All Aboard!

A cake made for the train park! This was a marble cake with classic buttercream, and some skittles in the back for the birthday girl! The rocks were little edible candies from the local cake supply store.

Kids love to snack from the caboose until it's time to cut the cake :)

After I was finished, a certain someone snuck into the kitchen and took the left over icing off the counter... she was very quiet and suuuuper sneaky!

Chocolate Bread Pudding!

Oh my! This one is for chocolate lovers! This recipe is from Cuisine at Home. It is very rich and very moist. Don't let the words "bread pudding" scare you away; it is delicious! I drizzled chocolate sauce over it and topped it with whipped cream and raspberries. Vanilla ice cream is great with it also. However it is wonderful without anything; it stands very well on its own!

Thick Texas Toast gives the cake just the right texture.

Here it is, so "chocolatey" and ready to go into the oven.

And there you have it!

Chocolate Bread Pudding- Cuisine at Home

Melt-

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (12 oz.)

1 cup brown sugar

1 stick unsalted butter, cubed

Whisk Together; Pour Over-

2 cups whole or 2 % milk

3 eggs

2 T. vanilla extract

2 t. instant espresso powder

1/2 t. table salt

13 slices Texas toast, staled and cut into 1" cubes ( I didn't have staled bread so I toasted the bread lightly in the toaster oven)

Fold in-

Chocolate mixture

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; coat a 9" springform pan with 1 T. softened unsalted butter.

Melt chocolate chips with the sugar and butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir frequently until chips are smooth, about 8 minutes.

Whisk milk, eggs, vanilla, espresso, and salt together and pour over bread cubes. Toss well so the bread absorbs most of the liquid and begins to lose its shape.

Fold the melted chocolate into the bread mixture, then transfer to the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour, or until the center springs back when gently pressed. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes, remove the sides of the pan, and slice.

Halloween!

This is by far my favorite party of the year! I have so much fun with it! To start the party off right I made a lot of cupcakes! The mini ones are my favorite because you can sample a few and still have room for more :)

Mmmmm... Candy Corn! In the backround are spooky ghost cupcakes, looking very smug.

Classic sugar cookies! This recipe is handed down from my mom and is a family favorite.

To make the spider web icing I covered the cookie with orange icing and then piped  winding circles of chocolate icing. After that, I drew a toothpick from the center to the edge of the cookie repeatedly.

These are the "shrunken heads" getting ready to soak in apple cider, lemonade, and spiced rum. The rum really completes the cider, delicious! They are Granny Smith Apples that are cut in half and baked at 250 degrees for about an hour and a half. I then raised the temp to 350 degrees for about 5 minutes to brown them a little bit. After baking use whole cloves for their eyes. I saw this idea on Martha Stewart last year.

They seem to have mixed emotions about being plopped into hot cider ;)

Here they are, super spooky!

A collection of favorite candies to top off the sweets!

For dinner we had bruschetta with goat cheese, carmelized onions, steak and roasted sweet peppers. We also had homemade macaroni and cheese with gruyere, and pumpkin soup with sour cream garnish.

The garnish is made the same way as the sugar cookies. With everything ready, it is time for the guests to arrive!

We had a tough costume contest this year, complete with an awards ceremony!

And the Oscar goes to...

"Dancing with the Stars!"

"Wheel of Fortune" took the silver!

Spooooky decorations are my favorite and the kids love them!

That's all folks!

Sugar Cookies-

3/4 C. Butter
1 C. Sugar
2 Eggs
1/2 tsp. Lemon Extract
2 1/2 C. Flour
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Salt

Mix butter, sugar, eggs, and flavoring thoroughly. Measure flour by dipping or sifting. Stir flour, baking powder, and salt together; blend in. Chill at least 1 hour. Roll, cut and bake at 400 degrees. Bake for 6-8 minutes.

Sugar Cookie Icing-

2 C. Sifted Powdered Sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Vanilla
3 T. Cream (add more or less to desired consistency)

Blend sugar, salt, and vanilla. Add cream to make it easy to spread. Tint with a few drops of food coloring. Spread on cookies.

No Bake Birthday Cake!

 My little Bella is allergic to wheat flour so I made her cake out of Rice Krispy Treats. I just made them and pressed them firmly into the buttered clown pan, what a time saver!

Poppie and Bella are birthday buddies :)

Another great party, they sure had fun!

It's All About the Lemon!

 I never quite understood why people liked lemon sweets, but something happened in the past couple of years and my taste buds have been awoken! I love lemon desserts! These are lemon bars from Baking Illustrated. I like the crust very much; I let it brown a few extra minutes so that it resembles a cookie crust and does not get soggy. Delicious!

Here is the recipe... Enjoy!

Lemon Bars-

Crust-

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more to decorate the finished bars

1/2 tsp. salt

8 T. ( 1 stick ) unsalted butter, softened but still cool, cut into 1-inch pieces

Lemon Filling-

7 large egg yolks, plus 2 large eggs

1 cup plus 2 T. granulated sugar

2/3 cup juice from 4 or 5 medium lemons, plus 1/4 cup finely grated zest

Pinch of salt

4 T. ( 1/2 ) stick unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

3 T. heavy cream

1. For the Crust: Spray a 9-inch square baking pan ( I used an 8-inch square baking pan ) with nonstick cooking spray. Fold two 16-inch pieces of foil or parchment paper lengthwise to measure 9 inches wide. Push the paper into the corners and up the sides of the pan (overhang will help in removal of baked bars). Fit the second sheet in the pan in the same manner, perpendicular to the first sheet. Spray the sheets with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Place the flour, confectioners' sugar, and salt in a food processor and process briefly. Add the butter and process to blend, 8 to 10 seconds, then process until the mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal, about three 1-second pulses. Sprinkle the mixture into the prepared pan and press firmly with your fingers into an even layer over the entire pan bottom. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. ( I forgot this part and it seemed to turn out fine. )

3. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the crust until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

4. For the Filling: In a medium nonreactive bowl, whisk together the yolks and whole eggs until combined, about 5 seconds. Add the granulated sugar and whisk until just combined, about 5 seconds. Add the lemon juice, zest, and salt; whisk until combined, about 5 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a medium nonreactive saucepan, add the butter pieces, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the curd thickens to a thick sauce-like consistency and registers 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 5 minutes ( took longer for me ). Immediately pour the curd through a single-mesh stainless steel strainer set over a clean nonreactive bowl. Stir in the heavy cream; pour the curd into the warm crust immediately.

5. Bake until the filling is shiny and opaque and the center 3 inches jiggle slightly when shaken, 10-15 minutes ( longer for me ). Cool on a wire rack to room temperature, about 45 minutes. Remove the bars from the pan using the foil or parchment handles and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into the shape you would like, wiping the knife clean between cuts as necessary. Sieve confectioners' sugar over the bars, if desired.

Blueberry Crumb Cake!

This is a classic tasting coffee cake from Barefoot Contessa, perfect for a nice Sunday brunch. I think it would taste really good with raspberries too!

Ingredients-

For the Streusel:

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 lb. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

For the Cake:

6 T. unsalted butter, at room temperature (3/4 stick)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest

2/3 cup sour cream

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 cup fresh blueberries (I used frozen)

Confectioners sugar for sprinkling

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.

For the Streusel:

Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. Mix well and set aside.

For the Cake:

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed for 4 or 5 minutes, until light. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Fold in the blueberries and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife. With your fingers, crumble the topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, unitl a tooth pick comes out clean. Cool completely and serve sprinkled with confectioners' sugar. ( I forgot to do this part. )

Zeppole!

Zeppole are like little Italian donuts, but a little lighter and fluffier. This recipe is from Giada De Laurentiis. To say they all didn't turn out beautiful...

is...

an UNDERSTATEMENT! These were the first ones to make it out of the pot, and aren't they beauties?! :)

This recipe just didn't seem to work out the way it was written, so I lowered the temperature of the oil and added flour... let's just forget this ever happened and go back to the pretty ones...

 much better! The zeppole are fried in a pot of very hot oil...

which makes me a little nervous! But I was prepared and luckily the fire extinguisher was not necessary.

There they are getting nice and toasty. Once I removed the zeppole from the oil I tossed them in orange sugar which goes very well with dark chocolate.

All you need to do is put orange zest and sugar in a food processor and blend. You can do this with lemon, lime, or you could get really fancy with vanilla bean and lavender. You can add these mixes to cookies or a cup of tea too.

And there you have 'em!

Ingredients-
Orange Zeppole
1 stick of butter
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1 T. orange zest
vegetable oil for frying

Orange Sugar
1 T. orange zest
1/2 cup sugar

Chocolate Sauce
3/4 cup cream
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions- ( I had better success by adding a little more flour. The less flour you add the lighter they will be. I also kept the temperature at 300 degrees so that they did not burn too quickly. )

In a medium saucepan combine the butter, salt, sugar, and water over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the flour. Return the pan to low heat and stir continuously until the mixture forms a ball, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Using an electric hand mixer on low speed, add eggs, 1 at a time, incorporating each egg completely before adding the next. Add the orange zest and beat until smooth. Set aside.

For the organge sugar- place the orange zest and sugar in a food processor. Pulse the machine until the mixture is blended. Put the sugar in a small bowl.

Pour enough oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees. (Too hot from my experience.)

Using a small ice-cream scoop or 2 small spoons, carefully drop about a tablespoon of the dough into the hot oil. Turn the zeppole once or twice, cooking until golden and puffed up, about 5 minutes. Transfer the cooked zeppole to the dish with the Orange Sugar. Roll to coat in the sugar. Continue frying the remaining dough.

For the Chocolate Sauce- Heat the cream in a small saucepan until hot but not boiling. Pour cream over the chocolate and stir until the mixture is smooth. Transfer the Chocolate Sauce into a dipping dish. Serve alongside the zeppole.