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Kiraku Berkeley - A Restaurant Review

Kiraku Berkeley
2566B Telegraph Ave, Berkeley CA


I told myself I wouldn't use this blog for restaurant reviews. After all, that's what yelp is for. That's why I have a yelp account. But I am in love with a restaurant I only discovered a month ago (and as I am moving in the next week, will not be able to go to again). I felt compelled to share.


I also told myself I would never write restaurant reviews in this food blog because I am adamantly opposed to taking perfectly framed photos of food in a restaurant. Food is supposed to be served at a certain temperature. Your chef went through a lot of effort to make your food. You should eat it when it is served. For this reason, there are only pictures of a couple of the foods we tried at Kiraku. It's not even a fraction of what they have to offer. Because of my whole weird picture thing, this may be the only restaurant review I write. Just warning...


That being said, this place is a real deal izakaya, a Japanese version of a pub/tapas bar. They don't specialize in yakitori or sushi/sashimi. They really specialize in otsumami, small dishes that pair well with alcohol. When asked to describe this place, I can only describe their style as "funky". I hesitate to call it Japanese since it is not traditional. Yet I hesitate to call it "fusion" because it is not pretentious. In fact, it's decidedly Japanese in that many restaurants in Japan have this weird fusion element that they have been doing for years. It's totally Japanese.


The restaurant is small and nondescript. The interior decor does not have the amazing feel of Japan like some places. In fact, it feels more like home and it's open until 2am. As a cook, it's the kind of place you want to eat after a long day at work. The service is very friendly with a host that greets you with hot towels. The menus are printed in Japanese and English on plane paper. From the outset, there's really nothing fancy about it. It only really seems fancy if you're involved in the bottle collective, a program that allows you to purchase a bottle of shochu or sake and keep the undrunk portion at the restaurant until next time. We called ahead that we were coming in tonight. When we got there, our bottle of shochu was already on our table along with two classes and an ice bucket.


When the food came, everything changed. I forgot I was in a less than impressive space and focussed strictly on the beautiful presentation, the amazingly interesting flavors and how inventive everything seemed to be. Of all the dishes on the menu, I felt the oxtail with an asian style tomato salsa was the weakest dish. That's not saying much, as the oxtail was still quite good. It just wasn't as good as the fried ginko nuts, the agedashi indian eggplant, the french fries (yes, their french fries are that good) or the seared foie gras with stewed daikon (believe me, I'm sad I don't have a picture of that dish)
The first time I came, my coworkers had already been snacking before I got there. I did not order the spicy tuna tartare, but it was one of the first dishes to arrive at our table. This was a fun dish - served on tortilla chips with avocado slices and wasabi tobico. The flavor and texture of the tuna were both wonderful, but as everyone knows, spicy tuna tartare is no way to judge quality of a fish. For that, you need to try the sashimi, which I just tried tonight. The tuna was a leaner cut, but no sinew. It was sliced thick and came with a daiginjo shoyu that was so much better than normal soy sauce. It was cleaner, not as salty, more of a pure umami flavor.
We continued with hamachi collar (pictured right) and pickled octopus marinated in wasabi (the tiny bowl pictured left). The hamachi kama was well seasoned and no one was shy about attacking the best, fattiest parts with greed. The texture was wonderful (but fish cheeks are always the best anyway). The octopus was a standout dish and completely unnecessary to have more than that tiny bowl. The flavors were intense and the octopus was tender. It's a dish that goes perfectly with shochu or sake. However, if I was going to pick an octopus dish, I'd pick the boiled baby octopus instead.




The boiled baby octopus (pictured above) was so tender. They looked gorgeous coming to the table and did not have the chewy nature octopus can so easily have. It was a stellar dish.
We tried another dish called the buta-kim, a kurobuta pork belly with kim chi and a poached egg. it was an excellent dish, though I think Kiraku does a better job with the cold small plates than the hot, as a whole. I had tried these flavors before, and though the egg was perfectly poached and the kim chi had a great flavor and spice, it was something I could live without in the future.
But perhaps the greatest revelation of the evening was the shark cartilage in ume sauce (pictured above). I had never experienced a flavor and textural combination like that in my life. It was sour, salty and oh so crunchy at the same time. It is perfect with shochu and it is a tiny dish that can be shared between 4 people. This is a dish you absolutely have to try, and probably the most interesting thing on a kiraku menu.


Tonight we had a slew of other menu items. We tried their special of the evening: a miatake mushroom tempura with black salt. The tempura was a great texture and the black salt was unprocessed, still holding to it's natural sulfur flavor. This salt similarly went well with everything else on the table, including the boiled chilean sea bass with ponzu and red onions.


We also ordered the yaki udon with a basil pesto. The flavors are unique yet not overpowering, the udon still has its toothsome quality, and it's a filling end to the meal. I have not tried the other options of ramen or rice dishes in that section, but based on the description alone this sounds the most interesting.


Tonight was also the first time I had dessert. We ordered all 3 desserts, including a sweet potato creme brulee, green tea ice cream with warabi mochi and a red tea pana cotta. The sweet potato creme brulee was sweet, lighter than most custards, and did not have the same satisfyingly hard shell like most creme brulees. The green tea ice cream was just that, but the warabi mochi had a wonderful texture and was rolled in a matcha powder that had a great bitterness to combat the sweetness of the ice cream. Even though these desserts were good, the pana cotta was heads and shoulders above the other two. It was lighter than air, not too rich, subtle tea flavor, and topped with coarse anko, whipped cream and tapioca. It wasn't terribly sweet, but perhaps that was the reason I liked it best.



I am sad this place has only now opened just as I am leaving the bay area, but I hope it serves the community for years to come. Try the other dishes, relish their unique nature, and experience something different. Most of all, trust that those people who are in there until 2am work at other Japanese restaurants and they all know this place is damn good.
Kiraku Berkeley
2566B Telegraph Ave, Berkeley CA


I told myself I wouldn't use this blog for restaurant reviews. After all, that's what yelp is for. That's why I have a yelp account. But I am in love with a restaurant I only discovered a month ago (and as I am moving in the next week, will not be able to go to again). I felt compelled to share.


I also told myself I would never write restaurant reviews in this food blog because I am adamantly opposed to taking perfectly framed photos of food in a restaurant. Food is supposed to be served at a certain temperature. Your chef went through a lot of effort to make your food. You should eat it when it is served. For this reason, there are only pictures of a couple of the foods we tried at Kiraku. It's not even a fraction of what they have to offer. Because of my whole weird picture thing, this may be the only restaurant review I write. Just warning...


That being said, this place is a real deal izakaya, a Japanese version of a pub/tapas bar. They don't specialize in yakitori or sushi/sashimi. They really specialize in otsumami, small dishes that pair well with alcohol. When asked to describe this place, I can only describe their style as "funky". I hesitate to call it Japanese since it is not traditional. Yet I hesitate to call it "fusion" because it is not pretentious. In fact, it's decidedly Japanese in that many restaurants in Japan have this weird fusion element that they have been doing for years. It's totally Japanese.


The restaurant is small and nondescript. The interior decor does not have the amazing feel of Japan like some places. In fact, it feels more like home and it's open until 2am. As a cook, it's the kind of place you want to eat after a long day at work. The service is very friendly with a host that greets you with hot towels. The menus are printed in Japanese and English on plane paper. From the outset, there's really nothing fancy about it. It only really seems fancy if you're involved in the bottle collective, a program that allows you to purchase a bottle of shochu or sake and keep the undrunk portion at the restaurant until next time. We called ahead that we were coming in tonight. When we got there, our bottle of shochu was already on our table along with two classes and an ice bucket.


When the food came, everything changed. I forgot I was in a less than impressive space and focussed strictly on the beautiful presentation, the amazingly interesting flavors and how inventive everything seemed to be. Of all the dishes on the menu, I felt the oxtail with an asian style tomato salsa was the weakest dish. That's not saying much, as the oxtail was still quite good. It just wasn't as good as the fried ginko nuts, the agedashi indian eggplant, the french fries (yes, their french fries are that good) or the seared foie gras with stewed daikon (believe me, I'm sad I don't have a picture of that dish)
The first time I came, my coworkers had already been snacking before I got there. I did not order the spicy tuna tartare, but it was one of the first dishes to arrive at our table. This was a fun dish - served on tortilla chips with avocado slices and wasabi tobico. The flavor and texture of the tuna were both wonderful, but as everyone knows, spicy tuna tartare is no way to judge quality of a fish. For that, you need to try the sashimi, which I just tried tonight. The tuna was a leaner cut, but no sinew. It was sliced thick and came with a daiginjo shoyu that was so much better than normal soy sauce. It was cleaner, not as salty, more of a pure umami flavor.
We continued with hamachi collar (pictured right) and pickled octopus marinated in wasabi (the tiny bowl pictured left). The hamachi kama was well seasoned and no one was shy about attacking the best, fattiest parts with greed. The texture was wonderful (but fish cheeks are always the best anyway). The octopus was a standout dish and completely unnecessary to have more than that tiny bowl. The flavors were intense and the octopus was tender. It's a dish that goes perfectly with shochu or sake. However, if I was going to pick an octopus dish, I'd pick the boiled baby octopus instead.




The boiled baby octopus (pictured above) was so tender. They looked gorgeous coming to the table and did not have the chewy nature octopus can so easily have. It was a stellar dish.
We tried another dish called the buta-kim, a kurobuta pork belly with kim chi and a poached egg. it was an excellent dish, though I think Kiraku does a better job with the cold small plates than the hot, as a whole. I had tried these flavors before, and though the egg was perfectly poached and the kim chi had a great flavor and spice, it was something I could live without in the future.
But perhaps the greatest revelation of the evening was the shark cartilage in ume sauce (pictured above). I had never experienced a flavor and textural combination like that in my life. It was sour, salty and oh so crunchy at the same time. It is perfect with shochu and it is a tiny dish that can be shared between 4 people. This is a dish you absolutely have to try, and probably the most interesting thing on a kiraku menu.


Tonight we had a slew of other menu items. We tried their special of the evening: a miatake mushroom tempura with black salt. The tempura was a great texture and the black salt was unprocessed, still holding to it's natural sulfur flavor. This salt similarly went well with everything else on the table, including the boiled chilean sea bass with ponzu and red onions.


We also ordered the yaki udon with a basil pesto. The flavors are unique yet not overpowering, the udon still has its toothsome quality, and it's a filling end to the meal. I have not tried the other options of ramen or rice dishes in that section, but based on the description alone this sounds the most interesting.


Tonight was also the first time I had dessert. We ordered all 3 desserts, including a sweet potato creme brulee, green tea ice cream with warabi mochi and a red tea pana cotta. The sweet potato creme brulee was sweet, lighter than most custards, and did not have the same satisfyingly hard shell like most creme brulees. The green tea ice cream was just that, but the warabi mochi had a wonderful texture and was rolled in a matcha powder that had a great bitterness to combat the sweetness of the ice cream. Even though these desserts were good, the pana cotta was heads and shoulders above the other two. It was lighter than air, not too rich, subtle tea flavor, and topped with coarse anko, whipped cream and tapioca. It wasn't terribly sweet, but perhaps that was the reason I liked it best.



I am sad this place has only now opened just as I am leaving the bay area, but I hope it serves the community for years to come. Try the other dishes, relish their unique nature, and experience something different. Most of all, trust that those people who are in there until 2am work at other Japanese restaurants and they all know this place is damn good.
reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Margarita Cake Ball Truffles {margarita cupcake's little sister}



Introducing ... margarita cupcake's little sister!  Yes, it's Margarita Cake Ball Truffles.  The same great lime, Cuervo Gold tequila, and salt flavors as big sis - but in a cute little bite-sized treat.  Want me to pour you a glass?  Or two?

Completely random side note.  Ever since I thought of the title of this post ... ya know, referring to these as cupcake's little sister ... I've had Elvis running through my head.  Come on - you know the song! 
"Little sister don't you ...
Little sister don't you ...
Little sister don't you kiss me once or twice
then you say it's very nice and then you run. 
Little sister, don't you do what your big sister done."

Just in case you're not familiar with the song, I ventured out to YouTube and grabbed a clip for you.  Truth be told, I really just wanted this song to get stuck in all of your heads, like it has been in mine all day!!  My Mom has always said I have a jukebox in my head!

 

 Well, now that we're done with my random stream of consciousness about Elvis, let's get back to Margarita Cake Ball Truffles. 

Bake a yellow cake, crumble it up (my favorite part!), and then grate in the zest of a couple of limes.   


You could also bake the lime zest into the cake itself, but I think the lime flavor comes through in the cake ball truffle more strongly if the zest goes in post-baking. The lime flavor has to compete with the vanilla candy coating, so I think it needs to be a bit 'strong.'

Stir in some frosting, roll the mixture into balls, dip them in vanilla candy coating, and sprinkle with course salt.  Mmmmmm ~ Margarita cake ball truffles.  (See this post for cake ball truffles step-by-step instructions and photos.)

Oh, and please note, Elvis has left the building.



Margarita Cake Ball Truffles
Source:  Cake ball concept & process adapted from Bakerella; frosting inspired by top-shelf margaritas; method adapted from The Best Recipe by the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine, Vanilla Buttercream

Ingredients
Cake & Coating:
1 baked 9x13" yellow cake
Zest of 2 limes
1 (1 lb.) package vanilla candy melts
About 2 T. shortening
Green sprinkles (optional)
Fleur de sel or course sea salt

Margarita Buttercream Frosting:
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 c. confectioners' sugar
3 T. fresh lime juice
1 T. Triple Sec
1 T. Cuervo Gold tequila
2 T. lime zest
1/16 tsp. salt



Directions
Prepare the Frosting:
1.  Beat butter in bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 1 minute. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add confectioners' sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating for a few seconds between each addition.

2.  Increase mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes.

3.  Add remaining ingredients (starting with 1/16 tsp. salt); beat on low speed to combine. Scrape down sides and bottom of the bowl. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 4 minutes.

Prepare the Cake Ball Truffles:
4.  Crumble cake into a large bowl, working it into small crumbs. Stir in the lime zest.  Add 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the prepared margarita buttercream frosting and mix until well combined.

5.  Shape into approximately 1" balls, using about 1 T. dough per ball; set aside on wax paper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour, or place in freezer for about 15 minutes.

6.  In a small deep bowl, melt candy melts and shortening together in the microwave per candy melt package directions (typically in 30 second intervals, stirring in between).

7.  Use a fork to dip each cookie dough ball in the candy coating, letting excess coating drip off back into the bowl. Place on wax paper. Sprinkle with a few green sprinkles and a bit of salt. Let stand for candy coating to set up.

Enjoy!


This post is linked with Sweets for a Saturday hosted by Sweet as Sugar Cookies, Sweet Tooth Friday hosted by Alli-n-Son, Sweet Indulgences Sunday hosted by A Well-Seasoned Life, Tasty Tuesday hosted by For the Love of Blogs, Sharing Sundays hosted by Everyday Sisters, Cast Party Wednesday hosted by Lady Behind the Curtain, These Chicks Cooked hosted by This Chick Cooks, and Recipe Sharing Monday hosted by Jam Hands, Themed Bakers' Sunday hosted by Cupcake Apothecary, Margarita Cocktail Link Party.


Introducing ... margarita cupcake's little sister!  Yes, it's Margarita Cake Ball Truffles.  The same great lime, Cuervo Gold tequila, and salt flavors as big sis - but in a cute little bite-sized treat.  Want me to pour you a glass?  Or two?

Completely random side note.  Ever since I thought of the title of this post ... ya know, referring to these as cupcake's little sister ... I've had Elvis running through my head.  Come on - you know the song! 
"Little sister don't you ...
Little sister don't you ...
Little sister don't you kiss me once or twice
then you say it's very nice and then you run. 
Little sister, don't you do what your big sister done."

Just in case you're not familiar with the song, I ventured out to YouTube and grabbed a clip for you.  Truth be told, I really just wanted this song to get stuck in all of your heads, like it has been in mine all day!!  My Mom has always said I have a jukebox in my head!

 

 Well, now that we're done with my random stream of consciousness about Elvis, let's get back to Margarita Cake Ball Truffles. 

Bake a yellow cake, crumble it up (my favorite part!), and then grate in the zest of a couple of limes.   


You could also bake the lime zest into the cake itself, but I think the lime flavor comes through in the cake ball truffle more strongly if the zest goes in post-baking. The lime flavor has to compete with the vanilla candy coating, so I think it needs to be a bit 'strong.'

Stir in some frosting, roll the mixture into balls, dip them in vanilla candy coating, and sprinkle with course salt.  Mmmmmm ~ Margarita cake ball truffles.  (See this post for cake ball truffles step-by-step instructions and photos.)

Oh, and please note, Elvis has left the building.



Margarita Cake Ball Truffles
Source:  Cake ball concept & process adapted from Bakerella; frosting inspired by top-shelf margaritas; method adapted from The Best Recipe by the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine, Vanilla Buttercream

Ingredients
Cake & Coating:
1 baked 9x13" yellow cake
Zest of 2 limes
1 (1 lb.) package vanilla candy melts
About 2 T. shortening
Green sprinkles (optional)
Fleur de sel or course sea salt

Margarita Buttercream Frosting:
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 c. confectioners' sugar
3 T. fresh lime juice
1 T. Triple Sec
1 T. Cuervo Gold tequila
2 T. lime zest
1/16 tsp. salt



Directions
Prepare the Frosting:
1.  Beat butter in bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 1 minute. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add confectioners' sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating for a few seconds between each addition.

2.  Increase mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes.

3.  Add remaining ingredients (starting with 1/16 tsp. salt); beat on low speed to combine. Scrape down sides and bottom of the bowl. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 4 minutes.

Prepare the Cake Ball Truffles:
4.  Crumble cake into a large bowl, working it into small crumbs. Stir in the lime zest.  Add 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the prepared margarita buttercream frosting and mix until well combined.

5.  Shape into approximately 1" balls, using about 1 T. dough per ball; set aside on wax paper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour, or place in freezer for about 15 minutes.

6.  In a small deep bowl, melt candy melts and shortening together in the microwave per candy melt package directions (typically in 30 second intervals, stirring in between).

7.  Use a fork to dip each cookie dough ball in the candy coating, letting excess coating drip off back into the bowl. Place on wax paper. Sprinkle with a few green sprinkles and a bit of salt. Let stand for candy coating to set up.

Enjoy!


This post is linked with Sweets for a Saturday hosted by Sweet as Sugar Cookies, Sweet Tooth Friday hosted by Alli-n-Son, Sweet Indulgences Sunday hosted by A Well-Seasoned Life, Tasty Tuesday hosted by For the Love of Blogs, Sharing Sundays hosted by Everyday Sisters, Cast Party Wednesday hosted by Lady Behind the Curtain, These Chicks Cooked hosted by This Chick Cooks, and Recipe Sharing Monday hosted by Jam Hands, Themed Bakers' Sunday hosted by Cupcake Apothecary, Margarita Cocktail Link Party.
reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Apricot Ginger Mascarpone Scones



I had some leftover mascarpone cheese after making the brownies listed a couple weeks ago. I found the recipe on Good Life Eats and thought it would go exceptional well with a different flavor profile.

These scones were deliciously light with a perfect exterior crust. They weren't too sweet and they were exceptionally buttery. You will be hard pressed to have these scones last more than a day. Every time you try one, you want to have another.

Apricot Ginger Mascarpone Scones
Ingredients (makes 12 small)
  • 2 cups flour
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt¼ cup butter, sliced
  • ¼ cup mascarpone cheese
  • 1 egg
  • ⅓ cup milk
  • 1 ½ tsp vanilla
  • 1 Tbsp honey
  • ¾ cup dried apricots, diced
  • ¼ cup candied ginger

Ingredients for glaze
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tsp milk
  • 2 tsp honey

Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 375
  2. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
  3. Cut in butter and mascarpone cheese until pieces are the size of small peas
  4. Make a well in the center of the flour. Add egg, milk, vanilla, honey, and dried fruits. Stir until just combined.
    1. Roll out dough and cut into 12 triangles, or separate dough into 12 rough mounds on baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes until golden.
  5. While baking, prepare glaze by mixing in powdered sugar, milk and honey. Spoon glaze over warm scones.


I had some leftover mascarpone cheese after making the brownies listed a couple weeks ago. I found the recipe on Good Life Eats and thought it would go exceptional well with a different flavor profile.

These scones were deliciously light with a perfect exterior crust. They weren't too sweet and they were exceptionally buttery. You will be hard pressed to have these scones last more than a day. Every time you try one, you want to have another.

Apricot Ginger Mascarpone Scones
Ingredients (makes 12 small)
  • 2 cups flour
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt¼ cup butter, sliced
  • ¼ cup mascarpone cheese
  • 1 egg
  • ⅓ cup milk
  • 1 ½ tsp vanilla
  • 1 Tbsp honey
  • ¾ cup dried apricots, diced
  • ¼ cup candied ginger

Ingredients for glaze
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tsp milk
  • 2 tsp honey

Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 375
  2. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
  3. Cut in butter and mascarpone cheese until pieces are the size of small peas
  4. Make a well in the center of the flour. Add egg, milk, vanilla, honey, and dried fruits. Stir until just combined.
    1. Roll out dough and cut into 12 triangles, or separate dough into 12 rough mounds on baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes until golden.
  5. While baking, prepare glaze by mixing in powdered sugar, milk and honey. Spoon glaze over warm scones.
reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Very Chocolate Ice Cream



We just got an ice cream maker last week!!! It's a Cuisinart 2-quart capacity countertop variety, which is the largest size I could find that didn't require ice and rock salt for making the ice cream. 
So far I've made the vanilla recipe from their included booklet, as well as the vanilla yogurt.  The ice cream was wonderful, the yogurt tasty but not nearly as good as the ice cream (go figure, must be the 17 less grams of fat per serving).  For having guests this weekend, I decided to make some chocolate ice cream as well.

This recipe caught my eye off of Allrecipes and with all the positive reviews, I knew I had to make it. 

In all seriousness, it is one of the best things I have ever eaten.  I'm not even kidding.   Even Grant agrees, and he's pretty picky about homemade ice cream, texturewise.  It's the perfect amount of chocolaty goodness, creamy and smooth melt-in-your mouth delectableness.  Everyone loved it.

Note:  This amount filled up my 2-quart ice cream maker to full capacity.  If you have a smaller machine, please decrease the ingredients!  The link below to Allrecipes takes you to the recipe itself, and they have an awesome feature on their site that calculates different amount of servings for you. The original recipe was for 8 servings - I changed it to 12 for our machine, which was perfect. 

Recipe (from Allrecipes)


  • 1 cup and 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1-1/2 cups milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 5 egg yolks, lightly beaten
  • 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped finely (I used Bakers Semi-sweet Chocolate)
  • 3 cups heavy cream
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  • Combine sugar, milk, salt, and cocoa powder in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Heat to about 150°, very hot but not bubbling yet.  Place the egg yolks into a small bowl. Gradually stir in about 1/2 cup of the hot liquid. and return to the saucepan. Heat until thickened (175-180°), but do not boil. Remove from the heat, and stir in the chopped chocolate until chocolate is melted. Pour into a chilled bowl, and refrigerate for about two hours until cold, stirring occasionally.
  • When chocolate mixture has completely cooled, stir in the cream, and vanilla. Pour into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer's directions.



We just got an ice cream maker last week!!! It's a Cuisinart 2-quart capacity countertop variety, which is the largest size I could find that didn't require ice and rock salt for making the ice cream. 
So far I've made the vanilla recipe from their included booklet, as well as the vanilla yogurt.  The ice cream was wonderful, the yogurt tasty but not nearly as good as the ice cream (go figure, must be the 17 less grams of fat per serving).  For having guests this weekend, I decided to make some chocolate ice cream as well.

This recipe caught my eye off of Allrecipes and with all the positive reviews, I knew I had to make it. 

In all seriousness, it is one of the best things I have ever eaten.  I'm not even kidding.   Even Grant agrees, and he's pretty picky about homemade ice cream, texturewise.  It's the perfect amount of chocolaty goodness, creamy and smooth melt-in-your mouth delectableness.  Everyone loved it.

Note:  This amount filled up my 2-quart ice cream maker to full capacity.  If you have a smaller machine, please decrease the ingredients!  The link below to Allrecipes takes you to the recipe itself, and they have an awesome feature on their site that calculates different amount of servings for you. The original recipe was for 8 servings - I changed it to 12 for our machine, which was perfect. 

Recipe (from Allrecipes)


  • 1 cup and 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1-1/2 cups milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 5 egg yolks, lightly beaten
  • 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped finely (I used Bakers Semi-sweet Chocolate)
  • 3 cups heavy cream
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  • Combine sugar, milk, salt, and cocoa powder in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Heat to about 150°, very hot but not bubbling yet.  Place the egg yolks into a small bowl. Gradually stir in about 1/2 cup of the hot liquid. and return to the saucepan. Heat until thickened (175-180°), but do not boil. Remove from the heat, and stir in the chopped chocolate until chocolate is melted. Pour into a chilled bowl, and refrigerate for about two hours until cold, stirring occasionally.
  • When chocolate mixture has completely cooled, stir in the cream, and vanilla. Pour into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer's directions.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

White Chocolate Chunk Chocolate Cookies


After a failed white chocolate cupcake recipe, I had a a lot of white chocolate chips left.

Normally, I'm not a fan of white chocolate. It's too sweet and doesn't have the same rich flavor. But I do like white chocolate in ultra chocolate cookies. It just feels right that way, though the white chocolate does have the same cloying sweetness it normally does.

These cookies are moist and chewy. The cookie itself is not to sweet and has a great flavor punctuated by the sweetness of the white chocolate.

White Chocolate Chunk Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients
  • ½ (1 stick) butter, softened
  • ⅓ cup white sugar
  • ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
  • ¾ cup white chocolate chips


Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Cream together butter and sugars until fluffy.
  3. Add egg and vanilla, mixing until completely combined.
  4. In a separate bowl, combined flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Slowly add to flour mixture, stirring until combined.
  5. Fold in white chocolate chips and drop by tablespoon onto baking sheet
  6. Bake 10 minutes and allow to cool for 5 before removing from the pan.

After a failed white chocolate cupcake recipe, I had a a lot of white chocolate chips left.

Normally, I'm not a fan of white chocolate. It's too sweet and doesn't have the same rich flavor. But I do like white chocolate in ultra chocolate cookies. It just feels right that way, though the white chocolate does have the same cloying sweetness it normally does.

These cookies are moist and chewy. The cookie itself is not to sweet and has a great flavor punctuated by the sweetness of the white chocolate.

White Chocolate Chunk Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients
  • ½ (1 stick) butter, softened
  • ⅓ cup white sugar
  • ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
  • ¾ cup white chocolate chips


Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Cream together butter and sugars until fluffy.
  3. Add egg and vanilla, mixing until completely combined.
  4. In a separate bowl, combined flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Slowly add to flour mixture, stirring until combined.
  5. Fold in white chocolate chips and drop by tablespoon onto baking sheet
  6. Bake 10 minutes and allow to cool for 5 before removing from the pan.
reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Margarita Cupcakes with Margarita Buttercream Frosting



Hint-of-lime cupcakes topped with margarita buttercream.  Any takers? 

These were inspired by a family friend's top-shelf margarita recipe.  And I love them!!  The cupcakes, that is.  Well, and the margaritas, too.  On the rocks.  Sorry, but I'm not a fan of that frozen give-me-an-ice-cream-headache stuff.  On the rocks, for me, baby.

The cupcakes themselves have just a hint of lime ... my favorite vanilla cupcake batter with the zest of a couple of limes grated in.  When I was developing this cupcake, I was hoping I could get a touch of lime flavor simply by adding zest - and I did!  I was very excited when this method worked and gave me just the touch of lime I was looking for.

The cakes are then frosted with margarita buttercream ... that's the part inspired by the top-shelf margaritas.  Take basic buttercream with a little lime juice, lime zest, Triple Sec, Cuervo Gold tequila, and a pinch of salt and you've got margarita buttercream.  Tasty.  Word of caution - the salt takes over the flavor of the buttercream pretty easily, so go easy.  I used about 1/16th of a teaspoon, and felt that came out about right.

Sprinkle the frosted cupcakes with a little lime zest to make them extra pretty, if you'd like - and then dig in.  No blender required.




Margarita Hint-of-Lime Cupcakes & Margarita Buttercream
Source: Cupcakes adapted from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook's Vanilla Cupcakes; Frosting inspired by top-shelf margaritas; method adapted from The Best Recipe by the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine, Vanilla Buttercream

Ingredients
Cupcakes:
1 c. all-purpose flour
A scant 3/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
3 T. butter, at room temperature
1/2 c. whole milk or 2% milk
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Zest of 2 limes


Margarita Buttercream Frosting:
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 c. confectioners' sugar
3 T. fresh lime juice
1 T. Triple Sec
1 T. Cuervo Gold tequila
2 T. lime zest
1/16 tsp. salt


Directions

Prepare the Cupcakes:
1.  Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter in mixing bowl. Beat on slow speed until everything is combined and you have a crumb mixture with a sandy consistency. Gradually pour in half of the milk; beat until the milk is just incorporated.

2.  Whisk together the remaining milk (1/4 cup), egg, and vanilla. Pour into the flour mixture and beat until all ingredients are just incorporated. Beat for about another 30 seconds to one minute until the batter is smooth. Do not over mix.  Gently fold in lime zest.

3.  Spoon batter into muffin pan cups lined with paper cupcake liners, filling cups 1/2 full. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes, or until light golden and the cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool slightly in the pan before removing cupcakes to a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.

NOTE: This recipe makes 12 cupcakes.  Fill your cups only 1/2 full, as this batter rises quite a bit. When I divided the batter between only 10 muffin cups, I had several that rose over the sides of the cups way too much. If you're like me, you'll feel like there's not enough batter to stretch to 12 cupcakes, but there really is.


Prepare the Frosting:
4.  Beat butter in bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 1 minute. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add confectioners' sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating for a few seconds between each addition.

5.  Increase mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes.

6.  Add remaining ingredients (starting with 1/16 tsp. salt); beat on low speed to combine. Scrape down sides and bottom of the bowl. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 4 minutes.  Frosts 12 cupcakes.


Enjoy!


This post is linked with Tasty Tuesday hosted by For the Love of Blogs, The Month Long Cupcake Party hosted by Screaming SardineThese Chicks Cooked hosted by This Chick Cooks, Cast Party Wednesday hosted by Lady Behind the Curtain, It's a Keeper Thursday hosted by It's a Keeper, Foodie Friday: Summer Foods hosted by Designs by Gollum, Friday Favorites hosted by Simply Sweet Home, Savvy Homemade Monday hosted by Home Savvy A to Z, Recipe Sharing Monday hosted by Jam Hands, Sharing Sundays hosted by Everyday Sisters, Sweets This Week hosted by Sugar Bananas, Sharing Sundays hosted by Everyday Sisters, and Fat Camp Friday hosted by Mangoes and Chutney, 12 Days of Christmas Goodies hosted by Mom's Crazy Cooking, This Week's Cravings hosted by Mom's Crazy Cooking, Themed Bakers' Sunday hosted by Cupcake Apothecary, Margarita Cocktail Link Party.


Hint-of-lime cupcakes topped with margarita buttercream.  Any takers? 

These were inspired by a family friend's top-shelf margarita recipe.  And I love them!!  The cupcakes, that is.  Well, and the margaritas, too.  On the rocks.  Sorry, but I'm not a fan of that frozen give-me-an-ice-cream-headache stuff.  On the rocks, for me, baby.

The cupcakes themselves have just a hint of lime ... my favorite vanilla cupcake batter with the zest of a couple of limes grated in.  When I was developing this cupcake, I was hoping I could get a touch of lime flavor simply by adding zest - and I did!  I was very excited when this method worked and gave me just the touch of lime I was looking for.

The cakes are then frosted with margarita buttercream ... that's the part inspired by the top-shelf margaritas.  Take basic buttercream with a little lime juice, lime zest, Triple Sec, Cuervo Gold tequila, and a pinch of salt and you've got margarita buttercream.  Tasty.  Word of caution - the salt takes over the flavor of the buttercream pretty easily, so go easy.  I used about 1/16th of a teaspoon, and felt that came out about right.

Sprinkle the frosted cupcakes with a little lime zest to make them extra pretty, if you'd like - and then dig in.  No blender required.




Margarita Hint-of-Lime Cupcakes & Margarita Buttercream
Source: Cupcakes adapted from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook's Vanilla Cupcakes; Frosting inspired by top-shelf margaritas; method adapted from The Best Recipe by the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine, Vanilla Buttercream

Ingredients
Cupcakes:
1 c. all-purpose flour
A scant 3/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
3 T. butter, at room temperature
1/2 c. whole milk or 2% milk
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Zest of 2 limes


Margarita Buttercream Frosting:
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 c. confectioners' sugar
3 T. fresh lime juice
1 T. Triple Sec
1 T. Cuervo Gold tequila
2 T. lime zest
1/16 tsp. salt


Directions

Prepare the Cupcakes:
1.  Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter in mixing bowl. Beat on slow speed until everything is combined and you have a crumb mixture with a sandy consistency. Gradually pour in half of the milk; beat until the milk is just incorporated.

2.  Whisk together the remaining milk (1/4 cup), egg, and vanilla. Pour into the flour mixture and beat until all ingredients are just incorporated. Beat for about another 30 seconds to one minute until the batter is smooth. Do not over mix.  Gently fold in lime zest.

3.  Spoon batter into muffin pan cups lined with paper cupcake liners, filling cups 1/2 full. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes, or until light golden and the cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool slightly in the pan before removing cupcakes to a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.

NOTE: This recipe makes 12 cupcakes.  Fill your cups only 1/2 full, as this batter rises quite a bit. When I divided the batter between only 10 muffin cups, I had several that rose over the sides of the cups way too much. If you're like me, you'll feel like there's not enough batter to stretch to 12 cupcakes, but there really is.


Prepare the Frosting:
4.  Beat butter in bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 1 minute. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add confectioners' sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating for a few seconds between each addition.

5.  Increase mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes.

6.  Add remaining ingredients (starting with 1/16 tsp. salt); beat on low speed to combine. Scrape down sides and bottom of the bowl. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 4 minutes.  Frosts 12 cupcakes.


Enjoy!


This post is linked with Tasty Tuesday hosted by For the Love of Blogs, The Month Long Cupcake Party hosted by Screaming SardineThese Chicks Cooked hosted by This Chick Cooks, Cast Party Wednesday hosted by Lady Behind the Curtain, It's a Keeper Thursday hosted by It's a Keeper, Foodie Friday: Summer Foods hosted by Designs by Gollum, Friday Favorites hosted by Simply Sweet Home, Savvy Homemade Monday hosted by Home Savvy A to Z, Recipe Sharing Monday hosted by Jam Hands, Sharing Sundays hosted by Everyday Sisters, Sweets This Week hosted by Sugar Bananas, Sharing Sundays hosted by Everyday Sisters, and Fat Camp Friday hosted by Mangoes and Chutney, 12 Days of Christmas Goodies hosted by Mom's Crazy Cooking, This Week's Cravings hosted by Mom's Crazy Cooking, Themed Bakers' Sunday hosted by Cupcake Apothecary, Margarita Cocktail Link Party.
reade more... Résuméabuiyad

New Food Finds - Chocolate Vincotto & Biscoff Spread


Sing it with me now!  "Heaven, ... I'm in heaven ...".  I attended a demonstration-style cooking class today and was introduced to two new-to-me products, about which all I can say is:  Oh.  My.  Goodness.

I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with them yet, but I'll experiment and figure it out!

First product - Dolce Nero Chocolate Vincotto.  What's that, you ask?  Well, let me tell ya.  It's an aged kind-of-like-balsamic-vinegar concoction with chocolate.  Yes, I did indeed just say like-balsamic-vinegar with chocolate.  Who would have thought??  And it's FABULOUS!!  Click here if you'd like to read a little blurb about it.  At the cooking class, we had it drizzled over vanilla ice cream and nectarines.  Divine.  So ... guess what I had for dessert tonight?  Yep, those gorgeous peaches in the picture above - drizzled with my new chocolate love.


Second product - Biscoff Spread.  Have you had this??  It looks like peanut butter, but let me tell ya - it's sooooooo not.  It's a spread made out of Biscoff cookies, you know those grown-up graham-cracker'ish tasting shortbread'ish cookies that were often served on long flights?  (And you can buy them at the grocery store, of course.  But I was first introduced to them on a flight.)  Well, apparently the Lotus company that makes those cookies came up with the brilliant idea of smashing them up with some brown sugar and other stuff to make a spreadable delite!  As you can see in testing this out when I got home ... you know, just to make sure I didn't buy a 'bad' jar or anything ... I made a quick little s'more.  Mmmmmm.

Now I'm on the quest of figuring out what delectable goodies can be made with these new treats.  If you've used either of these before, please leave a comment with your wonderful ideas!  Pretty please.  With sugar on top.  Or maybe I should say with Dolce Nero Chocolate Vincotto and Biscoff Spread on top.


This post is linked with This Week's Cravings hosted by Mom's Crazy Cooking.

Sing it with me now!  "Heaven, ... I'm in heaven ...".  I attended a demonstration-style cooking class today and was introduced to two new-to-me products, about which all I can say is:  Oh.  My.  Goodness.

I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with them yet, but I'll experiment and figure it out!

First product - Dolce Nero Chocolate Vincotto.  What's that, you ask?  Well, let me tell ya.  It's an aged kind-of-like-balsamic-vinegar concoction with chocolate.  Yes, I did indeed just say like-balsamic-vinegar with chocolate.  Who would have thought??  And it's FABULOUS!!  Click here if you'd like to read a little blurb about it.  At the cooking class, we had it drizzled over vanilla ice cream and nectarines.  Divine.  So ... guess what I had for dessert tonight?  Yep, those gorgeous peaches in the picture above - drizzled with my new chocolate love.


Second product - Biscoff Spread.  Have you had this??  It looks like peanut butter, but let me tell ya - it's sooooooo not.  It's a spread made out of Biscoff cookies, you know those grown-up graham-cracker'ish tasting shortbread'ish cookies that were often served on long flights?  (And you can buy them at the grocery store, of course.  But I was first introduced to them on a flight.)  Well, apparently the Lotus company that makes those cookies came up with the brilliant idea of smashing them up with some brown sugar and other stuff to make a spreadable delite!  As you can see in testing this out when I got home ... you know, just to make sure I didn't buy a 'bad' jar or anything ... I made a quick little s'more.  Mmmmmm.

Now I'm on the quest of figuring out what delectable goodies can be made with these new treats.  If you've used either of these before, please leave a comment with your wonderful ideas!  Pretty please.  With sugar on top.  Or maybe I should say with Dolce Nero Chocolate Vincotto and Biscoff Spread on top.


This post is linked with This Week's Cravings hosted by Mom's Crazy Cooking.
reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Spicy Pickled Okra ... no canning required


Okra is one of my favorite summer vegetables.  I didn't grow up eating it - growing up in Vermont, I think my only exposure to okra was the one or two little pieces you find in some canned vegetable soups.  But I remember I'd always be excited when I found those one or two little pieces in my soup bowl!  I guess I loved okra before I even really knew what it was.

One of my favorite ways to eat okra is pickled.  During winter, I buy it jarred.  But in summer, when I'm fortunate enough to be able to get an ample supply from my mother-in-law's garden or our local farm stand, I make my own.  It's super simple!

Before we get to the recipe, let me show a few pictures from my mother-in-law's garden.  She has a gorgeous garden!  And she grows lots of things I love.  Like okra.  Here's one of her okra plants.

Okra plant

And here's a baby okra pod growing away on the stem.  I didn't realize that this is how the pods grow until I was introduced to my mother-in-law's garden.  Not sure how I thought it grew, but never thought of it looking like this!
Okra pod

You'll also need fresh dill for this recipe.  I totally didn't need to include this picture of a dill head ... but I think the picture is beautiful and wanted to share.

Beautiful dill head

Now back to the pickled okra.

Combine white vinegar, water, and a whole bunch of spices in a saucepan.  Bring it to a boil ...

Pickling mixture

... and add in fresh dill heads, some jalapenos, and your okra pods.

Okra dives in for a swim!

Let it all cool down to room temperature, and then refrigerate it for a few hours.  Pickling magic will happen, and you'll have delicious and spicy pickled okra!  Yum.

Pickled okra goodness



Spicy Pickled Okra
Source:  Adapted from Cooking Light magazine
Ingredients
2 1/2 c. white vinegar
2 c. water
3 T. sugar
2 T. kosher salt
1 tsp. whole peppercorns
1 tsp. coriander seeds
1 tsp. dill seeds
1 tsp. cumin seeds
4 fresh dill heads
2 jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise
1 1/2 lbs. small okra pods


Directions
1.  Combine vinegar, water, sugar, and all spices EXCEPT fresh dill heads in a large saucepan; bring to a boil.  Boil for about one minute, or until sugar and salt dissolve, stirring frequently.

2.  Remove from heat.  Stir in fresh dill heads, jalapenos, and okra pods.  Cool completely with the pot sitting out at room temperature.

3.  Once cooled, pour mixture into an airtight container; cover and chill.  Okra can keep in the refrigerator for up to about two weeks.

Enjoy!



This post is linked with Savory Sunday hosted by The Sweet Details, These Chicks Cooked hosted by This Chick Cooks, Cast Party Wednesday hosted by Lady Behind the Curtain, It's a Keeper Thursday hosted by It's a Keeper, and This Week's Cravings hosted by Mom's Crazy Cooking.

Okra is one of my favorite summer vegetables.  I didn't grow up eating it - growing up in Vermont, I think my only exposure to okra was the one or two little pieces you find in some canned vegetable soups.  But I remember I'd always be excited when I found those one or two little pieces in my soup bowl!  I guess I loved okra before I even really knew what it was.

One of my favorite ways to eat okra is pickled.  During winter, I buy it jarred.  But in summer, when I'm fortunate enough to be able to get an ample supply from my mother-in-law's garden or our local farm stand, I make my own.  It's super simple!

Before we get to the recipe, let me show a few pictures from my mother-in-law's garden.  She has a gorgeous garden!  And she grows lots of things I love.  Like okra.  Here's one of her okra plants.

Okra plant

And here's a baby okra pod growing away on the stem.  I didn't realize that this is how the pods grow until I was introduced to my mother-in-law's garden.  Not sure how I thought it grew, but never thought of it looking like this!
Okra pod

You'll also need fresh dill for this recipe.  I totally didn't need to include this picture of a dill head ... but I think the picture is beautiful and wanted to share.

Beautiful dill head

Now back to the pickled okra.

Combine white vinegar, water, and a whole bunch of spices in a saucepan.  Bring it to a boil ...

Pickling mixture

... and add in fresh dill heads, some jalapenos, and your okra pods.

Okra dives in for a swim!

Let it all cool down to room temperature, and then refrigerate it for a few hours.  Pickling magic will happen, and you'll have delicious and spicy pickled okra!  Yum.

Pickled okra goodness



Spicy Pickled Okra
Source:  Adapted from Cooking Light magazine
Ingredients
2 1/2 c. white vinegar
2 c. water
3 T. sugar
2 T. kosher salt
1 tsp. whole peppercorns
1 tsp. coriander seeds
1 tsp. dill seeds
1 tsp. cumin seeds
4 fresh dill heads
2 jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise
1 1/2 lbs. small okra pods


Directions
1.  Combine vinegar, water, sugar, and all spices EXCEPT fresh dill heads in a large saucepan; bring to a boil.  Boil for about one minute, or until sugar and salt dissolve, stirring frequently.

2.  Remove from heat.  Stir in fresh dill heads, jalapenos, and okra pods.  Cool completely with the pot sitting out at room temperature.

3.  Once cooled, pour mixture into an airtight container; cover and chill.  Okra can keep in the refrigerator for up to about two weeks.

Enjoy!



This post is linked with Savory Sunday hosted by The Sweet Details, These Chicks Cooked hosted by This Chick Cooks, Cast Party Wednesday hosted by Lady Behind the Curtain, It's a Keeper Thursday hosted by It's a Keeper, and This Week's Cravings hosted by Mom's Crazy Cooking.
reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Graduation Cake


 I consider this cake my crowning achievement in cake decorating thusfar.  I actually made it in June of last year; I have no idea why it's taken me so long to get it on the blog. 

My neighbor Jenny had a daughter graduating from high school, and they were a part of a homeschool co-op that had several graduates.  They were having a ceremony and reception and Jenny requested that I make the cake for them.  I was extremely honored that I would be asked for such an occasion, as I had only made cakes for my own children up to that point, and I'm completely self-taught.  I browsed through some cake decorating websites to get some inspiration and asked Jenny for input on what she had in mind before I committed.  It was a little nerve-wracking to be making a cake for 60+ people, and for such a special event as well!  (I mean, my kids sure don't care or even notice if I mess up something on their birthday cakes).

This was what we came up with for the idea.  There was only one problem.  I had no idea how to pipe roses.  I ended up buying a Wilton Cake decorating book, which is lovely and very informational on lots of things....but ultimately it was watching tons of youtube videos that helped me catch on.  That and the hours of practicing.  :)
I ended up making the roses a few days in advance and saving them in the fridge (carefully stored on wax paper in plastic containers) so that when the cake was ready, I could just slide them on wherever I wanted them. 

So the bottom of the cake was a half-sheet chocolate cake, the top layer was a 13 x 9" vanilla cake.  All the frosting was regular Wilton recipe buttercream, except the fondant scroll on top.  That was homemade marshmallow fondant

I had quite a time with the writing.  I originally intended to paint on the names, so I bought this gold glittery stuff that you add a little clear vanilla extract to for making it like paint....only even with the tiniest paintbrush I could find, it wouldn't paint the letters clearly enough.  So back to Michael's I went to get edible markers.  Supposedly they're good for writing on fondant.  For my purposes, that didn't work either.  The tips were too big for fine print and the yellow color just didn't show up.
My final solution was to just tint some buttercream yellow and pipe on the letters.  I have terrible handwriting, so I found a font I liked and typed out the list of names, then printed it in the exact size I would need for the scroll.  I copied a faint outline of all the words on the fondant with a toothpick, then wrote over it with the frosting.  I was so nervous about that part!  It turned out really nice, though, leaving me wondering why I hadn't chosen to go that route in the first place. 


I was very pleased with the final product and I think it was well received by everyone.  I sure learned a lot in the process and had a great time seeing it all come together.

 I consider this cake my crowning achievement in cake decorating thusfar.  I actually made it in June of last year; I have no idea why it's taken me so long to get it on the blog. 

My neighbor Jenny had a daughter graduating from high school, and they were a part of a homeschool co-op that had several graduates.  They were having a ceremony and reception and Jenny requested that I make the cake for them.  I was extremely honored that I would be asked for such an occasion, as I had only made cakes for my own children up to that point, and I'm completely self-taught.  I browsed through some cake decorating websites to get some inspiration and asked Jenny for input on what she had in mind before I committed.  It was a little nerve-wracking to be making a cake for 60+ people, and for such a special event as well!  (I mean, my kids sure don't care or even notice if I mess up something on their birthday cakes).

This was what we came up with for the idea.  There was only one problem.  I had no idea how to pipe roses.  I ended up buying a Wilton Cake decorating book, which is lovely and very informational on lots of things....but ultimately it was watching tons of youtube videos that helped me catch on.  That and the hours of practicing.  :)
I ended up making the roses a few days in advance and saving them in the fridge (carefully stored on wax paper in plastic containers) so that when the cake was ready, I could just slide them on wherever I wanted them. 

So the bottom of the cake was a half-sheet chocolate cake, the top layer was a 13 x 9" vanilla cake.  All the frosting was regular Wilton recipe buttercream, except the fondant scroll on top.  That was homemade marshmallow fondant

I had quite a time with the writing.  I originally intended to paint on the names, so I bought this gold glittery stuff that you add a little clear vanilla extract to for making it like paint....only even with the tiniest paintbrush I could find, it wouldn't paint the letters clearly enough.  So back to Michael's I went to get edible markers.  Supposedly they're good for writing on fondant.  For my purposes, that didn't work either.  The tips were too big for fine print and the yellow color just didn't show up.
My final solution was to just tint some buttercream yellow and pipe on the letters.  I have terrible handwriting, so I found a font I liked and typed out the list of names, then printed it in the exact size I would need for the scroll.  I copied a faint outline of all the words on the fondant with a toothpick, then wrote over it with the frosting.  I was so nervous about that part!  It turned out really nice, though, leaving me wondering why I hadn't chosen to go that route in the first place. 


I was very pleased with the final product and I think it was well received by everyone.  I sure learned a lot in the process and had a great time seeing it all come together.
reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Chocolate Zucchini Bread


Got a zucchini surplus from your garden?  This is the perfect way to use some of it up.  We didn't plant zucchini this year because of the poor results we had last year (that is to say, 0 zucchini and diseased plants) but there are pretty good deals at most of the grocery stores on it now so we're eating it pretty frequently.

One day I remembered I had this recipe tucked away in a folder, not having been used in several years.  That is a crying shame, I tell you.  This recipe deserves to be made all throughout the year, especially during zucchini season.

Now, I have two daughters who don't like zucchini at all, and a son who thought that zucchini in a bread would be gross.  He almost didn't even want to taste it.
One bite later, they were all converted.

"This is like CAKE!"
"You don't even need frosting!"
"I want this for my birthday cake!"
"I want this for my birthday BREAKFAST!"
"This is the best chocolate bread EVER!"

Yeah, those are the comments I heard from my kids.
And they are right.  It is like cake, it definitely doesn't need frosting, and it is certainly birthday meal worthy, although probably we'll make something else for the actual "cake".

It really is one of my favorite recipes, all the way around.  And one of the best parts - you get two loaves, which becomes seriously necessary once people taste it and can't stop eating it.

Recipe (adapted from Allrecipes)

2 (1 oz) squares unsweetened chocolate
3 eggs
1-1/2 c. white sugar
2/3 c. applesauce
1/3 c. oil  (I used expeller-pressed coconut oil)
2 c. grated zucchini (about 1-1/2 medium)
1 t. vanilla extract
2 c. white whole wheat flour (you can use all purpose if you want)
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 t. ground cinnamon
3/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
In a microwave safe bowl, microwave unsweetened chocolate until melted. Stir occasionally until chocolate is smooth.
In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, applesauce, oil, grated zucchini, vanilla and melted chocolate; beat well.
Stir in the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Fold in the chocolate chips.  Pour batter into prepared loaf pans.
Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean.


Got a zucchini surplus from your garden?  This is the perfect way to use some of it up.  We didn't plant zucchini this year because of the poor results we had last year (that is to say, 0 zucchini and diseased plants) but there are pretty good deals at most of the grocery stores on it now so we're eating it pretty frequently.

One day I remembered I had this recipe tucked away in a folder, not having been used in several years.  That is a crying shame, I tell you.  This recipe deserves to be made all throughout the year, especially during zucchini season.

Now, I have two daughters who don't like zucchini at all, and a son who thought that zucchini in a bread would be gross.  He almost didn't even want to taste it.
One bite later, they were all converted.

"This is like CAKE!"
"You don't even need frosting!"
"I want this for my birthday cake!"
"I want this for my birthday BREAKFAST!"
"This is the best chocolate bread EVER!"

Yeah, those are the comments I heard from my kids.
And they are right.  It is like cake, it definitely doesn't need frosting, and it is certainly birthday meal worthy, although probably we'll make something else for the actual "cake".

It really is one of my favorite recipes, all the way around.  And one of the best parts - you get two loaves, which becomes seriously necessary once people taste it and can't stop eating it.

Recipe (adapted from Allrecipes)

2 (1 oz) squares unsweetened chocolate
3 eggs
1-1/2 c. white sugar
2/3 c. applesauce
1/3 c. oil  (I used expeller-pressed coconut oil)
2 c. grated zucchini (about 1-1/2 medium)
1 t. vanilla extract
2 c. white whole wheat flour (you can use all purpose if you want)
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 t. ground cinnamon
3/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
In a microwave safe bowl, microwave unsweetened chocolate until melted. Stir occasionally until chocolate is smooth.
In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, applesauce, oil, grated zucchini, vanilla and melted chocolate; beat well.
Stir in the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Fold in the chocolate chips.  Pour batter into prepared loaf pans.
Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean.

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Salted Chocolate Cake Pops & Cake Ball Truffles ... Step-by-Step


One word.  Delicious.  Maybe two words.  Totally amazing!  Well, perhaps three words.  Stroke of genius.  On my friend's part, not mine, that is.

These salted chocolate cake pops (and cake ball truffles) are my absolute favorite flavor of all the flavors I've made.  And I can't take one ounce of credit for them.  See, I have a friend, Jenny, who wanted to learn how to make cake pops and cake balls.  So we planned a day to get together and make that happen.  We decided to make four different flavors - red velvet, chocolate, mocha, and margarita (I'll post about the mocha and the margarita ones sometime soon!).

So how did simple chocolate cake pops turn into absolutely-to-die-for salted chocolate cake pops, you ask?  Well, I had some fleur de sel out for sprinkling on my margarita cake ball truffles.  What's a margarita without a little salt, right?  So I wanted to get that salt element into my cake balls, too.  And here's where Jenny's stroke of genius comes in - after dipping one of her chocolate cake balls in her chocolate coating and sprinkling on a few chocolate jimmies, she reached over into the fleur de sel and sprinkled it on top too.  Genius!  Why didn't I think of that?

One little taste of the new flavor, and we were hooked.  Okay ... maybe two little tastes ... you have to be sure, right?  If you love the classic combination of salt and chocolate, then believe me, you'll love these.

Side note - Just in case you're not familiar with fleur de sel, here's a little about it before we move on to the process of making cake pops and cake ball truffles.  I actually looked it up, because I figured I should tell you a little more than just "it's fancy salt."  So, according to Wikipedia, fleur de sel is a traditional French hand-harvested sea salt.  It's typically used as a finishing salt.  Because of it's high moisture content relative to other salts, it doesn't dissolve when sprinkled on moist foods, and therefore gives food a slight crunch and a slight shimmer.  (Click here if you'd like to read more at Wikipedia.)

Onto making cake pops and cake ball truffles!

The process for making both is pretty much the same ... except cake pops are on a stick, and cake ball truffles are not.  That's all.  And once you've got the process for these down, it's easy to mix it up with trying new flavors.  As I know most of you know, I absolutely cannot take an ounce of credit for the cake pop/cake ball concept or process, either.  We owe that to the ever-fabulous Bakerella!  To learn from the queen-of-cake-pops herself, click for her original video from her appearance on the Martha Stewart show or for Bakerella's site for all-things cake pops.

Here's my version of Bakerella's process ... starring my friend Jenny's hands!

Step 1: Start by making a sheet cake.  For our salted chocolate cake pops and truffles, we started with a yellow cake.  Use any yellow cake ... your favorite go-to homemade version or a box mix.  Whatever you prefer.

Step 2:  Crumble the cake up.  Yes, get your hands in there and turn that cake into a nice crumbly mess.  Jenny and I decided this was our favorite part.  It's like a baker's Play Doh!

Step 3:  Stir your frosting into your cake crumbs ... about 1 to 1 1/2 cups frosting for a 9x13" sheet cake.


Step 4:  Roll the frosting/cake crumb mixture into balls.  Chill the balls for about an hour in the refrigerator or for about 15 minutes in the freezer.  This will make it easier to dip them in the chocolate coating, coming up next.


If you're making cake pops ...

Step 5:  Melt your chocolate coating according to the package directions, typically in the microwave.  Dip a lollipop stick into the chocolate coating ...

... and insert the chocolate-dipped end of the stick about 1/2-way into a cake ball.   

This chocolate "cement" will (hopefully!) keep your cake ball from slipping off the stick when you dip it in the chocolate coating. Despite doing this, I still always end up with a few swimmers. Oh well, an excuse to taste-test, right?!?

Step 6:  Dunk a cake ball into the chocolate coating, gently pushing it straight down and then rocking it backwards once and forwards once.  You want to do this fairly quickly or you'll end up with way too much coating.  Don't stir the cake ball around in the coating ... it'll most likely fall off if you do.


Step 7:  Pull the cake ball out of the coating and let the excess drip off back into the bowl.  You can very, very gently tap your wrist to help with this process, if you'd like.


Step 8:  Immediately, while the coating is still "wet," sprinkle your cake pop with the decoration of your choice ... in our case, chocolate jimmies (or sprinkles ... whichever term you prefer!) and fleur de sel.

Step 9:  Place your cake pop into a styrofoam block, in which you've already punched some holes, to set up.



Step 10:  Eat and enjoy!!


If you'd rather make cake ball truffles, they'll look like this:

I'll be honest - I'd much rather make cake ball truffles than cake pops.  To me, truffles are sooooooo much less tedious.  Still a bit tedious, mind you, but much less so than the pops.  The stick is fun ... but it makes the dipping process more difficult and more time-consuming.  Just my opinion.

For cake ball truffles, follow the same process as above for cake pops through step 4.  Then ...

Step 5: (There are many ways to do this ... this is how I do it ... but experiment and find your own groove!)  Drop a cake ball into the chocolate coating.  Quickly, but gently, roll it around in the chocolate with a fork until it's coated.  Slide the fork under the coated cake ball and remove it from the coating, dragging the bottom of the fork along the rim of the bowl a little bit to remove some of the excess coating.

Step 6: Slide the coated cake ball off the fork onto waxed paper.


Step 7:  Before the coating sets, decorate with the sprinkling of your choice.


Step 8:  Give one (or two ... ) a bite!

And that's how you make cake pops and cake ball truffles!  When I'm in the mood to make these, I make a bunch and store them in the freezer.  Then I can take them out whenever and for whatever I like!


Salted Chocolate Cake Pops & Cake Ball Truffles
Source:  Concept & process adapted from Bakerella, flavor idea from my friend Jenny

Ingredients
1 baked 9x13" yellow cake
1 to 1 1/2 c. chocolate frosting, canned or make your own
1 (1 lb.) package dark chocolate candy melts
About 2 T. shortening
Chocolate sprinkles
Fleur de sel or course sea salt
Lollipop sticks (needed for pops, but not for truffles)


Directions
FOR CAKE BALL CENTERS:  
1.  Crumble cake into a large bowl, working it into small crumbs.  Add frosting and mix until well combined.  

2.  Shape into approximately 1" balls, using about 1 T. dough per ball; set aside on wax paper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour, or place in freezer for about 15 minutes.

TO DIP FOR CAKE POPS:  
3.  In a small deep bowl, melt candy melts and shortening together in the microwave per candy melt package directions (typically in 30 second intervals, stirring in between). 

4.  Dip a lollipop stick into the chocolate and insert it about half-way into a cake ball; let stand for a few seconds for the chocolate to harden. 

5.  Hold onto the lollipop stick and dunk the cake ball into the chocolate coating, gently pushing it straight down and then rocking it backwards once and forwards once. You want to do this fairly quickly or you'll end up with way too much coating. Don't stir the cake ball around in the coating.

6.  Pull the cake ball out of the coating and let the excess drip off back into the bowl, very gently tapping your wrist to help shake off excess chocolate.  Sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles and a bit of salt.  Place in a styrofoam block to dry.

 

TO DIP FOR TRUFFLES: 
7.  In a small deep bowl, melt candy melts and shortening together in the microwave per candy melt package directions (typically in 30 second intervals, stirring in between). Use a fork to dip each cookie dough ball in the candy coating, letting excess coating drip off back into the bowl. Place on wax paper.  Sprinkle with a few chocolate sprinkles and a bit of salt.  Let stand for chocolate coating to set up.

Enjoy!


This post is linked with Sweets for a Saturday hosted by Sweet As Sugar Cookies, Sweet Indulgences Sunday hosted by A Well-Seasoned Life, Tasty Tuesday hosted by For the Love of Blogs, Handmade Tuesdays hosted by Ladybug Blessings, Weekend Wrap Up Party hosted by Tatertots and Jello, Wow Me Wednesday hosted by Ginger Snaps, Sweet Treats Thursday hosted by Something Swanky, Savvy Homemade Monday hosted by Home Savvy A to Z, Creative Juice hosted by Momnivore's Dilemma, Cure for the Common Monday hosted by Lines Across My Face, and Tuesday Tutorials hosted by The Kurtz Corner, Tutorial Tips and Tidbits hosted by Stone Gable.

One word.  Delicious.  Maybe two words.  Totally amazing!  Well, perhaps three words.  Stroke of genius.  On my friend's part, not mine, that is.

These salted chocolate cake pops (and cake ball truffles) are my absolute favorite flavor of all the flavors I've made.  And I can't take one ounce of credit for them.  See, I have a friend, Jenny, who wanted to learn how to make cake pops and cake balls.  So we planned a day to get together and make that happen.  We decided to make four different flavors - red velvet, chocolate, mocha, and margarita (I'll post about the mocha and the margarita ones sometime soon!).

So how did simple chocolate cake pops turn into absolutely-to-die-for salted chocolate cake pops, you ask?  Well, I had some fleur de sel out for sprinkling on my margarita cake ball truffles.  What's a margarita without a little salt, right?  So I wanted to get that salt element into my cake balls, too.  And here's where Jenny's stroke of genius comes in - after dipping one of her chocolate cake balls in her chocolate coating and sprinkling on a few chocolate jimmies, she reached over into the fleur de sel and sprinkled it on top too.  Genius!  Why didn't I think of that?

One little taste of the new flavor, and we were hooked.  Okay ... maybe two little tastes ... you have to be sure, right?  If you love the classic combination of salt and chocolate, then believe me, you'll love these.

Side note - Just in case you're not familiar with fleur de sel, here's a little about it before we move on to the process of making cake pops and cake ball truffles.  I actually looked it up, because I figured I should tell you a little more than just "it's fancy salt."  So, according to Wikipedia, fleur de sel is a traditional French hand-harvested sea salt.  It's typically used as a finishing salt.  Because of it's high moisture content relative to other salts, it doesn't dissolve when sprinkled on moist foods, and therefore gives food a slight crunch and a slight shimmer.  (Click here if you'd like to read more at Wikipedia.)

Onto making cake pops and cake ball truffles!

The process for making both is pretty much the same ... except cake pops are on a stick, and cake ball truffles are not.  That's all.  And once you've got the process for these down, it's easy to mix it up with trying new flavors.  As I know most of you know, I absolutely cannot take an ounce of credit for the cake pop/cake ball concept or process, either.  We owe that to the ever-fabulous Bakerella!  To learn from the queen-of-cake-pops herself, click for her original video from her appearance on the Martha Stewart show or for Bakerella's site for all-things cake pops.

Here's my version of Bakerella's process ... starring my friend Jenny's hands!

Step 1: Start by making a sheet cake.  For our salted chocolate cake pops and truffles, we started with a yellow cake.  Use any yellow cake ... your favorite go-to homemade version or a box mix.  Whatever you prefer.

Step 2:  Crumble the cake up.  Yes, get your hands in there and turn that cake into a nice crumbly mess.  Jenny and I decided this was our favorite part.  It's like a baker's Play Doh!

Step 3:  Stir your frosting into your cake crumbs ... about 1 to 1 1/2 cups frosting for a 9x13" sheet cake.


Step 4:  Roll the frosting/cake crumb mixture into balls.  Chill the balls for about an hour in the refrigerator or for about 15 minutes in the freezer.  This will make it easier to dip them in the chocolate coating, coming up next.


If you're making cake pops ...

Step 5:  Melt your chocolate coating according to the package directions, typically in the microwave.  Dip a lollipop stick into the chocolate coating ...

... and insert the chocolate-dipped end of the stick about 1/2-way into a cake ball.   

This chocolate "cement" will (hopefully!) keep your cake ball from slipping off the stick when you dip it in the chocolate coating. Despite doing this, I still always end up with a few swimmers. Oh well, an excuse to taste-test, right?!?

Step 6:  Dunk a cake ball into the chocolate coating, gently pushing it straight down and then rocking it backwards once and forwards once.  You want to do this fairly quickly or you'll end up with way too much coating.  Don't stir the cake ball around in the coating ... it'll most likely fall off if you do.


Step 7:  Pull the cake ball out of the coating and let the excess drip off back into the bowl.  You can very, very gently tap your wrist to help with this process, if you'd like.


Step 8:  Immediately, while the coating is still "wet," sprinkle your cake pop with the decoration of your choice ... in our case, chocolate jimmies (or sprinkles ... whichever term you prefer!) and fleur de sel.

Step 9:  Place your cake pop into a styrofoam block, in which you've already punched some holes, to set up.



Step 10:  Eat and enjoy!!


If you'd rather make cake ball truffles, they'll look like this:

I'll be honest - I'd much rather make cake ball truffles than cake pops.  To me, truffles are sooooooo much less tedious.  Still a bit tedious, mind you, but much less so than the pops.  The stick is fun ... but it makes the dipping process more difficult and more time-consuming.  Just my opinion.

For cake ball truffles, follow the same process as above for cake pops through step 4.  Then ...

Step 5: (There are many ways to do this ... this is how I do it ... but experiment and find your own groove!)  Drop a cake ball into the chocolate coating.  Quickly, but gently, roll it around in the chocolate with a fork until it's coated.  Slide the fork under the coated cake ball and remove it from the coating, dragging the bottom of the fork along the rim of the bowl a little bit to remove some of the excess coating.

Step 6: Slide the coated cake ball off the fork onto waxed paper.


Step 7:  Before the coating sets, decorate with the sprinkling of your choice.


Step 8:  Give one (or two ... ) a bite!

And that's how you make cake pops and cake ball truffles!  When I'm in the mood to make these, I make a bunch and store them in the freezer.  Then I can take them out whenever and for whatever I like!


Salted Chocolate Cake Pops & Cake Ball Truffles
Source:  Concept & process adapted from Bakerella, flavor idea from my friend Jenny

Ingredients
1 baked 9x13" yellow cake
1 to 1 1/2 c. chocolate frosting, canned or make your own
1 (1 lb.) package dark chocolate candy melts
About 2 T. shortening
Chocolate sprinkles
Fleur de sel or course sea salt
Lollipop sticks (needed for pops, but not for truffles)


Directions
FOR CAKE BALL CENTERS:  
1.  Crumble cake into a large bowl, working it into small crumbs.  Add frosting and mix until well combined.  

2.  Shape into approximately 1" balls, using about 1 T. dough per ball; set aside on wax paper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour, or place in freezer for about 15 minutes.

TO DIP FOR CAKE POPS:  
3.  In a small deep bowl, melt candy melts and shortening together in the microwave per candy melt package directions (typically in 30 second intervals, stirring in between). 

4.  Dip a lollipop stick into the chocolate and insert it about half-way into a cake ball; let stand for a few seconds for the chocolate to harden. 

5.  Hold onto the lollipop stick and dunk the cake ball into the chocolate coating, gently pushing it straight down and then rocking it backwards once and forwards once. You want to do this fairly quickly or you'll end up with way too much coating. Don't stir the cake ball around in the coating.

6.  Pull the cake ball out of the coating and let the excess drip off back into the bowl, very gently tapping your wrist to help shake off excess chocolate.  Sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles and a bit of salt.  Place in a styrofoam block to dry.

 

TO DIP FOR TRUFFLES: 
7.  In a small deep bowl, melt candy melts and shortening together in the microwave per candy melt package directions (typically in 30 second intervals, stirring in between). Use a fork to dip each cookie dough ball in the candy coating, letting excess coating drip off back into the bowl. Place on wax paper.  Sprinkle with a few chocolate sprinkles and a bit of salt.  Let stand for chocolate coating to set up.

Enjoy!


This post is linked with Sweets for a Saturday hosted by Sweet As Sugar Cookies, Sweet Indulgences Sunday hosted by A Well-Seasoned Life, Tasty Tuesday hosted by For the Love of Blogs, Handmade Tuesdays hosted by Ladybug Blessings, Weekend Wrap Up Party hosted by Tatertots and Jello, Wow Me Wednesday hosted by Ginger Snaps, Sweet Treats Thursday hosted by Something Swanky, Savvy Homemade Monday hosted by Home Savvy A to Z, Creative Juice hosted by Momnivore's Dilemma, Cure for the Common Monday hosted by Lines Across My Face, and Tuesday Tutorials hosted by The Kurtz Corner, Tutorial Tips and Tidbits hosted by Stone Gable.
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