Pictures from that chocolates class. That class actually involved no baking, but I still found the stuff really interesting. I want to visit Taza Chocolate now, (even though it’s a totally different process) and learn some more chocolate related stuff. I’m actually not crazy about chocolate, but it’s such a different process, so I’m intrigued.
It’s been over a month since I took the class, so I don’t have much else to say at this point, but I wanted to share some pictures anyway.
Oo oo oo! I forgot to say what kind of cake I made in my class last weekend. It was a margarita cake! When class starts, we usually get a small packet of recipes and then the instructor/chef sometimes does a demo and talks about some techniques we might use during that class. And following my baking class last weekend, I was going to a bridal shower and bachelorette party for my dear friend Laura. Her and Will (another great pal… I take credit for introducing them) are getting married on Cinco de Mayo, and a margarita cake could not have been more perfect.
Pictured: (top) I brought the cakes to the bridal shower and they were a hit! (below) As part of the evening festivities, we went to The Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant in Boston and dipped yummy bites in fancy chocolates. The bride to be is sporting a fantastic sombrero.
Advanced Techniques in Baking, Week 2: Meringues
Above you see an inside-out Almond Joy ice cream sandwich. A coconut cookie with a chocolate almond ice cream, with pieces of almond, chocolate dust and feuilletine crumbs on the outside. I MADE ICE CREAM, for the very first time! it was super cool!
I didn’t even know what a meringue was before this class. Like, I had no idea what we would be making, or what it would look like in the end. I’m still not entirely sure what it is, but I do know that it has to do with a combination of egg whites and sugar and it takes many forms and there’s a lot you can do with it.
I’d like to say this is my own recipe, but it’s not, really… but I changed a significant about of things, tried things I wasn’t certain of and am happy with the the results thus far. A lot of credit has to go to Two Peas & Their Pod, for the Chocolate Nutella Recipe they posted. I actually think I made their Nutella cookies a while back, but can’t find the post at the present moment. I bought some Cocoa Almond Spread at Trader Joe’s recently (it’s very yummy) and thought I’d put it in a cookie.. so I went with it.
Anyway.. here’s my adapted recipe for the cookies I made:
Ingredients (makes about 16ish 3” cookies)
Directions
1. Whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and cocoa, set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and sugars. Beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about two minutes. Add the vanilla and almond extract and beat until extracts disappear. Add the chocolate almond spread and mix until batter is smooth.
2. Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the soy milk, mixing well. Chill dough for at least 15 minutes before baking.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Take a tablespoon (I used one of my ice cream/cookie scoops) of cookie dough and roll it into a ball. Place on lined baking sheets and gently press down on the dough ball. Leave about 2” between the cookies. Lightly push in the almond slices (I tried a couple of different things, but I like the ones that looked like sand dollars the most).
4. Bake cookies for 15-18 minutes or until soft, but starting to set. Remove cookies from the oven and let cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
I want to experiment with them some more… maybe adding eggs, making thumbprint cookies with the cocoa almond spread in the middle, making them vegan (they’re almost there already). I’ll be sure to share the process!
Sidenote: I used baking soda in this recipe (instead of baking powder like in the Nutella cookies) because I didn’t have Dutch process cocoa… it’s science related, and I think I made the right decision, and that, I am proud of. Yay me!
These are the cookies I made the other day. I am calling them chocolate almond sand-dollars.
I don’t have a lot of time lately for baking, and even less for blogging, but they are things that I like doing, and that I feel like I need in my life (the baking more than the blogging, but I do enjoy this outlet as a way to share and process). However, sometimes I forget I’m supposed to be prepping for school on a Wednesday evening, so that I can start a new project with my students the next day, and I choose to bake. These cookies were a bit of an experiment, but I thought they turned out quite well (as did friends of mine, and friends of theirs). Recipe to follow soon.
Earlier this week I made a bajillion peanut butter hershey kiss cookies. I also made a bunch of peanut butter and jelly cookies but didn’t take a picture of them.
Cupcakes and cookies, ohmy!
Monday (one week ago, not today) was my biggest night of baking. I made the cookies and the cupcakes and the frosting, kind of all at once. I was worried I was going to mix something up, or forget something was in the oven, but I didn’t Also, dinner was being made at the same time so the kitchen was full of brussel sprouts and salmon patties and rice and sugar and flour and more!
I made chocolate sour cream cupcakes with a Nutella buttercream frosting. If these cupcakes sound familiar, it’s because I’ve made them before, only this time I made up the frosting and didn’t fill the cupcakes with Nutella. I had a lot of batter left over after filling my regular-sized cupcake pans but didn’t have any mini cupcake liners (what a predicament.. right?!) Don’t worry, I solved this problem by spraying Pam into the mini pans and made cupcake nuggets. It was such a perfect, all-in-one-bite, sweet.
Also, I made oatmeal raisin cookies for one of my bestest bestie’s, Taylor. Her birthday was last Thursday and if I can find the picture, I sent her a birthday package… Because, sometimes I get my act together in time to do things like that.
Enjoying our Poopycakes.
Hey friends! we got two (not-so) predicaments on our hands!
1. We got a bunch of cupcakes left over and they need bellies to fill (we can’t eat them ALL) any takers?
2. After frosting our cupcakes there’s enough left over for about another dozen cupcakes and it’s really good and really sweet. Any ideas of another cake to make to top off with the Nutella buttercream?
Cupcake making during Camp Cora.
Yesterday Lena helped me check something off my vacation baking list, a cupcake I’ve never made before. We made quite a mess but sure had a lot of fun. We made a chocolate sour cream cupcake (new to me… I’ve actually only made a chocolate based cupcake once or twice), put a little Nutella in the center (middle-right picture)… it kind of worked (never put anything inside a cupcake post-baking before) and we topped it off with a Nutella buttercream frosting which we added mini chocolate sprinkles to (also a first). For the frosting we loosely followed this recipe (credit to My Baking Addiction), but played most of it by taste and texture. I didn’t put a tip on the pastry bag, which I haven’t tried before, but we went to town decorating them.
The cupcakes actually fell in after they came out of the oven, which I know could be do to a number of reasons, at first I was very sad, because I shouldn’t be doing that anymore, but then I got over it because it was a first time trying these cupcakes and also I knew they were going to taste great and I was baking with my niece, so everything was wonderful.
We’re calling them Poopycakes because we’re obviously both 12, but don’t let the name fool you… they taste like heaven.
Peanut Butter Hershey Kiss, Dolly Partons, or whatever you may call them, these cookies are definitely in my top 3 favorite cookies.
When I’m walking around CVS or a grocery store and Kisses are on sale, I like to buy them so I’ve got some in the cupboard to make these cookies (and also for snacking or a quick chocolate fix). I’ve made them quite a few times, and even posted the recipe (you can see it here!). They’re a never-fail, delicious treat for those who love that glorious combo.
One of the keys to these cookies is rolling the dough in sugar before they bake (pictured above). I found a good, large-crystal sugar that I keep around solely for these cookies (I’m sure they’d be good for other things too, it just doesn’t come up all that much). Also I like to use caramel Kisses as well as regular for an occasional surprise and different texture when you bite into the cookie.
I could eat ALL of these. Good thing pals around me like them too, because they’re all gone in a short while.
I actually made these last week, for birthdays and end of the semester celebration, but I’m on vacation (more on that, soon) and haven’t been around my computer much until just now.
Adventures (and misadventures) in the kitchen from a novice baker.
