hello dollies

So as a treat since I’ve been mega MIA lately, I have decided to share my secret hello dolly recipe with you.  It’s an instant classic and quick to make.

Here’s what you need:

• 1 cup melted butter
• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 1/4 cups coconut
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk

First pour the melted butter in the bottom of a 9 inch x 13 inch pan, then spread the graham cracker crumbs on top.  Press the crumbs into the pan so the butter seeps through.  The harder you press down, the better.  Next spread the chocolate chips evenly over the crumbs, followed by the pecans and coconut.  Finally pour the condensed milk over top evenly, and you should be able to cover the whole mixture with the milk.

Stick the pan in an oven preheated at 350 degrees and bake for 30 – 40 minutes, or until the condensed milk is slightly browned and bubbling on the edges.

This recipe makes about 35 bars of chocolaty, buttery goodness.

dark chocolate cake with mint frosting

For my dad’s birthday, he wanted a chocolate cake with mint icing “just like nana used to make”.  Too bad that cake might as well of been 20 points, SO I did some problem solving and found a dark chocolate cake and a super fluffy mint frosting – almost marshmallow-like. YUMM. Right?

 

 

For the cake you need:

• 2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cup hot water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup sauerkraut, pureed until smooth
• 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa

First, as with any baked good, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Coat a Bundt pan with a cooking spray or butter.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda and 2/3 cup of cocoa (make sure to sift the cocoa).  Add the melted butter, hot water and vanilla extract; mix well.  I also added a little bit of peppermint extract for a little extra YUM.  Add the sauerkraut and blend thoroughly.  The mixture won’t be smooth after adding the sauerkraut, so don’t freak out.

Pour the batter into the Bundt pan, and bake for 55 minutes.  Cool the cake in the pan for about 20 minutes and then it should just pop out, and cool completely on a baking rack.  Move to a cake platter or a large plate for icing.

While the cake is baking, you might as well make the icing.  I got the recipe from Life of Spice.  Here’s what you need:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tsp peppermint extract
• green food coloring

First, stir sugar, water and cream of tartar together in a sauce pan over high heat.  The mixture starts out very opaque, and when the sugar has completely dissolved, which you want, it will be completely clear, like a piece of glass.  Believe me, it is very cool.  Remove from heat and set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks begin to form.  Then add the peppermint extract and green food coloring.  Continue beating and gradually add the sugar mixture to the egg whites.  You want to continue to beat the mixture until stiff peaks form – about 10 minutes.

Once the cake and is cooled and iced, sprinkle the remaining tsp of cocoa over the cake for a decorative look.

This cake makes about 14 servings and with the icing each piece is about 7 points.  Not bad for a great cake.

raspberry chocolate spelt pancakes

This is a recipe for the Weight Watchers cookbook, the first that I’ve tried, but I added a couple personal touches.  Very simple, just like normal pancakes.  It makes 8 pancakes and 4 servings (so 2 pancakes per serving) and is 5 points per serving.  YUMM.

 

 

Here’s what you need:

• 3/4 cup spelt flour (the recipe actually calls for buckwheat, but I find buckwheat really heavy so I used spelt instead)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg white
• 4 tbsp maple syrup

THEN my additions:

• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup raspberries (about 16 raspberries – two per pancake)
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips

First, in a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda.  Whisk in buttermilk, egg, egg white and vanilla in separate additions, whisking together in between.  Drop in raspberries and chocolate chips and fold in.

Then in a large pan or skillet, coat with a cooking spray and set over medium heat.  Once warm, pour the batter onto the pan in 8 parts.  I did three pancakes at a time.  Cook on one side until bubbles being to appear at the edges of the pancakes, about 1-2 minutes.  Flip and cook until puffed and browned, about another 1 – 2 minutes.  Serve immediately.

For something a little extra/special/healthy kick, top with fresh sliced peaches or strawberries.  Totally trying that next time.

a birthday meal: oven roasted ribs, a maple-berry spinach salad, and a pink lemonade birthday cake

So today is my little sister Jen’s 17th birthday and one plus that comes from a surgical recovery is being stuck at home.  Being stuck at home = more time to cook.  And today just happened to be the first day that I’m off all my pain killers and feeling back to normal.  For the meal we had my mum’s famous oven roast BBQ ribs served with white rice and a maple-berry spinach salad and topped the night off with a pink lemonade birthday cake.  So let’s start out with the ribs and go from there.

For these yum-tastic ribs you want to find the most meaty ribs you can find.  We went to the butcher for these, and it was a way better choice then the plastic wrapped pieces of meat that you find in the meat aisle.  And for some reason the butcher’s meatier ribs were cheaper.  AMAZING, no?

Ok here’s what you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Cut the ribs into pieces that have two bones in each of them.  Place in a glass pan in a single layer and fill with an inch of water.  Cover with foil.
3. Cook for 1 hour, and check for any pinkness around the bone.  If they aren’t done (they probably won’t be), put back in the oven and turn it up to 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  The longer they cook in a low temperature, the more tender they will be.
4. When they are done, they will be very light.  Drain the water and cover both sides of the ribs (top and bottom) with your favourite barbeque sauce.  I just used Diana’s Chicken and Rib sauce, which is a family favourite here, but kind of a cheat too since I haven’t made my own sauce yet.  BUT I will!  Soon.  Cook for 30 minutes at 350 degrees covered with foil.
5. FINALLY (which is how you’ll feel by the end of the two hours of cooking) take the aluminum foil off and cook for 15 minutes to make them a little crispy on the edges.  What you’ll end up with is ribs that are tender on the inside and crispy on the outside.  And the best ribs you’ve ever tasted.

For our meal, we put the ribs into a bowl and the extra sauce into a dish to be used as a gravy for the rice and ribs.  Yumm.

Next on the list is the salad.  What I did was fill a large salad bowl with baby spinach and some baby reds.  Next I threw in a 1/2 cup each of blue berries, sliced grapes, sliced strawberries, and clementines with soft goat cheese to taste.  Top that with a handful of pralines and this recipe for a Maple Vinaigrette.  For the dressing, put all the following ingredients into a jar, shake and drizzle over salad.

• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 3 tbsp white vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

NOW for what you’ve been waiting for: the Pink Lemonade Cake!  Mmmmm.

Sorry about the terrible picture, my family dug into the cake so fast, I couldn’t get a picture of the whole thing.  But I guess this way you can see the “pink” and the “lemon” parts of the cake, haha.  Here’s what you need:

• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 6 tbsp butter, softened
• 1 tbsp grated lemon rind
• 3 tbsp thawed lemonade concentrate
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg whites
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/4 sups fat-free buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, beat the first 5 ingredients at medium speed until well blended.  Add the eggs and the egg whites 1 at a time, beating between each egg.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda.  Alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the sugar mixture, beating well between additions.

Pour the batter into 2 9-inch round cake pans greased with butter and lightly floured and tap the pans on the counter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.  Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, and then remove onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

For this cake I used two different frostings.  The first one was very drippy and lemon-y and wonderful, and the other was a thick buttercream.  I’ll tell you what I did first and then give you the ingredients, I think that’ll be easier.  So with the drippy icing, I put one layer of the cake onto a plate and spooned the icing on and let it drip down the sides.  Then I put the second layer on and completely covered the cake with the lemon drippy icing and stuck it in the freezer to harden the icing for however long it took me to make the second icing – about 10 minutes.  Maybe a little longer.  Then I spread the second icing onto the top and sides of the cake.

Here’s the ingredients for the two icings, first the lemon drippy icing:

• 2 tbsp butter, softened
• 2 tsp grated lemon peel
• 2 tsp thawed lemonade concentrate
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 8 oz low-fat cream cheese
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In a large bowl, place the first 5 ingredients into a large bowl and beat on high until fluffy.  Add the powdered sugar, and beat on low until just blended (DO NOT OVERBEAT), and chill for 1 hour.

For the buttercream, you need:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 4 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• a couple drops of red food coloring (optional – but that’s what makes in a PINK lemonade cake. 😀 )

For the buttercream, I wanted to make one that was really thick.  First, in a pan, I cooked the flour and milk until it forms a ball, stirring with a spatula as if making scrambled eggs.  Bring down to room temperature (I stuck mine in the fridge), and cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Beat both mixtures together on high speed and add the vanilla and a few drops of food coloring until well combined and fluffy.  Then I spread the icing onto the top and the sides of the cake.

So I know there’s a lot to digest here in this post (literally, ha!), but if there’s something you like, give it a try and let me know what you think.

marble cake with a piped icing – MY FIRST TIME :)

Sorry that I’ve been MIA for a couple days but I’m back!  And with a really great recipe perfect as a match for tea or ice cream after dinner.

So on monday, my sister and I were at home together for the first time in probably three years where neither of us had anything to do, and amazingly we decided to have some super sister bonding and this awesome cake was the result.

The cake itself is a marble cake, really simple.  Here’s what you need:

• 1 cup soft butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups spelt flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• food colouring
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder

Preheat the over to 315 degrees.  Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and creamy.  Add the vanilla and the eggs at room temperature, one at a time, and beat well.  Use a wooden spoon to stir in the flour.

Next, divide the cake into 3 bowls.  Mix a few drops of food coloring (we used blue) into one bowl, and the cocoa powder into another.  Leave one plain.  Grease an 8 inch round cake tin, and spoon the 3 mixtures into the cake tin.  Unfortunately for us, there was too much batter for an 8 inch pan, but not enough for two 8 inch cake tins.  Maybe try two 6 inch cake tins? Or a larger one to make a bigger cake.

Use a skewer or knife to swirl the mixtures together to create a marble effect.  Bake for 40 minutes, or until the cake is cooked in the middle when you poke a skewer into it.  Cool in the tin on a wire rack.

While the cake was baking, my sister and I made two different kinds of icing; a vanilla buttercream and piping icing.  If you are going to pipe icing, the mixture is thicker and stands up on its own.  Also make sure to keep the icing cool, because it is very easy for it to become melty.

Here’s what you need for the vanilla buttercream icing:

• 1 box confectioners’ sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract, but almond extract can be substituted
• 1/4 cup milk or light cream
• food coloring (optional)

What you want to do is combine the sugar, butter, vanilla and milk together and beat for a while.  Now I’m very liberal with my addition of vanilla so I always put in more then the recipe says, but I’ve never used almond extract, so I’m not sure what the measurement is for it.  All I know is that it will be slightly less then vanilla.  Try maybe a 1/2 tsp, taste it, and add if needed.

For the roses, I used the recipe  and tutorial here How to Pipe Icing Roses — Zoe Bakes.  It was very informative and very easy to follow.  Anyways check it out, and let me know what you think.  I am always very happy to hear your comments.