Cake Popsicles!

I owe a huge thank you to The Kitchn and Bakerella -- 2 amazing bakers, one whose emails keep me salivating, and the other whose tweets and blog inspire and impress me.

Once I discovered these "Cake Pops," I knew I had to make them immediately. I wasn't even going to try to replicate the works of art Bakerella so arduously creates in her kitchen (Sheep pops! Hello Kitty pops!! I mean, WOW). I also had the perfect excuse -- the belated birthday of my good friend, Val.

Val loves chocolate, so I decided to whip up a batch of my famous devil's food cake. Once cooled, I crumbled it up and added a buttercream-eque filling and rolled the dough into balls. After inserting some paper sticks and chilling the bare pops, I dipped them in some high quality semi-sweet Guittard chocolate and topped them with some Turbinado sugar. They came out spectacular, albeit quite rich. But who doesn't love a little taste of heaven now and then, right?!

Here are some pics of the delicious treats (I wish I had a better camera...):

"Dalmation" Brownies -- For Humans Only

For my good friend's (who also happens to be my awesome boss) birthday this year, I decided to reverse the brownie and add some flair. Now, I am not talking about a typical Blondie here. I'm talking about using high-quality white chocolate instead of semi-sweet chocolate as the base for these brownies. And instead of a creamy-smooth inside, I wanted to add some flavor and texture contrast. What better way to do that than to throw in some dark and milk chocolate chunks. I thought a little about the appearance of these beauties and I realized that they reminded me of a Dalmation's coat -- white with dark spots. And the "Dalmation" Brownies were born.

The base for this recipe comes from a recent King Arthur Flour catalog I got in the mail. I did change a few things, but you knew that... because that's how I roll.

They came out deliciously moist and super sweet. The nutmeg addition adds that special "je ne sais quoi" that I love to have in everything that I bake. The one thing I would watch for here is baking time. I had to cover the pan with foil for the second half of the baking time, as I didn't want to brown the top edges too much, but wanted the center to fully bake. Keep an eye on these brownies, though, because baking time may vary. Mine took about an hour, but my oven is wack... so they may take anywhere from 30 - 45 minutes in a fully-functional oven :-).

Enjoy!

"Dalamation" Brownies (White Chocolate Brownies with Dark & Milk Chocolate Chunks)
(makes about 16 small brownies)

1 cup chopped or chunks of white chocolate (I like Guittard or Scharffen Berger here)
1/4 cup (2 oz. or 1/2 stick) butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 T vanilla extract
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 cups AP flour
~1 cup milk chocolate chunks/chips
~1 cup semi/bitter sweet chunks/chips

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8 or 9 inch square baking pan. Set aside.
   
2. Place the white chocolate, butter and sugar in a metal bowl set over simmering water. Once the butten has melted and the chocolate gets soft, remove the bowl from the pan of simmering water (wiping the moisture from the bottom). Add the salt, nutmeg and vanilla.Whisk until smooth and set a aside to cool until it's lukewarm.
   
3. Beat the eggs in the bowl of your stand mixer until airy, light and fluffy. Slowly beat in the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour and baking powder together. Slowly add to the egg & chocolate mixture.
   
4. Mix in the chocolate chunks/chips until just combined. Pour/spoon the batter into the greased baking pan and bake for about 45 minutes. Check at 30 minutes, just to be sure. It may take up to an hour, but cover with aluminum foil for the last 15-30 mins to avoid overbrowning the top -- so that the stubborn middle cooks all the way through.

Source: Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Devil's Food Belongs in Heaven

For a friends birthday, I whipped up some amazing Devil's Food Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting. I'm not going to lie, I think these are the best cupcakes I've ever made.

Although I like frosting on my cupcakes, I do not like too much -- it's a fine line, I know. But I really hate it when a cupcake is all super sugary frosting -- you don't get to taste the actual cake! (In this case, the cake is too good to miss!). The cream cheese-based frosting I used here doesn't have too much sugar because I wanted to keep a little of that tang. You get a strong peanut butter punch, followed by that delicious cream cheese flavor. If you like a super sweet frosting, feel free to add more powdered sugar to taste. (The recipe follows the cupcake one below, so read on!)

If  you bake these, I would love to hear what you think. Happy baking everyone!

For the Devil's Food Cupcakes:
(makes about 24 cupcakes)
1/2 cup (4 oz.) butter
1 1/2 cups cake flour (I used 1c. cake flour + 1/2 cup AP flour to add a little more body to the cakes)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 cup coffee (I used instant espresso to make it strong)
1/2 cup cocoa powder (I use Valrhona cocoa powder -- well worth the $$)
1 cup reg. sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 muffin pans (or bake 2 batches if you only have one tin) with cupcake liners of  your choice. I love to use pretty foil ones when I am baking gifts, so that's what I used here. 
2. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Whisk or sift and set aside. In another medium bowl, whisk the coffee and cocoa powder until smooth; set coffee mixture aside.Cream butter and sugars until smooth. Add vanilla and eggs and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Alternately add the flour mixture and the coffee mixture, beating to combine after each addition. Try not to overmix.
3. Measure or scoop the batter into each liner so that they are filled no more than halfway (cupcakes will rise quite a bit).
4. Bake until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

For the Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 8oz. package cream cheese
1/2 cup (generous) peanut butter (I love Skippy Creamy PB)
1 t vanilla
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 T whole milk or half and half

Method:

1. Beat cream cheese until soft.
2. Add peanut butter and vanilla. 
3. Add the powdered sugar and milk alternately.
4. Beat on high until smooth and fluffy. You may have to stop and scrape down the sides of your mixture to get any stray sugar or cream cheese clumps. If the frosting is still too thick, feel free to add more milk, 1 T at a time.
5. Frost as desired! (I like to pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes using a pastry bag and either a plain, round tip or a french tip).

The cupcakes can be kept at room temperature for a few hours, but anything beyond that, they should be refrigerated.
(Cupcake recipe is adapted from Saveur).

Brown Sugar Cookies Are Underrated!

I have to say, I love the sugar cookie. I remember a few times in high school, my friends and I would go out and buy a tub of refrigerated Sugar Cookie Dough and demolish it. Yum.

Well, these days, after some time in commercial kitchens, I'm happy to say that my palate has become a bit more refined. Brown sugar is one of my favorite ingredients to bake with -- it's flavor profile so much more delicious and complex than regular 'ole sugar. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like the molasses and nutty tones of brown sugar enhance any pastry (and it tends to keep longer).

That being said, Brown Sugar Cookies might be my favorite kind of cookies. That's kind of a big deal for me. Anyway, after baking up a few batches a few days ago, I thought I would share my recipe with you. These cookies go great with summer fruits -- both berries and stone. They also make wonderful ice cream sandwiches. No matter how to eat them, I can promise you this: you are going to love them.

Annie's Brown Sugar Cookies
** This recipe makes a ton of cookies -- it can easily be halved, or I would bake half and refrigerate the rest. The dough keeps well for a few days this way.

Ingredients:

7 oz unsalted butter, divided (5 oz browned, 2oz cold)
1/4c. sugar
2c. brown sugar (I usually use light, but you could make these even better by using 1c. dark and 1c. light)
1 egg + 1 yolk
1T + 1t vanilla extract (I sometimes use about 1/2 of a vanilla bean if these are for a special occasion)
10 1/2 oz. AP flour
1/2t baking soda
1/4t baking powder
1t salt (I like to use Kosher salt)


Method:
1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Add the egg & yolk slowy and then beat on high until light and mousse-like. I find that really whipping the eggs adds a lot of volume to these cookies. Add the extract. Mix until well incorporated.
3. Combine dry ingredients. Either whisk together or sift and with mixer on low, slowly add to wet ingredients. Mix until just combined (don't overmix or the cookies will toughen up)
4. Use cookie scoop or spoon to evenly place dough on silpat or parchment-lined sheet pan. These cookies will spreada bit, so give them some room.
5. Bake for about 15-18 min. I always say, bake them "until they are done." That means different things to different people. I like these underbaked, so about halfway through, I turn them and then take them out when they look juuuust underbaked. They will come out soft and billowy, but will flatten and settle once they're cool.
6. Cool them for about 10 min on the pan and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. ENJOY!

Let me know what you think of these! I love to get feedback, so comment or RT on twitter. Thanks!

Um, YUMMMM!

Nutella Self-Frosted Cupcakes

I will be making these as soon as possible. Try not to eat your monitor.

Do the Hanks-y Panksy

Good morning, foodaholics!

Annie here. So I went to Hank's Oyster Bar on Friday night. REDONK DELISH! I started with a glass of a Syrah - Grenache blend from France. It was wonderful -- not too fruity but not too tannic. Their list of wines by the glass was pretty good. I also tried a Torrentes (white), which was crisp and light, after I polished off my glass of red.

Sitting down to dinner, I had a sampling of oysters from NJ, VA, and WA. The Washington State oysters weren't too briney and had a hint of sweetness -- they were definitely my fav. I also enjoyed the NJ oysters but found the VA ones a bit too fishy tasting and smelling for me. Not that they weren't fresh, I guess they were a little too potent for me.

I then tried an octopus appetizer with farro. Very tasty! For my entree I had the crabcakes, which came with fries and some coleslaw. They were delicious. Tons of fresh crab and not too much else obstructing the delicate crab flavor. The fries weren't bad either.

I can't wait to go back to Hank's and try all of the other tasty items on the menu, which I think changes frequently. I don't think they take rezzies, so get there early or be prepared to have a few drinks at the small, usually crowded, bar.

The Cadillac of Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I know, I know... it's been WAY too long since we've posted. Hopefully, that will change as I, Annie here, resolve to get better about describing my exploits in the kitchen.

That being said, I love to experiment with classic recipes -- trying to add some secret ingredients here and there to add extra levels of flavor and/or complexity. With this recipe for Cadillac Chocolate Chunk cookies, I wanted to see how much I could enhance them by adding some of my favorite go-to (albeit, expensive) baking items -- Tahitian Vanilla bean, a touch of almond extract, brown butter and orange blossom honey. These cookies aren't quite perfect, a little too thin for my taste, but they came out absolutely DELISH!

Feel free to try these at home if you can get your hands on some good quality vanilla beans. If not, just ping me and it will be a nice excuse for me to do some more baking!

Ingredients:

2 c. + 2T AP Flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 egg
1 yolk
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 t almond extract
1 Tahitian vanilla bean -- split, seeds removed (save the pod for making vanilla sugar)
1 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. orange blossom honey (clover honey is fine too)
6 oz -- divided (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter (salt brings out the sweetness in these cookies, but unsalted is fine if you don't have any)
10 oz semi or bittersweet (or both) chocolate baking chunks (chips are fine too)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prep your cookie sheet(s).
   
2. Sift and combine first 3 ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Make the brown butter: Take 4 oz/1 stick and place in a saucepan over med-low heat. Heat the butter until it begins to smell nutty and turn a golden brown. There will be brown bits in suspension. Keep an eye on the butter while doing this - it can burn if you aren't careful. Be sure to swirl or stir often. Remove from heat and place in the refrigerator to cool.
4. Cut up remaining 1/2 stick of butter and place in stand mixer. Add brown sugar and cream until fluffy. Add sugar and honey and continue beating. Add the cooled brown butter and beat on high until nice and fluffy.
5. Adjust speed to low and slowly add the egg, yolk, extracts and vanilla bean. Be sure to scrape down the sides as you mix and add. Gradually increase speed and beat until light and fluffy (again). I like a lot of volume in my batter.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients, scraping down in between additions. Do not over mix. Add the chocolate chunks and mix on low until just combined.
7. Feel free to chill the dough for a while or overnight. That will let the flavors develop -- especially the vanilla bean. When you're ready, use a cookie scoop to divide the dough on your sheet (I love the half-size sheet pans with silpats). Be sure to leave plenty of room between dough balls, as these will spread a good amount.
8. Bake for about 10mins. Watch them carefully -- take them out just underbaked, as they will continue to cook when you take them out.

Let me know what you think. I'll be happy to bring in a few samples :-).

Yummy yummy in our tummies!

Welcome to Jodi and Annie's world of food! We'll post our favorite spots in the Arlington and greater DC area. We'd love your feedback on our posts and feel free to add your own recs as well!

Happy eating!