Souffle for Two

It's hard to find dessert recipes that make a single serving, or two.  However, this is perfect. Really easy and really chocolately!

Link to recipe here:

Christmas Tree Bread

4 1/2 - 4 3/4 C AP flour
2 Pkgs yeast
1 1/4 c milk
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c shortening
2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp grated orange zest
powdered sugar

In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 c flour and the yeast. In a saucepan, heat milk, sugar, shortening, salt just till warm, stirring constantly to melt shortening. Add to the dry mixture in mixer bowl. Add eggs and grated lemon peel.

Beat at low speed for 1/2 minute, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Beat 3 mintues at high speed. By hand, stir in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead till smooth and elestic (8-10 minutes). Shape into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double (1 1/2 - 2 hours).

Punch down. Cover; let rest 10 minutes. Shape dough. Divide dough into thirds. For each tree, roll one third to 12x16-inch rectangle. Spread with 1 tbst butter; sprinkle with green sugar. Fold in half to 12x3 rectangle. Cut into 12 1-inch strips. Twist each one; arrange on greased baking sheet, wiht cut ends to the center in tree shape. Use 10 strips for branches and one for trunk. Cut remaining strip in half and use for top branches. Cover and let rest in warm place until dough doubles (30 - 45 minutes). Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes. Remove from sheets and cool. Drizzle with P.Sugar glaze and sprinkles (or other decorative things). Makes three loaves.

So, my mom makes this bread every Christmas and our family LOVES it (except for my mom, she doesn't even like it! I decided that it's time I learn how to make the bread - so I got the recipe and voila! It's actually a fairly simple recipe, and I had really good result. You can see the bread shaped as a tree, baked, and then frosted.

I realize the "trunk" is quite phallic looking. Oops!!

Coconut Layer Cake

well, it's kirsten's birthday on thursday, and she requested a coconut layer cake. i've made this recipe twice before - and i've never been able to recreate the magic of the first cake.

you can find the recipe at epicurious.com: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Coconut-Layer-Cake-102696

it's actually quite easy to make, the cake, even though you have to whip the egg whites separately. last night, i think i left the cake in the pan to cool too long because it stuck to the bottom - in both pans. as a result, frosting the cake was somewhat challenging. i was especially disappointed in the sticking because, for the first time, the cake rose beautifully - and did not fall immediately when taken out of the oven. i was hoping to bring in this beautifully frosted piece of art today. instead, the cake is somewhat lopsided and looks really sloppy (as you can see) on the sides.

kirsten asked for a raspberry layer in the middle. i obliged; nothing fancy, though - just a layer of raspberry preserves over the cream cheese frosting. i am not sure i'll do that again. the preserves are really slippery and i don't think that helped, considering the bungled layers.

anyway, even though this post is somewhat negative, the cake really is good, and i love making it - and eating it, too. if you like pina coladas ...

Gingerbread Scones

remember when we used to post to this blog? now that it's baking season, it's time to start posting again!

it is a grey november morning and i had an itch to try a new recipe out of one of my many cookbooks. i pulled the 75th anniversary edition of the best of better homes and garden cookbook and found this gem. as i type, i am enjoying one of the finished product and a hot cup of coffee.

here is the recipe:
2 cups AP flour
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter
1 beaten egg yolk
1/3 cup molasses
1/4 cup milk
1 slightly beaten egg white
Coarse sugar (optional)

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour through cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center of the dry ingridients.

2. In a small bowl, mix together egg yolk, molasses, and milk. Add molasses mixture all at once to dry ingridients. Using a fork, stir until combined (mixture may seem dry).

3. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Quickly knead dough by gently folding and pressing for 10 - 12 strokes or until nearly smooth. Pat or lightly roll dough into a 7-inch circle. Using a knife, cut into 8 wedges. Arrange wedges on an ungreased baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Brush wedges with egg white, sprinkle edges with coarse sugar.

4. Bake in a 400-degree oven for 12-15 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool 20 minutes or serve warm.

thirteen minutes was the perfect bake time for me. the scones are not too dry, though they do crumble some. i think that's true to form for scones, though. these would be great on christmas morning. and they are really easy to make. in fact, i think they are my best scone attempt to date.

nice.

skater chick

last week, a woman told me i was a great public speaker, but she was really surprised to find that, considering how "goth" i am. well, i think this i much more skater chick, don't you?

I got a haircut & highlight last week

Doesn't my hair look kinda 70's, all feathered and stuff?!  hahaha

Homemade Caramels

Well, ladies, these sweet treats are definitely NOT figure friendly - note the butter and the heavy cream in the recipe - but they sure are tasty! It took FOREVER for the mixture to reach 250-degrees, but I also had the burner heat pretty low (I was afraid of scorching the mixture). Were I to make them again, I'd use higher heat so as to speed up the boiling process.

Homemade Caramel
2 cups white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup evaporated milk
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 cup butter
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
1. Grease a 12x15 inch pan.
2. In a medium to large pot, combine sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, evaporated milk, whipping cream, and butter. Monitor the heat of the mixture with a candy thermometer while stirring. When the thermometer reaches 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) remove the pot from the heat.
3. Stir in vanilla. Transfer mixture to the prepared pan and let the mixture cool completely. When cooled cut the Carmel into small squares and wrap them in wax paper for storage.

There are some tricks to this recipe. One--very very lightly grease the pan. Two--use a large kettle; mixture actually triples in size during cooking phase. Three--It will take from 30 to 40 minutes to get to 250 degrees. Finally, make sure caramels are cooled or they will stick to wax paper. But if too cooled, they will be hard to cut.