Chocolate Explosions

There have been several times in my lifetime that my mom, and then my mom and I have made chocolate cups. These amazing show pieces really grab attention and make a statement! To fill them I really wanted to do something different than the normal chocolate mousse, then I stumbled upon a recipe for lemon curd. Hmm, interesting idea, but I want something with key lime, I've been craving key lime recently! VIOLA! Key lime curd! But you can't just put curd into a cup, so, BAM! Key lime mousse was born! So yummy! Now, the story of how it came together!

Chocolate Cups with Key Lime Mousse

Cups:
For these you need chocolate that is used as dipping chocolate. You can find this with the Wilton cake supplies at any store that carries the brand. Then you'll need real balloons, not water balloons, but actual latex balloons. Blow these up just enough to make a round shape, and you can always judge the size by what size bowl you'd like to make. Wash off the balloons, then make sure they are fully dry. THERE SHOULD BE NO WATER ON THE BALLOONS WHEN YOU DIP THEM IN THE CHOCOLATE! I cannot stress that enough. If any water gets into chocolate it will seize up and your chocolate will no longer be, well, chocolate, instead it will be a clumped mess.

[Side note, the reason this is called chocolate explosions is not because they are full of amazing chocolate. In fact the chocolate is just a sweet undertone. What originally happened is that I wanted to make small cups so I decided to use water balloons for my first go around... BIG MISTAKE! I got one balloon dipped and placed onto the parchment before, BANG!!!! and chocolate was all over me, the counter, all of my friends counter tops. All in all, it was a mess. The latex on water balloons is made to pop with the slightest impact, so when it is heated, it will pop, sending chocolate everywhere. Stick with balloons that have thicker walls.]

Now in a double broiler (a pot that has about an inch of water with another pot or a glass bowl nested on top) place the chocolate into the top and allow to melt, stirring occasionally. Once the chocolate is melted slowly dip a balloon into the chocolate and place on to piece of parchment paper. Dip the appropriate number of balloons for the amount of people you wish to serve, and then allow to cool. Once the chocolate has set, dip the balloons again. Allow to set.

Once the chocolate is solid you can stab the balloon and it will deflate. Slowly peel off the latex and you will be left with your cups!

Key Lime Mousse:

Curd-

• 1/2 cup key lime juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 large eggs
• 6 tbsp butter (cut these into 

Squeeze key limes for juice, this could take a while. (Before slicing into any citrus you are about to juice try this: press the fruit against the counter with the palm of your hand and roll forward. Repeat while rolling the citrus around. You'll notice that the fruit will soften, basically you are juicing the fruit inside the skin. But be careful when you slice into it, a lot of juice will flow.) Make sure to strain the juice to remove pulp. 

In a medium sauce pot combine the juice, sugar, yolks, and eggs and beat with a whisk. Slowly bring this up to medium heat while whisking, then add in the butter and continue to whisk. Now you will need to continue whisking until the mixture begins to thicken. Once the mixture becomes like jelly, remove from heat and allow to sit. You now have key lime curd!

Allow this to cool fully before trying to mix with the cream. This can also be used on scones, as a filling for cupcakes, or really with most anything sweet. Its heavenly!!!

To complete the mousse:

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

*Work with a metal bowl and whisk attachment that have been in the freezer for at least 15 mins. The cooler these materials are the better the whipped cream will be*

Place all the ingredients into the bowl and whisk on high until the whipped cream forms peaks. Take off mixing stand and fold in half of the cooled lime curd. 

Alright, now all that's left is to savor this wonderful dessert. I plated mine with fresh raspberries and a raspberries sauce. (I'll teach you the sauce in an upcoming post, so stay tuned.) I hope you guys enjoy this scrumptious dessert, its something not a lot of people have every day. 

Enjoy!

It's Wedding Season

I am very blessed to have so many wonderful friends, and anyone who has so many close firends is blessed to be in many weddings. That is my life. I have the honor of being a maid of honor, a bridesmaid, and the prestigious opportunity to make a friends wedding cake this summer. So I'm super busy. A few weeks ago I did a wedding cake tasting for my friends Anna and Colin, a traditional Italian Wedding Cake, totally to die for! This will end up being their grooms cake with a huge double T on it! For the tasting I made half a batch because we didn't need much, but I definitely suggest making the whole recipe your first time so you know what consistencies to look for. This is a great recipe, very moist, just enough flake, and completely scrumptious!

Italian Wedding Cake for a Beautiful Couple

• 1/2 cup of buttermilk (If you don't have any and really don't see the need to buy it, use sour cream!)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup shortening (Honestly, I just used classic butter, so much tastier, but heavier.)
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 2 cups white sugar
• 5 egg yolks (The trick for separating eggs is to separate them straight out of the fridge. The yolk will hold together much better when its cold, but you need to allow them to sit out on the counter as you work so that they warm up because they will fluff better later.)
• 1/4 tsp almond extract (YUM! I am all about anything with almond)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 5 egg whites
• 1/2 cup DRAINED crushed pineapple
• 1/2 cup flaked coconut
• 1 cup crushed pecans

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Trace the bottom of your three 8in round pans onto parchment paper. Cut these out, spray Pam in the pans, put the paper in, and spray again. I learned this trick working at the bakery and it works every time. Did you know that the carbon in pencils is food safe, its the exact same chemical makeup as the burnt crust on a marshmallow, so don't hesitate. 

In a small bowl combine buttermilk/sour cream, baking soda, and salt. Set this off to the side, and when you come back to it you will see proof of a chemical reaction. ("What's that? A chemical reaction in the kitchen? I thought I left chemistry behind!" You don't say so? OH I think NOT! Chemistry is the only reason cooking works, embrace it, and use it to help teach your kiddos!)

Now in a large bowl mix the shortening, butter, and sugar together until whipped and lighter in color. You want to try to get the sugar as dissolved as possible. Now beat the egg yolks in ONE AT A TIME. Once all the yolks are incorporated you need to stir in the almond and vanilla. In the bowl with the buttermilk reaction stir in the flour. Then blend the two together for the batter. 

Take the bowl from the buttermilk and rinse it out. You need to use this bowl to fluff the egg whites. Egg whites respond best to beating when they are at room temp so don't hesitate to leave them sitting on the counter. Use the whip attachment on your beater and work with eggs until they are stuff and form stiff peaks. When you pull the beater out of the eggs, if the peaks don't stand up without falling over, they aren't ready yet. 

Slowly fold in the egg whites to the batter. It will end up like this

Now you can add in what really makes this cake so truly Italian. The pineapple, coconut and pecans are now added to give this cake a great depth! I'm drooling thinking about it! 

Now the batter gets placed in pans and baked for 20 mins. I checked them at 20 and then every 4 mins or so. You don't want to open the oven too often so as to lose heat, but checking the cakes is a must. You want the toothpick to come out of the cake clean when inserted, or with only a few crumples. 

Every Italian Wedding Cake is topped off with cream cheese icing, so here's my go to recipe.

• 1 stick butter
• 2 8oz packages cream cheese
• 1 package powdered sugar
• 1tsp vanilla

Cream the butter and cream cheese together. Slowly add in a cup of powdered sugar at a time. Watch the consistency of the icing as you, when I am doing a cake I will make a stiffer icing, so I will add more. Add in the vanilla at the very end. Ice the cake and enjoy!

Scrumptious Chicken

As I got home this evening I had to ask the age-old question, what is for dinner? I pulled some chicken out of the freezer to defrost in a sink of cool water (important tip right there, always defrost in cool water, you don't want to start the cooking process) and kind of forgot about it. However, the fabulous idea of Oven Fried Chicken came to mind, and I set to comparing a few recipes. Eventually I decided to mix my own spices and to combine steps from several recipes and I came up with my...

Scrumptious Chicken

• 1 package chicken tenders (defrosted if you're like me and freeze your chicken when you get home from the store)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 milk
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp paprika (this really gives the coating a fabulous red color, part of the appeal of all fried chicken, seriously!)
• 1/2 tsp chili powder (but I will probably up this next time)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 stick of butter

You will need three dishes for this: a shallow pan/bowl for the dry ingredients, a small bowl for the egg wash, and a glass pan to bake in. I only used half a package of chicken so I used an 8 by 8 glass pan, but for a whole batch, plan on using your 13 by 9. Place a third of the butter in the glass pan and place in the oven to melt. (Make sure to watch this so it doesn't burn, and the spread it around the entire pan before you place any chicken in it.) Melt the rest of the butter in a mug or bowl in the microwave.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.In your small bowl use a fork and beat together the egg and milk (your egg wash.) Now in the shallow bowl mix the dry ingredients (this is your dredge.) Put a small amount of the egg wash into the dredge and mix until its crumbly. 

Place your chicken into the egg wash and make sure it is thoroughly coated before you move it to dredge. Move all the chicken pieces to the dry mix and thoroughly coat. Then throw all the pieces back into the egg wash, and then toss them in the remaining dredge! (The second coating gives it that extra crispy wonderful coating!) This process will involve your hands and it will get messy. (But never fear, if I can handle it, I promise you can. I so do not do sticky...)

Now, place the chicken into the prepared pan and then sprinkle some of the melted butter on top of each piece of chicken. This will give it the crispy shell almost like its fried, without it actually being fried!

Bake for 25 minutes, then flip the chicken over and cook for another 10 minutes. At this point you should check the temp of the chicken. Its important that it is at least up to 165 degrees (this will prevent you and your loved ones from spending quality time bonding in the bathroom, just sayin.)

In the end you will have very delicious chicken that will knock your socks off! Enjoy!

< A little extra, when the chicken comes out of the pan, the left over drippings can be used to make a gravy. Scrape all the drippings out of the pan and into a saucepan, if needed add some extra butter and melt. Then add about a tablespoon of flour into the mix. (Basically making a rue.) Once this is hot and bubbling, slowly whisk in milk (which should be of a higher fat content.) The gravy will thicken and be ready for mashed potatoes or dipping, or whatever.>

When your counter is looking a little, gross...

My roommates and I eat a LOT of bananas. I mean we're talking about upwards of 12 to 15 bananas a week most of the time. So you can imagine we buy a lot of them at a time, and there are times when they ripen a little faster than we can eat them. So what's our solution?

Yep, into the freezer they go! We have learned though that the best way to do this is to peel them first and then put them into a freezer bag. Viola! So without further ado,

Banana Bread

• 1/2 cup butter (room temp, of course)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 3 ripe bananas (you'll want to thaw them if you follow our method)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup chopped pecans (optional, but my Mom would argue that it is under no circumstances optional)

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees, then grease and flour your favorite loaf or bundt pan. (My mom actually lines the pan with parchment paper and it works marvelously, but I am not that patient, and I've never had a problem.)

The first thing is smash the bananas in a small bowl and to let them sit as you are working on the batter. In another large bowl cream the butter, and then add in the sugar and cream the two together. Add in the eggs one at a time and power up your mixer. Once the sugar is creamed add in the vanilla. Now slowly mix in the flour, making sure not to let it explode all over you and your kitchen

Next in the bowl with the bananas mix in the baking soda and make sure that it is mixed well. (Side note: fruit is acidic. When a banana is ripe it has a pH of 5, so mixing in the baking soda will start a chemical reaction, similar to vinegar and baking soda, but on a much smaller scale.) Pour the banana mixture into the batter and mix by hand. Make sure that the banana is fully incorporated because otherwise it will leave your bread with a swirl effect. (Though that's not completely terrible.) Pour into the prepared pan.

Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. Depending on the pan you may want to check earlier. You're looking for a toothpick to come out clean.

Manja! I love my banana bread with a little cream cheese, but everyone else in my family likes butter. Either way, or just by itself, its amazing, with a super moist texture! Definitely a family favorite.

Cooking for Friends

This past Saturday I decided to have some friends over for homemade lasagna and a special dessert. Now, I specifically picked this dessert out for one person in particular and then she wasn't able to make it. But never fear! I sent plenty home with her husband so she could enjoy! Now I am not going to walk you through how to make lasagna, there are many people with much more experience than me on that subject, but I am going to show you how amazing homemade pound cake can be!


The Perfect Summer Sweet: Pound Cake with Fresh Strawberries and Whipped Cream

Pound Cake:

• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter (softened, let them sit out on the counter for an hour or so)
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 6 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

In a small mixing bowl mix together the flour and baking soda. Using a fork make sure that the mixture is fully mixed.

In a large mixing bowl (or your stand mixer) start to cream the butter, just getting it moving around so that you know that it is soft enough to mix in the sugar. (If it balls up on the mixing paddles, let it sit out a little longer.) Go ahead and mix in all the sugar. Mix just long enough so that all the sugar is incorporated, it should look like this...

Next you will mix in the sour cream. Take enough time mixing together the sugar-butter-sour cream mixture to get the sugar granules almost completely dissolved. By doing this you will improve the cake's consistency (also a good tip to keep in mind as you make cookies.) 

FIRST

THIS NEXT PART IS IMPORTANT. Starting with the flour, add a small amount and mix in with the mixer. THEN add one egg, and mix in. Alternate flour and egg, and make sure to end with the 6th egg. By ending with the liquid ingredient you will end up with  silkier cake texture (this holds true of all cakes, so when making cake from scratch, alternate dry and liquid ingredients, and end with liquid.) Once all the flour and eggs have been used add the vanilla. (The reason vanilla is always saved for the end of the mixing process is because it has an alcohol base. During the mixing process the alcohol will evaporate and you won't be left with any of the amazing flavor.)

SECOND!

Take a tube pan (you know, like a bundt) and make sure you grease and flour it. This will make sure your pound cake slides right out of the pan after baking. Pour in the batter and make sure it has about an inch of room for growth. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 1 hour and 20 mins. (Yes, it will take that long! It's a dense cake!)

Strawberries:

While its baking take your amazingly fresh (or those ones you forgot you bought three days ago that don't look so great) strawberries and a cutting board. Slice them up accordingly (I like them slightly small) and toss them into a dish that you have a top for.Sprinkle with about 2 tbsp of sugar and mix thoroughly. Put these in the fridge, and periodically stir. Strawberries will create their own amazing juice and will stay good for a couple of days like this. (For an adult version I like to throw in a little of my favorite white sparkling wine.) 

Whipped Cream:

• Pint heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• Vanilla

HOMEMADE WHIPPED CREAM IS NOT HARD!!! I hope you feel the same way! There are just a few tricks that will make your life easier, you want everything to be as cold as possible. About 15 mins before I am going to turn on my mixer, I throw my metal bowl, metal whipping attachment, and the heavy whipping cream in the freezer. 

Alright, now pour the cream into the mixer and most of the powdered sugar. I honestly have no idea how much I truly throw in, so try a small amount, then taste, and add from there. Start small, then go big. Also, add a small dash of vanilla. Begin beating the cream until peaks form. Yum!

And there you have it!

Sad melting whipped cream. It was still delicious though!

Nostalgia and Fantastic Eats!

For spring break this year I was fortunate enough to go to Philadelphia to visit some really great friends of mine.

While there my friend I was staying with took me to this mom and pop bakery called Corropolese to get Tomato Pie, because it is a local tradition on Friday's of Lent because it has no meat. The moment this pizza-esque/very not like pizza dish hit my pallet I was in LOVE! Not like the "Wow this is pretty good," more like "WOW!!!! Why don't we have these in Texas?!"

On Good Friday I decided that I must have this wonderful dish again, and since Good Friday is a fasting day, I would spend my day baking so I could savor this meal come dinner time (or 10pm, you know, whatever.) After spending some time online I found this recipe that claimed to be pretty similar, so I took a chance, and though it wasn't perfect, it was probably the best I will find south of the Mason-Dixon line. I hope y'all enjoy this dish as much as I do!

Tomato Pie

Crust:

• 1 and 1/2 cups warm water (somewhere between 110-115 degrees F)
• 2 tbsp sugar (You have to feed the yeast something!)
• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 4 and 1/2 cups bread flour (Don't have bread flour? Its alright, all purpose flour will work this time)
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp salt
• Cornmeal (for dusting and good measure)
• Nonstick vegetable oil spray (like Pam)

Ok, so the water in my tap comes out at about 112 degrees F so I didn't need to heat my water at all, but I did use a thermometer for good measure! Once your water is at the correct temp mix in sugar, once dissolved stir in the yeast and allow it to sit for 10 mins so the yeast has time to activate. 

In a separate bowl, mix oil, salt, yeast  mixture and about 75% of the flour (about 3 and 1/4 cups if you are the type that just HAS to have the numbers.) Once the flour is mixed in, let this sit for 20 mins on a counter. I covered mine with a tea towel, because that's what my mom always did. Take this time to take another large bowl and oil the sides so it is ready for the next rising stage. Also have some plastic wrap handy.

Once your 20 mins are up, mix in the remaining flour, I had to go ahead and use my hands at this point. Transfer this dough to a floured work surface and knead until all th flour is mixed in and the dough is smooth. It should take about 10 mins. If you've never kneaded before: put the dough on the floured surface and flour your hands. Using the heel of your hand push the dough away from you, then on the return pull the dough back over itself. Turn the dough a quarter of a turn and repeat the push with the heel of your hand. Try to get in a rhythm, it will make the process so much easier for you. Once your dough leaves an indention when poked, you should be ready for rising!

Place the dough in the oiled bowl and turn so that the whole ball is covered in oil. Cover the bowl with the plastic wrap and place it in a warm place, away from drafts for about two hours. (Mine went into the garage, it was in the upper 70's outside, and my house is always kept around 70, so it made more sense for it to be out there.)

After the two hours, punch the dough down (literally use your fist, and put it into the middle of the dough.) Turn the dough as you go so the oil continues to coat the dough. Now recover with plastic wrap and set this in a refrigerator for 4 to 12 hours. 

(After your sauce has been simmering for a while) Roll out your dough on a floured surface. The trick to getting the dough rectangular is to rotate the dough as you work. Don't get frustrated if it's not perfect, it'll taste that much better that way I promise! Lay the dough on a rimmed baking sheet that had oil spread on it and the cornmeal sprinkled to prevent sticking. Spread the sauce over the top, and yes it will be thick. 

Bake at 450 F for 20 mins. Mine did not take long to cook at all, so watch yours carefully! But don't open  your oven too often as to let out vital heat. Check to make sure the dough is cooked all the way through and the crust is golden brown. Yum!

Enjoy!!! 

Sauce:

• 6 Roma tomatoes (and some olive oil for these too!) 
• 3 cups tomato puree
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp basil
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 3 tbsp sugar (I would definitely cut this to 2 tbsp because the sauce was just a little too sweet)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Take a cookie sheet and cover with foil. Cut the tomatoes in half and lay out on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then drizzle with olive oil. Make sure you don't get too much oil on the cookie sheet because olive oil will begin to smoke around 320 degrees F, meaning your smoke alarms may cause you brief discomfort. Bake  for about 30 minutes or until the tomatoes are all soft and well, roasted!

While they are cooking, combine the other ingredients in a large saucepan and simmer until thickened. When the tomatoes are thoroughly roasted add those into the sauce, they should be soft enough to mash with a fork. Allow this to simmer a little longer, and then spread onto dough. 

It's Official!

Well, over the last few months I have fallen in love with food blogs, so what would be better than creating one myself! I grew up in the kitchen with my mom and grandmother and because of them I LOVE to be in the kitchen! My perfect day is spent in front of the stove making food for the people I love. I hope you will enjoy my musings and the recipes, and please leave me comments! I want to give a shout out to Joseph who helped my come up with my title, thanks so much!


For my first post I will start with a wonderful creation I worked on this week. I was going to a party to celebrate the end of my student teaching and I had signed up to bring a dessert. WELL, I love cupcakes, especially when they are mini because its a 1 to 1 ratio of cake and icing. How perfect! 


The next step, flavors! Now I wanted to make something unique and super yummy, and recently I have seen lots of blogs with salted caramel amazing and I knew I had to partake! The end result:


Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream Icing!

{Excuse the blurriness, I'm still learning picture taking skills}


I will be the first to admit that I definitely cheated this round and used a box cake mix. If you are looking to do a chocolate cake I definitely suggest Pillsbury Devil's Food because it will give you a much richer flavor. Plus it has a cup of pudding in the mix, so the cake is super moist, such a great bonus!


The frosting is the main treat! Salted Caramel Frosting!

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 TBS water
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (If you are using a salted butter, you should omit adding in the salt later on, or at least do a taste test to make sure you are creating a dehydrating dessert)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp (scant) flakey kosher salt

First, making the caramel. Put the sugar and the water in a pot and stir this one time through, just to make sure that the water has gotten all the way through the sugar. Place the pot over medium heat and DO NOT STIR!!! As the sugar starts to bubble, swirl the pot to make sure the sugar is being fully mixed in. When the sugar starts to turn turn an amber color take the pot off of the burner and slowly add a small part of the cream. Then stir in the rest of the cream, you will start to see the traditional caramel color we all know and love appear! When all the cream was mixed in and my caramel was ready to go, I put it in a ramekin and let it cool about 45 minutes (or the length of an episode of Glee that was DVR'ed.) It's important to give the caramel time to cool before you move onto the next step so that it doesn't melt the icing!

Alright, now that the yummy caramel is made, the next part is simple! Take the butter that has been sitting out at room temperature and put it into your favorite mixing apparatus, then cream the butter until it is a light color. Slowly add in the powdered sugar and salt, and get everything well incorporated. Finally, slowly drizzle in the caramel until you have a delicious Salted Caramel Icing! 

To top off my cupcake I used a Wilton  Large Drop Flower Tip (similar to tip 23.) Simple as that! I can't tell you how many compliments I got at the party. This dessert is great because the savory nature of the caramel really plays well with the sweet cupcake! I hope you all enjoyed and come back to check out my next post!