Friday, January 24, 2014

The Chefs of Broke Lemons: Oreo Chocolate Cake

Cake, cake, cake! Never has there been such a delightful dessert that brings a multitude of people together. The beauty of cake is that it can also be used as a tasteful way to show friends and loved ones how much you really appreciate them. There is nothing like a great combination of ingredients or people that work so well together. One of those combinations is Michele and Mike. 


In order to show our appreciation of them, Yen baked an Oreo cake for our first featured post on Michele's deliciously appetizing blog, Squirrels-n-Sweets. We felt that it would only be fitting to choose a confection that was a fine representation of the perfect union that Michele and her newlywed husband have. This cake is not the most complex of cakes, but it's a rich, moist chocolate sponge cake with Oreo buttercream filling...complete with a yummy cookie crumble topping. It definitely captures the joyfulness and personality that we've found to be so endearing in our two awesome friends. 

Just like the world's most beloved milk dunking cookie, Michele and Mike are a perfectly matched duo who are bonded by a pure white "wonder-filled" center. The highly addicting friendship they create together makes you wonder how you ever managed to exist before they came into your life.

For the full Oreo Chocolate Cake recipe check out BBC's Good Food website. 

For all of your other delicious eatery needs, just keep scrolling through the many posts of Squirrels-n-Sweets. I guarantee you'll find sugar, spice and everything nice in between. 

Love,
Yen & Harold
Broke Lemons



This guest post is brought to you by our dear friends Harold and Yen of Broke Lemons. The divine Oreo Chocolate Cake was baked by Yen and the sweet post is written by Harold. Be sure to check out their jaw-dropping blog as they explore life in New Zeland. That's right... freaking New Zeland... oh you know, the land of hobbits and elves. The landscapes are surreal, the photos picturesque, and their tales are always entertaining. I love reading their differing perspectives and sharing in their adventure. Thank you both for sharing this recipe and your kind words! Mike and I miss you but are visiting vicariously through Broke Lemons! Sending mad love and good vibes! Bird Gang 4 Life.

Monday, January 20, 2014

Honey-Vanilla Bean Marshmallows


The holidays have flown by and I'm left in the wake of the lethargic aftermath. Even thinking of the right words for this post is an effort! It's a touch pathetic really but it's not entirely my fault. Fraiser's on the ol' Amazon Prime and it's like a moth to a flame. How can I win when a key character is a cute Jack Russell Terrier?

I would like to start with saying (finally), Happy New Year! Hello 2014! Here's to a joyous and wonderful  year ahead, no matter what the challenges. Salude! 



Before anybody jumps off the deep end and starts the New Year with the stereotypical health and fitness goals, please take a moment to relax! If you're anything like our family, getting through the holidays was a sheet act of survival between traveling, budgeting, gift shopping, present wrapping, scheduling, familial tensions, and cooking.  Quite frankly, Mike and I were so busy working till the last second in order to save PTO and trying to make all the details perfect, we kind of missed out on the holiday spirit. Most of Christmas Eve was rushed and stressful. I don't want December to lose its magic just because we're adults. 



These Marshmallows were made to capture the simple whimsy of winter and as a present for the in-laws. We were trying to think of home-made gifts and Mike recalled his mother's love for classic hot cocoa when they were stationed in Alaska. What's more nostalgic than that? Cozy up with mug and a good book! Heck, be a little naughty and make the adult version. Whichever way that you like it- make sure that it's loaded up with marshmallows!

I've never made marshmallows and found the process fun as well as educational. It's so wild to make something that you took for granted. Like babies come from the stork, marshmallows come from the grocery store and are made of mystery- duh.  No seriously.. what the heck is a marshmallow? Lo, the power of knowing what you're eating.



Turns out it's gelatin, cornstarch, corn syrup, and sugar. Not exactly my idea of appetizing and yet the end result is delicious. How does that even work? This recipe is particularly lovely because it incorporates vanilla bean and honey. It's not an overpowering flavor and adds a subtle sweetness. Sorry regular marshmallows- you just got schooled.

The marshmallows are easy to make- please be careful because the batter is sticky and you don't want that mess in your kitchen. I don't recommend microwaving them for smores as I have done in the past with the store bought version. Instead of puffing up all big- they melted which really makes one raise their eyebrow, "what the heck is in the store bought version that makes it puff??" These are best lightly toasted and in hot cocoa.

Check out Joy the Baker's adaptation of these delightful Honey-Vanilla Bean Marshmallows!

Monday, January 6, 2014

Overnight Apple Fritter Monkey Bread


Ever have one of those moments where you could have sworn you put something, somewhere... and then you couldn't find it? The memory is vivid but upon closer inspection, the details begin to blur. I am notorious for doing this with keys. It's one of those annoyances in life that are kick-able. In the end, you sound like a scratched record, "I could have sworn I put them right over here!" with a dangerous look in your eye. Just the one!

Well. That's what happened to this post as well as another that was on the same memory card. I could have sworn that the files were on my computer and wiped out the camera. There goes a beautiful Vanilla Bean Extract post taken in our winter wonderland back porch. It had one of the best pictures I've done to date- even Mike coo'ed when he saw the afternoon sun catching the light of the bottle. C'est la vie.


Fortunately, I snapped a few pictures of this Overnight Apple Fritter Monkey Bread via phone on the drive up to Woodbridge this past Christmas. I was so excited to share this recipe, phone pictures will have to suffice! My sister is a Monkey Bread lover while the husband is an Apple Fritter fiend. This bread capture the best of both worlds and was a total sensation. I was floored by the apple flavor throughout the bread thanks to the apple juice incorporated in the dough as well as slices of caramelized apple. It's fluffy, light and tons of fun to eat. The glaze is a beautiful and tasty adornment. As I'm sure many of you will appreciate, it can be prepped the night before and baked the next day- a blessing during the holiday bustle.  

The recipe can found at the blog, "Barbara Bakes" under her Overnight Apple Fritter Monkey Bread post. It earns one mega gold star from myself and the family. Thank you Barbara for an incredible recipe and I cannot wait to make it again. Hooray!

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Yukon Gold Cinnamon Rolls


It is a fact of life that I am obsessed with making anything that resembles a cinnamon bun. All kitchen endeavors have their unique challenges but there's an exciting satisfaction in making a yeast based bread. Many mix-ups can be salvaged or masked thanks to a touch of spice or an awesome frosting. Not here.... no amount of cream cheese will hide a bad bread. It's merciless.

This, in turns, makes the task of cinnamon buns, pull-apart breads, and dinner rolls an emotional roller-coaster. If that d@mn dough doesn't rise- you just wasted a good hour and half of your life as well as precious resources. Rise bread, rise!!







Needless to say, when I stumbled upon a snippet about using potatoes in dough, I nearly fell out of my chair. Potatoes? Come on now. Is this some over zealous experiment led by a Leprechaun? As it turns out, the beauty of using potatoes is they add starch without the gluten. There's science involved.

I gave it a shot and was astounded by the results. This recipe yielded the biggest freaking cinnamon buns I have ever seen. Maybe I rolled it wrong but the husband and I were very excited to have monster cinnamon buns in the house. They rose beautifully and took over our counters. Everything smelt of cinnamon and heaven. Sinful sinnabuns.



So the big question remains: can you taste potato? Not at all. Think of it as eating dutch potato rolls- simply soft. The texture of this bread is the show stopper. Days after baking, the dough remained surprisingly soft without the need to be heated in the microwave. They were stuck being awesome- it's in their nature. Use the frosting of your choosing- a splash of coffee or a hint of lemon zest really defines the flavor. These are adorned with some toasted pecans to add dimension to the pillowy bread.

Now there are two itty bitty items that I would like to mention as a warning:



First, I attempted to halve the recipe because let's face it... hubby has a great appetite but he's not a bottomless pit. It's impossible to punish this much cinnamon bun without calling in the troops to share. Halving was a mistake because the rolls didn't come out nearly as good. Maybe you'll have better luck, but I totally bombed it.

Second, the filling seemed to be a bit skimpy in terms of the amount of sugar/cinnamon. I tried doubling it and the bottom of buns ended up super sticky and slightly burnt from the butter melting and the sugar caramelizing. It was a total mess and ruined the rolls. Bad idea. Stick to the directions!

For the recipe, check out Bon Appetit's post: Yukon Gold Cinnamon Rolls.