Olympics and Daring Bakers' Challenge: Crackers!

So, all the buzz lately has been about the Olympics.  And, understandably so!  I've been counting the days since January!  I remember watching as a kid, and loving it (I think it was only every 4 years back then), but when I moved out on my own, and had nothing better to do than sit on the couch for hours on end, is when I truly started to appreciate it.  Then of course, 4 years ago, watching the infamous Michael Phelps do what no other human has accomplished before....well, that's just good stuff!  Every time my soon-to-be 5 year old son watches, he says "That's me!", whenever someone wins.  Of course, he also thinks he's an Autobot.  Uhh...yeah.

Ok, on to crackers.  This month's challenge was to do 2 different types of crackers, 2 different ways.  I don't have a pasta roller attachment for my mixer, so my options were a bit limited.  I've had this Rosemary Sea Salt cracker on my pinterest to do list for a while now, so this seemed like the perfect time.

Rosemary Sea Salt Crackers
from Pastry Affair

I did not alter the recipe, except for maybe the cooking time.  Mine seemed to cook in less time.  It was a beautiful dough to work with.  It came together nicely, and wasn't sticky or too dry.  Just perfect.  The recipe called for large grain sea salt, but all I had was finely ground.  They were still tasty.

For my second cracker, I decided to do a graham cracker.  I chose Alton Brown's recipe, because, hello....it's Alton.  Need I say more?  That being said, I was thoroughly disappointed with the recipe.  Everything from the taste to the instructions, and to the end product.  This is not something I would repeat.  Ever.

Graham Crackers
adapted slightly from Alton Brown

The only change I made to the recipe was to sub wheat flour, for white.

The recipe calls for ingredients in weight, not volume, so here I am, weighing out my ingredients.  I know they say it's more accurate that way, but seeing as how the recipe was a dud, I'm having my doubts.  I decided to shape the dough into a log, and use the slice and bake method.  I'm not sure if this was my downfall, or if it was using the wheat flour, but it did not turn out well.  The recipe says to bake for 25 min, but mine were burnt to a crisp after that.  I tried again, for 10 min, and they turned out ok.  But, the dough was so coarse and didn't really taste the way a normal graham cracker tastes.  Of course, I'm just going by the store bought taste/texture, but those store bought ones are pretty darn good!  Anyhoo, here they are.  Mission complete, if not totally successful.

Magic Mike and Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Let's talk movies.  I love movies!  I get to escape the real world for a couple of hours and be entertained at the same time.  It's a win/win!  I love comedies, action, drama, sci-fi, romance...eh, not so much on that one, but most anything that isn't a horror movie, and I'm there.  I even saw The Artist, which is a silent film, and loved it. 

 So, as any red blooded American woman would do, I happily plunked down my hard earned money to watch Matthew McConaughey and Channing Tatum strip down in Magic Mike.  (Ok, so I wanted to see Joe Manganiello too.)  I was expecting to see hot ass, and that's what I got!  Unfortunately, that was all I got.  Now, I like a good strip tease as much as the next girl (and, I can TOTALLY see Tatum stripping in his former profession...he is extremely good at it, and perhaps should consider going back to it), but...as in all relationships, I was kind of hoping for a little more.  Maybe an actual plot that didn't suck?   Obviously, I was asking too much.  <sigh>

Also, as in relationships, when you're disappointed in one area, chocolate is always a comforting friend to turn to.  These chocolate covered strawberries rock.  I didn't really use a recipe.  I just kinda winged it.  Here's what I did.

First, I washed and dried these beautiful summer berries.  Delish by themselves, but everything is better with chocolate!  While these were drying, I heated up the chocolate.  You can use a double broiler or the microwave.  Be very careful with the microwave though, or it will cook your chocolate.  I used probably half bittersweet chocolate, and half semi-sweet. 

Once that was melted and the strawberries were dry, I was ready for dipping!  At first I tried sticking toothpicks into the strawberries, then after dipping, I stuck them in an upside down colander to dry.  That way, they wouldn't get that flat side on one side of the chocolate.  But, after doing a few, I decided to heck with it.  They were going to be on a platter anyway!  It's totally up to you.

After the chocolate was dry, I heated up some white chocolate to drizzle over the top.  I used a parchment cone to do this, but you could easily use a spoon, piping bag or bottle.  Whatever you prefer.

A few things to remember.  These are best made the day of your event/snacking.  After a while, the strawberries start to leak their juices, which in turn makes the chocolate a little juicy.  Still good eats, but not as pretty.  Also, WAIT for Magic Mike to come out on Blu-Ray/DVD.  Then, you can just watch the first 30 min of the movie and not torture yourself with the rest of it.

Happy eating!

Daring Bakers' Challenge: Battenburg Cake

On to my second Daring Bakers' Challenge!  Ok, ok....I know it's been a month since I last posted, and I'm sorry.  I've been busy, what can I say?  Also, I know this post is a day late for the challenge....and again, I'mreallysorry.  Forgive and forget?  <whew>  Ok, good.  I'm glad that's not hanging between us anymore.

So, this month's challenge (pretend it's still June) was Battenburg Cake, which is something I had never heard of.  At first, I was a little daunted by the challenge, thinking back to those checkerboard cakes that were so popular in the 90's, but after reading through the instructions, I thought the best approach would be to jump in with both feet.

The variations on Battenburg cake are seemingly endless.  You can do just about anything!  Which, also makes it harder to narrow the choices down.  With the upcoming 4th of July holiday approaching though, I wanted to do something red and blue, with the outer white(ish) marzipan.  Very festive, I thought.  I started with the basic recipe that was given on the Daring Bakers' website.

Battenburg Cake
Adapted slightly from Mary Berry's "Baking Bible"

I added chopped fresh cherries to the red batter (with some red coloring), and chopped fresh blueberries (with some blue coloring) to the blue.  I had hoped that the fruit would color the batter enough not to use artificial colorings, but no luck.  Oh well.

Making the cakes was pretty easy. I used a strawberry/blackberry jam that I had made earlier this month to hold them together.  What I found the most difficult, was the marzipan.  I've never worked with it before, and found it a little dry. Let's just say, I did the best I could.  =)

Anyway, this month's challenge probably isn't something I'd do again.  At least, not until I get a little more experience with marzipan, but it was fun to do once.

Hope you enjoy!

Daring Bakers' Challenge: Challah

Daring Bakers' Challenge:  Challah!

This is my first Daring Bakers' Challenge.  I have made Challah before, but not this particular recipe.  And, of course, I had to tweak it a bit (don't all bakers do this?).  So, let's just jump right in!

 I used a bread machine to mix everything and do the kneading for me.  Honestly, who wants to stand around and do that all day?  Anyhoo.....the original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups of raisins, but I wanted to mix in a couple of other things too.  I hope that's still in keeping with the kosherness of Challah.  My apologies if it's not.  So, I added about 3/4 cups of raisins and 3/4 cups of dried cranberries.  I also threw in about 1/4 cup of chopped pecans, just because they had been sitting on my counter, giving me the evil eye for about 2 weeks now.

Ok, so wet ingredients, dry ingredients, and away we go!  An hour and a half later, voila!

I did actually knead in the cranberries, nuts and raisins by hand.  Give me some credit!

 For shaping, I used the spiral method, instead of braiding, just to save time.

It was a beautiful dough to work with.  Very smooth, and not sticky in the slightest.  It reminded me of the German bread Stollen, which I often make at Christmas.  But, unlike Stollen, Challah is not as time consuming, and still very tasty!

I hope everyone enjoys my variation, and I look forward to next month's challenge!

I just looked up from my desk, and noticed it's raining.  Like, really raining.  And, my windows are down.  Great.  That pretty much sums up my life.

On to better things.  Let's talk granola.  I have found, that a cup of vanilla yogurt (choose your preference) with granola will tide me over until lunch.  And, it's delicious!  And, mostly healthy!...depending upon what you put into your granola.  I am always looking for shortcuts in the kitchen (and out, let's face it), but I don't want to eat processed or fast food.  So, every month or so, I'll whip up a batch of homemade granola, and voila, instant breakfast!  Here is the basic recipe I use.

Trail Mix Granola
adapted from Home Made Simple

3 c. organic old-fashioned oats (I use steel cut, from Bob's Red Mill)
1/4 c. organic coconut oil
1/4 c. organic agave nectar
1/8 c. organic brown sugar
1 t. organic vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. organic cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. add-ins, like dried fruit, nuts, coconut, seeds, etc.

Preheat oven to 325F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk together oil, nectar, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt.  Pour over oats and toss well.

Spread mixture on prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown, stirring every 5 minutes.  Let cool completely, then transfer to a large mixing bowl and stir in add-ins.

Divide evenly into re-sealable bags or store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

(Disclaimer:  You might notice from the pictures, that I baked the fruit with the granola.  I would NOT recommend that.  It tends to get a bit hard.  And, by hard, I mean burnt.  FYI.)


Easy peasy.  I love the versatility of this recipe.  Of course, I adapted the original recipe to sub coconut oil for canola, and agave nectar for honey.  It also called for 1/4 c. of brown sugar, which made it WAY too sweet, especially if you're trying to lower your sugar intake.  So, I  halved the sugar, although I still think it's a little sweet.  But, if you, like me, are putting this over yogurt, then you might want it a little sweeter if your yogurt is on the tart side.  It wasn't until about 5 or 6 years ago that I actually started liking yogurt.  So, comparitively, it's still a new food for me. 

As for the add-ins, here's where you can really have some fun.  Just use whatever you have on hand!  I had cherries, sunflower seeds, unsweetened coconut and chopped almonds.  But, if you want to make it a little more appealing for the kiddos, throw in some M&M's, or maybe mini chocolate chips.  Give it a try.  You'll never go back to store bought granola again, I promise.

Sourdough Bread

Several of the wonderful blogs I subscribe to (and eagerly read every day) have been posting about sourdough.  Sourdough starters, sourdough bread, sourdough pancakes...the list is endless.  Having tried a starter in the past and failed miserably, you can understand my reluctance to try again.  But, as the old adage goes, if at first you don't succeed, bla blah blah.  So, I did.  And, although it's only been a week, I have to say, since it hasn't turned into an awful, growing blob like the last attempt, I consider it a success!  Yay for me!

I used King Arthur Flour's starter recipe.  It was very simple, with no hard to find ingredients.  After about a week of stiring it once a day (ok, I forgot one day), at the end of the week, I had a bubbly, albeit smelly starter!  I used a cup of starter and made a wonderful sourdough bread.  This particular recipe does require a bit of planning, seeing as it needs to rest overnight, but I found it was worth the wait.

I've been using the bread for some delicious sandwiches.  Whole grain mustard/mayo combo, with cucumber, fresh tomato, lettuce and smoked turkey....so good!  (Pardon the pictures, they were taken at work.)

(Ok, so this particular sandwich has smooth swiss cheese and crunchy green pepper, instead of turkey.  What can I say, I forgot I was out of turkey at work!)

Tonight, I'll be making this lemon dill avocado spread to go with my sandwiches, in lieu of the mayo.  I can't wait! Having a fresh sandwich always reminds me of visiting my grandparents' in Michigan.  Whenever we would come to visit, it was like they couldn't think of anything else to buy, so they would stock up on wonderful deli meats and fresh cheeses, so that we would at least have something.  In hindsight, they probably just didn't want to cook anything, but the memory is still sweet.

Dad's Malted Milk Cake

My dad's favorite candy is malted milk balls.  So, while struggling to find a suitable cake for my dad's birthday this past weekend, I remembered seeing something about a malted milk cake.  Perfect.

Here is the recipe I used:

Chocolate Malt Cake
adapted from the Baking Pan

Batter:

2¼ cups all-purpose flour

1¼ cups sugar

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1½ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup milk (preferably whole milk)

1 cup malted milk powder (I doubled this amount)

1 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Malt Frosting:

1 cup unsweetened butter, room temperature

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

¾ cup whipping (heavy) cream

½ cup malted milk powder (again, I doubled)

5 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar

Garnish:

Malted Milk Balls, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare three 9-inch round layer cake pans; lightly grease the pans with shortening and dust with flour. Tip: to make baked cake easier to remove from pan, lightly grease the pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, and then lightly grease the top of the parchment paper and dust the pan with flour.
   
   Batter:
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; sift or whisk together to mix. Set aside.
   
   
3. In a small bowl, combine milk and malted milk powder, stirring to dissolve.
   
   
4. Add milk mixture, vegetable oil, and eggs to flour mixture; use an electric mixer or wooden spoon and beat until smooth. Add sour cream and vanilla; beat just until mixture is combined.
   
   Bake:
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the surface with the back of a large spoon. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until a long toothpick, wooden skewer, or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and place pans on a wire cooling rack to cool for 10 to 15 minutes then remove cake from the pans and place the cake on the wire cooling rack to finish cooling.
   

Chocolate Malt Frosting:

6. In a large bowl, beat butter and cocoa powder until creamy.
   
   
7. In a small bowl, combine whipping cream and malted milk powder, stirring to dissolve. Add cream mixture to butter mixture, use an electric hand mixer or wooden spoon and beat until combined. Gradually beat in confectioner’s sugar until smooth. Use an offset spatula to spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake.
   
   Garnish:
8. Optional: Garnish with malted milk balls

I really wanted the malt flavor to shine through, since it is my dad's favorite.  However, after having made this, even though I doubled the amount of malt in the cake batter, you could hardly taste it.  The cake was certainly moist, but you could definitely use your go-to chocolate cake recipe, or a box mix, if you like. Instead, I would focus more on the frosting flavor.  There is where the maltiness really came through.  It was a bit grainy though, so I would recommend dissolving the malt powder in the cream or milk before mixing it in with the other ingredients.

I also decided to use crushed malt balls on the outside of the cake.  (1) So that I didn't have to make the outer frosting look that pretty, and (2) because I wanted an even greater malt flavor.  Also, it looks nice.  At least, I think so.

Overall, I think the cake was a success, however there is room for improvement.  Always.