

Instacarrots. Don't judge me. 

Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks (a name which always made me giggle ^_^) was the name of my supersecret blog this month. Man, this girl bakes so much, I dunno how she finds time for it. Anyway, there I was, last minute, paralyzed by indecision, when I remembered the pretty carrots in the fridge from the farmer's market (not the same carrots as these, that would be kind of gross). Luckily, Heather had a recipe for carrot cake, huzzah! Problem solved. 

Carrot cake is awesome. I made a couple adaptations to Heather's recipe, since I consider raisins to be the bane of my existence, and besides, I prefer my carrot cake pure and unadulterated. I employed some Milk Bar whippin' techniques in the cake process, and upped the vanilla in the frosting with scraped vanilla bean. Let me tell you, they were dabomb.com (which, unfortunately, is not a real website or I would link to it). The cake was SO moist, and the frosting, just barely sweet, was perfect for it. Definitely will be coming back to this one. If you have the time, grate your own carrots (or throw them in the food processor if you're lazy like me). I added some purple carrots for color variation! 

Carrot Cupcakes + Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting

adapted from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks 

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup tightly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 1/2 cups shredded peeled carrots

4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar (I think I used a bit less...I didn't really measure!)
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped and pod set aside for future use 

 Preheat oven to 350. Line cupcake pan with 12 wrappers. Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.

Combine the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs, and mix on medium-high for 2-3 more minutes. Scrape down the sides again.

On low speed, stream in the oil. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and paddle for 4-6 minutes, until the mixture is practically white, twice the size of your original fluffy butter and sugar mixture, and completely homogenous, with no streaks of fat. Don’t rush the process. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

On low speed, add the flour mixture. Mix for 45-60 seconds, just until your batter comes together and any remnants of dry ingredients have been incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add carrots on low speed, only mixing until just incorporated. Remove the bowl, grab a spatula, and run it through the batter, making extra sure everything is combined. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 22-27 minutes, checking at the 20-minute mark for doneness. I find with cakes, baking time depends not only on how hot your oven cooks, but also on what type of pan you’re using (nonstick, dark, light, etc). Check early and as often as you need to. You want your cake to be done, but you also want it to retain its moisture and not be dry.

When it’s done, it will have risen and puffed, doubling in size, but will remain buttery and dense. At your 20-minute checkpoint, poke the cake edge gently with your finger; the cake should bounce back slightly and the center should not be jiggly. If it’s jiggly, put back in the oven, checking every 3 minutes or so. Cool, and then frost.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes

Secret Recipe Club – Choco-Coco Banana Rum Bread

Time for another round of Secret Recipe Club! It's oh so much fun. I recently cleaned out our freezer and found what amounted to a whole bunch of bananas, frozen. Now I've done banana on here before. Rather frequently, actually. But I have never had a banana bread recipe. Which is weird! Because it's like, the most basic thing to do with speckly bananas. 

But they are just SO ugly. I will never get over that.

For my whole baking life I feel like I've been striving to achieve banana bread perfection. Nirvana, if you will. I've found recipes that were very tasty (I'm partial to this one) but I've never felt like "oh, this is it. My banana bread search is over". I have a funny feeling I will never reach that point. But I'm okay with that. Nothing wrong with continuing to strive for something elusive, something better.

 

My blog assignment this month was Robin, Restored and lo and behold, she had a banana bread recipe posted! And...it was from Joy the Baker. I know I promised I wouldn't post anything else from Joy's cookbook, but this was serendipitous. And I adapted it a little, adding some coconut and substituting bourbon (with which I was unfamiliar. Don't judge) with rum. Can't go wrong there. In my opinion, this bread tastes even better the second day. So be patient! 

Choco-Coco Banana Rum Bread

adapted from Joy the Baker, via Robin, Restored

2 cups flour 

 3 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1-1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 3 bananas)

3 Tbsp rum

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
Sift flour and baking powder

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time to butter mixture. Add bananas, vanilla, and rum Mix well.
On low speed, add flour mixture.
Stir in chocolate chips and coconut.
Batter will be very thick. Spoon into prepared loaf pan.
Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until skewer comes out clean.
Remove from oven and cool about 20 minutes before turning onto wire rack to cool completely.

Secret Recipe Club - No Churn Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

I hate sharing a freezer. Besides the fact that there are large and mysterious cuts of meat in there, people will eat your stuff. Even if it has a name on it. I made a beautiful, perfect bowl of ice cream and spent time rearranging the scary meats so the bowl would stand up straight in the freezer. When I came back to retrieve it, the bowl was tipping side and someone had stuck their fingers in my ice cream. 

Ewwwwwww. What would prompt someone to do that? If you are reading this, I hope you are ashamed. I would have gladly given you a large scoop if you had asked me. But noooo, you had to surreptitiously stick your fingers in there. How am I supposed to know what else you've touched? Yuckyuckyuck. 

Ahem. Anyway. Let me tell you a bit about the blog I was assigned for Secret Recipe Club this month. It's called Crumbs and Chaos (I enjoy that name very much) and is run by four sisters! That's so cool. If me and my sister had a blog together, I think it would get very silly ^_^ I found this recipe in Becca's section of the site (Rebeccas unite!) and couldn't resist. I love ice cream, and I am terrible at making it. I thought maybe if I tried a new technique, it would work out for me? Totally yes. It's a bit fluffier and softer than typical ice cream, but it's great to know that I can make ice cream without a machine, huzzah! 

Oh, and freezer thief? I'm coming for you. 

No Churn Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

by Crumbs and Chaos

1 pint WHIPPING CREAM

1 can (14 oz.) SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK

1 1/2 teaspoons MINT EXTRACT

3/4 cup CHOCOLATE CHIPS

3 drops GREEN FOOD COLORING

In a bowl, beat cream until fluffy (this took about 1 1/2 minutes).  Set aside.

In another bowl, mix together sweetened condensed milk, mint extract, chocolate chips and food coloring. Gently fold in the whipped cream.  Pour mixture into a freezable container and freeze until firm.  See how easy that was?

Secret Recipe Club - Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream

My 15 year old brother is a walking contradiction. He loves nothing more than a perfect lobster tail with drawn butter, a roasted beet salad, creamy tiramisu. But he equally loves instant ramen, Flamin' Hot Cheetos and Little Debbie Swiss rolls. He's skinny as a twig but eats a massive bowl of ice cream each night. 

Every time I come home he asks me to make him a cake. I say "Sure, what do you want?" "A box cake," he replies. I scowl, disgusted. "Ian, I'm not wasting my time making a box cake. You can make that yourself." This happens pretty frequently. Why doesn't he like real cake? Because I'm a people pleaser, I set out to make him something from scratch that he'd approve of. 

Since it happened to be Secret Recipe Club time, I found a great vanilla cake recipe on Jo-Anna's blog, A Pretty Life in the Suburbs. This is perhaps the best vanilla cake recipe I have found thus far. It's not dense and overly crumbly. Perhaps it has something to do with the procedure, which I haven't seen before (adding chunks of butter to the dry mixture instead of creaming it with the sugar). Instead of the cherry buttercream she made, I did raspberry. So, what did Ian think of the cupcakes? "Taste like a box cake." Mission accomplished. 

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream

adapted from A Pretty Life in the Suburbs

1 cup cake flour

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup milk

1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out, save the pod for something!

3 eggs

• Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
• Add the butter in chunks, to the flour mix, then add 3/4 cup milk.  Beat on low for 1 minute.
• Add eggs, and the remaining milk and vanilla.
• Beat until smooth.
• Pour the batter into approximately 20 muffin cups.
• Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.
• Cool before frosting.

1/4 cup fresh raspberries

1 cup unsalted butter

3 1/2 cups icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla

• Sift icing sugar.
• In a mixer, beat butter until soft and fluffy.
• Add sifted icing sugar, and mix until well combined.
• Add vanilla and raspberries.
• Then frost your cupcakes after they have cooled.

Secret Recipe Club - Crumb Cake

Guys, I am so stressed out. It's the week before spring break, and everything is happening at the same time, and it's kind of awful. I honestly almost forgot to do my Secret Recipe Club post, which would have made me feel like a horrible person.

I didn't forget! I went to Sweet Flours, a lovely little blog run by Allison, who has the bluest eyes ever! Haha, anyway, after a little digging, I found a crumb cake recipe I really wanted to try out. Have you ever had these donuts? I am not a donut eater, but occasionally a box of them will make its way into the house and everyone will be on them like a pack of starving dogs. You have to get the one with the most crumbs! You do not have to fight for the most best piece of this cake. No lame sparsely scattered crumbs here. The cake is completely obscured by crumbly goodness, so all the pieces are the best piece. Everyone can be happy.

Well, I've had my fun. Time to get back to my pile of schoolwork *sigh*

 

Crumb Cake
from Sweet Flours

crumb topping
1/3 cup granulated sugar (2 2/3 ounces)
1/3 cup dark brown sugar (2 2/3 ounces)
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), melted and still warm
1 3/4 cups cake flour (7 ounces)

cake
1 1/4 cups cake flour (5 ounces)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 stick), cut into 6 pieces, softened but still cool
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup buttermilk

confectioners’ sugar for dusting

1. Topping: Whisk sugars, cinnamon, salt, and butter in medium bowl to combine. Add flour and stir with rubber spatula or wooden spoon until mixture resembles thick, cohesive dough; set aside to cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Cake: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Cut 16-inch length parchment paper or aluminum foil and fold lengthwise to 7-inch width. Spray 8-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and fit parchment into dish, pushing it into corners and up sides; allow excess to overhang edges of dish.

3. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt on low speed to combine. With mixer running at low speed, add butter one piece at a time; continue beating until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no visible butter chunks remaining, 1 to 2 minutes. Add egg, yolk, vanilla, and buttermilk; beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute, scraping once if necessary.

4. Transfer batter to baking pan; using rubber spatula, spread batter into even layer. Following photos below, break apart crumb topping into large pea-sized pieces and spread in even layer over batter, beginning with edges and then working toward center. Bake until crumbs are golden and wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes. Remove cake from pan by lifting parchment overhang. Dust with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.  Cut into 12 large or 16 reasonable sized pieces.  Enjoy!

Secret Recipe Club - Vegan Chocolate Mini Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting!

Guys, the Secret Recipe Club is back! Yay! This month my assignment was Biking and Baking by the very cool Sarah Bligh. She's a road biking, vegan resident physician. Is that intense or what? Since Sarah's a vegan but her husband is not (as far as I can tell from the blog) she has tons of recipes that are easily adaptable to fit any dietary needs. 

I think she has a bulldog as well. This is not a bulldog, but still. I consider us kindred spirits :) 

This recipe is coming at you right in time for Valentine's Day. Decorate these tiny cupcakes with hearts and stuff and give them to your dashing gentleman caller. Or put them in your friends' mailboxes (not anonymously. I wouldn't eat a mystery cupcake).

I used my homemade vanilla!

This recipe is definitely a keeper. There's nothing weird or inaccessible in the cakes, and they're SO moist. The frosting is not vegan, but it's amazing, just for eating off a spoon, haha. I adapted the original recipe a bit in that I made them mini, cut the recipe in half (and I still got 30 minis) and didn't fill the cupcakes with peanut butter like Sarah did. If (more like when) I make them again, I think I'll try them out with the filling. It's like a peanut butter cup, in cake form! 

Vegan Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
adapted from Biking and Baking

1 1/2 cups flour
3 Tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon vinegar (use something like and plain like white wine or good old white distilled)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup coconut milk

Preheat oven to 350. Line or grease mini cupcake tins.
Mix flour, cocoa, soda, and sugar.  In another bowl mix oil, vinegar, vanilla, and coconut milk. Beat the wet and dry ingredients together (you totally don't need a mixer). Fill cupcake tins.  Bake 9-12, or when a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool and frost with peanut butter frosting (below) 

Peanut Butter Frosting


1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup peanut butter
4 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup heavy cream

Beat butter and sugar until combined, then add the rest of the ingredients. Beat until frosting has a smooth, fluffy consistency.

Secret Recipe Club - Chocolate Almond Risotto

 (Don't forget to enter my cookie giveaway, which closes tonight! I really want to make you something )

Hi everyone! By the time this is posted, I'll almost be done with finals. And what a sweet, sweet day that will be. Though I must admit, college finals seem much less stressful this semester than they did last year, and definitely less than high school. Oh high school, I do not miss thee at all. 

So for this month's Secret Recipe Club I was assigned the blog From My Sweet Heart. Anne has so many awesome ideas, I really want to try some of her frozen desserts recipes. And I love that she always includes a quotation with her post. I would highly encourage all of you to take a peek and see what's happening over there ^_^

I decided to try out her recipe for Chocolate Risotto, just because it was such a novel idea. I love savory risotto, but I never thought to make it into a dessert. I modified it a little and used chocolate almond milk instead of normal milk. So now it's gluten free AND practically vegan, if you use something besides butter to melt in the pan. Woo!

Chocolate Almond Risotto
 adapted from From My Sweet Heart

2 TBSP unsalted butter

3/4 c arborio rice

3-4 c almond milk (warmed in the microwave)

1 c mini chocolate chips

slivered almonds for sprinkling

As is similar to the regular risotto making process, melt the butter in a hot pan.  Add the rice and stir for a minute or so, until the rice is translucent.  Pour 1 cup of milk into the pan and stir until the milk reduces.   As the milk evaporates, add more milk, 1/2 c at a time.  Continue stirring on med heat.  Continue to repeat, adding milk 1/2 c at a time until you have used all the milk and the rice reaches the al dente stage.

Add the chocolate to the rice, and stir until all the chocolate has melted.  Continue to stir until the milk the mixture is blended and creamy.   Garnish with slivered almonds.  Serve immediately.

Secret Recipe Club - Snickerdoodle Bars

I am 20 years old today. When I was a kid, I kind of assumed that by age 20, I'd have everything figured out. I mean, some people were even thinking about marriage, right? Hahaha. I was so wrong. I'm just as confused as I ever was. But you learn to deal with your weaknesses and insecurities and make the most of what you've been given. So there's my birthday wisdom for you. 

Nice birthday gift=SRC post. Not nice gift=History test

Onto the recipe! This month for the SRC, I was assigned Julie's Eats and Treats. I was so excited, I found a recipe I wanted to make immediately, and within the hour, it was done. That recipe was Snickerdoodle Bars (basically snickerdoodle cake)

I never used to be into this cinnamon thing. My tastebuds have obviously matured and become sophisticated. Hah. Um, so, I was a bit disappointed with my bars because the recipe claimed that the glaze would soak into the bars and make them gooey, but that didn't happen for me at all, and they were a bit dry. If I made these again, I would probably double up on the icing and poke holes in the cake so it could seep in. 

 Snickerdoodle Bars

by Julie's Eats and Treats

Ingredients

2 1/2 c all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 c. butter, room temperature

1 1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar, slightly packed

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp sugar

1 1/4 c. powdered sugar

3 Tbsp milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom of a 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter for 30 seconds until light and fluffy. Mix in the sugars and continue creaming until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs and vanilla. Beat for 1-2 minutes. On a low speed slowly mix in the dry ingredients.

3. Spread half of the batter in the bottom of the pan. Combine the sugar and cinnamon for the cinnamon sugar and sprinkle over the batter.

4. Take a small spoon and drop the remaining batter evenly over the cinnamon sugar.

5. Bake for 25 minutes.

6. Let cool completely which is about an hour. Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla for the glaze. Drizzle over the bars. As the glaze soaks into the bars they become gooey!