Tag: Cake Flour

Teff Biscuits

Note: I was sent a copy of 30 Breads to Bake Before You Die by Allyson Reedy in order to write this post on Teff Biscuits. Opinions are mine alone.

You may have noticed that I don’t do much breadmaking on this blog. It’s been a goal of mine to learn how to bake different breads but I have yet to really dive in. So when I was contacted to check out Allyson Reedy’s cookbook 30 Breads to Bake Before You Die (paid link), it seemed like my time had come!

“This book is written for anyone who is intimidated by the word ‘starter,’ and who think levain is just a bakery that makes really good cookies,” author Allyson Reedy says. “People who really love bread, but who may not know exactly where to start when it comes to baking it themselves. People like me.”

The cookbook is filled with recipes from famous bakers, chefs, and food bloggers who have put in the hours to perfect an awesome range of breads. Recipes range from a traditional baguette to Chocolate Babka King Cake and everything in between.

I can honestly see myself baking through this entire cookbook (the chapters are broken into Loaves, Smaller Carbs, Flats, and Sweets) but a recipe for Teff Biscuits from Marcus Samuelsson caught my eye immediately, so that is where we begin!

Teff is a gluten free grain that originates in Ethiopia that is higher in fiber than other grains and is a good source of iron. When added to a traditional southern-style biscuit, you end up with a slightly nutty take on the classic.

Note that you’ll need a kitchen scale (paid link) to make these Teff Biscuits. Weighing out your ingredients in baking ensures a more consistent result.

Ingredients:

  • 6 grams teff grains (paid link)
  • 25 grams teff flour (paid link)
  • 244 grams all-purpose flour
  • 275 grams cake flour, plus more to roll out dough
  • 19 grams baking powder
  • 9 grams salt
  • 65 grams granulated sugar
  • 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold
  • 350 grams (about 1 1/2 cups) buttermilk, cold
  • 1/4 quart (1 cup) heavy cream, cold

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Earl Grey Madeleines

Note: This post is sponsored by Adagio Teas. Opinions are mine alone.

I’m excited to share this recipe for Earl Grey Madeleines, plus an easy suggestion for a personalized gift option for tea lovers!

My sister is getting married later this year so I have been immersed in all things bachelorette, shower, and wedding over the last few months. Her bridal shower is coming up soon, so naturally, I have been thinking of different gift options to help celebrate my sister. I love a good themed gift that adds a bit of personalization, so I was thrilled when Adagio Teas contacted me recently about doing a post highlighting some of their awesome products.

Adagio’s website has an impressive number of loose teas, plus teaware, pantry items, and gift selections that can be easily curated into the perfect gift. I was immediately drawn to a 20oz Particle Teapot that is just the right size to brew tea for two. The enameled glazed iron pot is both a kettle and teapot, and includes a stainless steel infuser basket so you can steep the tea leaves right in the pot.

I scrolled through their extensive tea selection and chose a random assortment of sample sized teas so that I could include a bunch of different types in my gift for my sister. Naturally, I picked up a few for myself as well, including Earl Grey Bravo, a blend of artisan black tea from Sri Lanka, flavored with bergamot.

source: adagio.com

It probably goes without saying that I wanted to make something that would go well with the teapot and teas, so I decided to make these yummy Earl Grey Madeleines, using Earl Grey Bravo and raw honey from Adagio.

My family loves quite a range of tea, but Earl Grey is definitely a favorite of ours, so I wanted to incorporate that into the gift.

My sister is having a display shower, where gifts will not be wrapped, so I packaged them up in a large cookie jar, along with the teapot and a few sample sized teas, including Peach Oolong, Buddha’s Dream, 40 Winks, and, of course, Earl Grey Bravo.

Ingredients (makes 2 dozen madeleines):

  • 2 cups cake flour (or all purpose flour and cornstarch, directions here)
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
  • 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • the zest of 2 lemons
  • 1 tablespoon loose Earl Grey tea, finely chopped
  • 3 eggs plus 1 egg white, at room temperature
  • 5 tablespoons milk, at room temperature
  • cooking spray
  • confectioners sugar, for dusting, if desired

note: you’ll need a madeleine pan to make these.

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Maple Bacon Cupcakes

Note: I received a bottle of Nielsen-Massey’s Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract in order to write this post. All opinions are mine alone. #BetterYourBake

How is it already nearly October? Every fall, time seems to speed up and the months for the rest of the year just fly by! With so much happening in the fall, it makes sense that it feels like things are in fast forward. But it’s important to take the time to step back and do something you enjoy amid all the chaos.

Nielsen-Massey was nice enough to remind me of that, and sent me a bottle of their Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract to do what I love: bake! Recent studies have shown that creative activities, such as baking, help people feel more relaxed and happier in their everyday lives.

But in order to benefit from the mindful nature of baking, basic techniques must first be mastered. To help learn some new baking tricks, Nielsen-Massey has developed “Better Your Bake,” which delivers technique-based videos, tips and tools to help home bakers learn and master the basics of baking with the help of Nielsen-Massey products.

I was asked to show off my newest learned skill after watching some of Nielsen-Massey’s videos: how to temper chocolate. It takes some effort, but it’s easier than an initially thought!

  • Tempering chocolate is typically used for special occasions and results in a smooth, glossy chocolate coating that dries shiny and has a crisp snap
  • The process involves divvying and melting a portion of the chocolate, stirring in the reserved chocolate and heating the whole batch to the required temperature
  • Tempered chocolate is great for cake pops, fruit, candy molds and more

So, what could be better than chocolate covered bacon? This recipe, from Nielsen-Massey’s website, originally developed by Pastry Chef Jessica Ellington, is for Maple Bacon Cupcakes, topped with a maple buttercream frosting, crumbled bacon, and a half slice of chocolate dipped bacon. And yes, they are every bit as delicious as you are imagining!

Nielsen-Massey has a bunch of videos that are helpful for this recipe, so I’ve linked to them throughout the post.

Ingredients:

Maple Bacon Cupcakes

  • 8 slices of bacon, cooked and crispy
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • 4 eggs, yolks and whites separated
  • 1 teaspoon Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 1 ½ cups cake flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ cup whole milk

Chocolate-Covered Bacon

  • 1 cup bittersweet chocolate, chopped, divided
  • 9 slices of bacon, cooked and crispy

Maple Buttercream Frosting

  • ¾ cup unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks)
  • 1 ½ cups pure maple syrup
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/3 cup half and half
  • ¾ teaspoon Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

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Vanilla Almond Cupcakes with Plum Frosting

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SwapMilk4Silk #CollectiveBias

Everyone loves a nice, fluffy cupcake. I love when a cupcake is light and airy, with smooth and creamy frosting on top! One of the easiest ways to keep a cupcake moist and fluffy is to use yogurt in the batter. But that doesn’t mean your cupcakes can’t be dairy-free or vegan-friendly!

I really enjoy making vegan cupcakes; they are surprisingly simple to make and taste just as delicious as normal cupcakes (or, dare I say it, even better!) I became interested in vegan baking when I made cupcakes for my sister-in-law a couple of years ago. Since then, I’ve noticed how easy it is to make delicious baked goods that are dairy and egg free!

Silk dairy-free products are perfect for cupcakes, because they add additional flavor to the batter through their Vanilla and other flavored yogurts and milks.

To make these Vanilla Almond Cupcakes with Plum Frosting, I went to Walmart to pick up a Silk Half Gallon Vanilla Almond Milk and a couple of Silk Vanilla Yogurts. You can find them in the dairy aisle, with the normal milk and yogurts.

Silk Almond Milk has 50% more calcium that dairy milk, with no cholesterol and no saturated fat. Silk offers seven almond milk options, all 100 calories or less. I love Vanilla Almond Milk in my cereal, its so tasty!  Silk yogurt, made from soy, has 6 grams of soy protein per serving with no cholesterol and no artificial flavors or colors. The yogurt is dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegetarian.

Plums are in season at the moment and I absolutely love their flavor, so I decided to make a plum frosting. The delicious flavor of plums is enhanced with almonds and vanilla, so Silk products are perfect with plum!

 

Cupcakes:

  • 1 stick margarine (8 tablespoons), at room temperature
  • 1 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 (5.3 oz) containers Silk Vanilla Yogurt (~1 cup)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups cake flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup Silk Vanilla Almond Milk

 

Frosting:

  • 3 plums, diced
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 stick margarine  (8 tablespoons), at room temperature
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • a pinch of salt
  • a couple drops blue food coloring, if desired
  • cinnamon, for garnish

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Banana Split Cupcakes

The inspiration for this post is a bit convoluted. I was originally looking for some way to incorporate wet walnuts into a recipe for my dad. My dad is a huge fan of wet walnuts and he just had surgery so I wanted to make him a little pick-me-up treat. Wet walnuts are usually a topping on ice cream so I thought it would be fun to make a spin on a banana split in cupcake form. Later, I found out that Banana Splits do not traditionally even have wet walnuts as a topping. Oh well!

I used a banana cupcake recipe from Martha Stewart and filled each cupcake with homemade whipped cream. I then topped 1/3 of the cupcakes with vanilla frosting, 1/3 with strawberry frosting, and 1/3 with chocolate frosting. I topped them all off with sprinkles, wet walnuts, and maraschino cherries!

These are sugar overload so despite the photos showing all 3 types, stick to one cupcake at a time 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

Banana Cupcakes (makes 12 cupcakes):

  • 1 ½ cups cake flour
  • ¾ cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup butter (1 stick) melted
  • 4 ripe bananas, mashed
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Whipped Cream Filling

  •  1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
  •  ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  •  1 tablespoon granulated sugar

 

Frosting

  • 1 ½ cups butter, softened
  •  6 cups powdered sugar, plus more if needed
  •  6 tablespoons heavy cream, plus more if needed
  •  ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
  •  Pinch salt
  •  ¼ cup strawberry jam
  •  ¼ cup cocoa powder

 

Wet Walnuts

  •  1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup agave
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

 

Toppings

  •  Maraschino cherries
  •  Wet walnuts
  •  Rainbow sprinkles

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Mini Pumpkin Blossom Honey Cakes

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, began last night at sundown. Honey plays a significant role in Rosh Hashanah celebrations, signifying hopes for a sweet new year.  Apples or challah dipped in honey is popular, as is honey cake. Because of the time of year, honey cake typically includes flavors associated with fall. My mom had given me a Pumpkin Blossom Honey recently and I thought this would be the perfect way to use it.

I adapted my recipe from one found on Epicurious and gave it my own pumpkin-y spin. Pumpkin Blossom Honey is created by bees that solely pollinate pumpkins and pumpkin blossoms. It has a darker amber color and has a really nice spice flavor at the end.  I thought it would work great with some traditional fall spices thrown in!

Ingredients:

Cake:

  • 2 1/2 cups cake flour (or all purpose flour)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil (I used sunflower oil)
  • 1 cup Pumpkin Blossom honey
  • 8 oz lukewarm pumpkin coffee (I used Green Mountain’s)
  • The zest of one orange

Chocolate glaze:

  • 1/2 cup shaken canned unsweetened coconut milk (not light)
  • 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
  • 4 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped
  • Flaky sea salt for garnish, optional

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Rainbow Cookies (a.k.a Seven-Layer Cookies)

If you’ve never heard of these lovelies, you are not alone. Rainbow cookies are made of almond cake dyed fun bright colors with apricot preserves all sandwiched in between two thin layers of chocolate.

They really aren’t cookies at all, more like thinly packed cake. But whatever the heck they are, they are delicious!

 

 

I don’t really recall these cookies growing up, but my boyfriend (who is from Long Island) absolutely loves them. In fact, he was kind of taken aback when I mentioned I didn’t really know what they were. One of his friends was absolutely horrified; he basically forced me to eat one right then and there which I didn’t complain about. I love them now!

 

So I wanted to try to make these little guys… I’m not sure why. They are awfully difficult (well, more time consuming than difficult). But I was so darn proud of myself when they were done, I don’t even care about the effort I had to put in! The cookies go by a ton of names… Rainbow, Seven Layer, Neapolitan, Tricolor… but I’m pretty sure they tend to be a Christmas staple in Italian households. I found this recipe on Epicurious.

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 (12 oz) jar apricot preserves, heated and strained
  • 4 large eggs, separated
  • 1 cup sugar, divided
  • 2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 (8 oz) can almond paste
  • 2 cups all purpose flour (or cake flour)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 25 drops red food coloring
  • 25 drops green food coloring
  • 7 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped

Continue reading Rainbow Cookies (a.k.a Seven-Layer Cookies)

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