Pavolovas with Fresh Mixed Berries & Kiwis
Because I'm such a tease...let me show you the dessert I made tonight for Father's day.....
Pavlovas with mixed berries, kiwis & whipped cream-topped with a raspberry sauce= NOM.
Recipe for Raspberry sauce comes from Ina Garten- click here
My mom brought it over. What a treat!!
I made the meringues Saturday afternoon! I've recently started liking them- and now that I've made these I am smitten.
How the heck can something soo simple be soo dang good?
I was surprised they worked out! I was a bit terrified that I hadn't whipped them to the stiff peaks stage. But I guess it worked out! The recipe said to bake them for an hour and a half-but I ended up only needing 40 mins. So make sure you check to see if they are dry to the touch and set! Make sure they don't brown!
They absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS.....Pillowy clouds of light sweetness. The berries are perfect and the kiwi I added made the tang factor PERFECT. How I wished I made more than 1 for each of us....
Mixed Berry Pavlovas
Print This Recipe
(adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook)
makes 6
meringue part:
-2 egg whites
-3/4 cup granulated sugar
-1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
-confectioners sugar for dusting
creamy topping:
-2 cups assorted berries (I used blueberries, strawberries & raspberries--with kiwis too!)
-1/2 pint whipping cream
-1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
-2 teaspoons granulated sugar
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper & set aside. In the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water, combine egg whites, sugar, and salt. Whisk constantly until sugar has dissolved and egg mixture is warm to the touch. This should take about 2-3 mins. Attach the bowl to the mixer and with the whisk attachment, beat on a medium high setting until you have stiff peaks. This should take between 4-8 mins. Beat in vanilla.
2. Using a large spoon, scoop six fluffy mounds of meringue onto the parchment paper. The mounds should be about 3 1/2 inches in diameter. Using the back of the spoon, form a well in the center of each mound, being careful not to make the center too thin.
3. Dust mounds with confectioner's sugar. Bake until just dry to the touch but still white in color. They say it takes about an hour and a 1/2--but check half way through! Transfer sheet to a wire rack and let meringes cool completely before easing them off the parchment.
4. Make whipping cream- beat cream with 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar and add a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract at the very end. Make sure it's light & fluffy.
5. Spoon a dollop of the whipped cream on top of the meringues, then top with the mixed berries. I added a bit of the raspberry sauce my mom brought over. Holy yum.
hhhhhhhhhHEAVEN!!!!
Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies
i've seen versions of this cookie everywhere on the internet! it was this post at kitchn.com that pushed me over the edge.
I had to try them!
They don't disappoint, folks!
Easy. SUPER Easy. Easier than cake mix!
Gluten-free Peanut Butter Cookies
-1 cup peanut butter (i used chunky)
-1 cup sugar
-1 egg
-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1 teaspoon baking soda
Preheat oven to 375. Mix all the ingredients together. Drop cookies on baking sheet. Smoosh with fork. Bake for 10 mins. DONE. DONE!!!!
You won't miss the flour.
Light & Crispy Coconut Almond Granola
I watched an episode of Martha Stewart last night and saw them making granola. I had no idea how easy it was! Although I didn't follow the recipe they made on the show, I used the fundamental steps and a combo of what I had laying around in my pantry and I am happy with the results!
It's really crispy & light---not super dense like some granolas can be. The coconut is yummy and the slivered almonds make me swoon. The taste of it all kinda reminds me of Honey Bunches of Oats cereal-but with a little kick from the ground ginger! I guess what I was excited by most- was the fact that there infinite combos to granola making. Now I can channel some of my inner hippy and go nuts.
This is what I came up with last night:
Granola!
-2 cups rolled oats (not instant)
-1/2 cup slivered almonds
-1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
-1/2 cup sweetened coconut
-1/4 cup maple syrup
-1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
-1/4 cup brown sugar
-1 teaspoon sea salt
Directions-
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix ingredients together throuroughly & spread out on a large rimmed cookie sheet. Put it in the oven and stir every 10 minutes. 40 minutes total.
enjoy! I'll let you know what I come up with next. Or if you have a good combo, let me know!
Coconut Cake!
Lots to report from this past weekend-
Let's start with the cake first even though it was the last thing I did.
My neighbor made us little nests that were chocolate covered chow mein noodles fashion from a mini muffin tin. Totally cute huh? I decided to put them on top of the cake and plop some Robin's Egg candies in them. I also bought this edible grass from Target. It was apple flavor & yummy!
here's the insides:
It was my first time making this 7 minute frosting and I was impressed! It's incredibly light & fluffy and somewhat guilt free.
The cake was a hit! I had two pieces on Easter night (shhh! don't tell)
It's really fluffy and light. It's like eating coconut clouds.
Coconut Layer Cake
(Magnolia Bakery Cookbook)
Cake:
-1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
-2 cups sugar
-4 large eggs, at room temperature
-1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
-1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
-1 cup milk
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Filling:
-3/4 cup milk
-1/2 cup granulated sugar
-2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
-1 seven-ounce package sweetened, shredded coconut
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting:
-3 egg whites
-1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
-1/2 cup cold water
-1 1/2 cups sugar
-1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
(for the cake)
1. Preheat oven to 350°F Grease and lightly flour three 9 x 2-inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with waxed paper.
2. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flours and add in four parts, alternating with the milk and the vanilla extract, beating well after each addition. Divide the batter among the cake pans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack.
(for the filling)
1. In a medium-size saucepan, whisk the milk with the sugar and the flour until thoroughly combined. Cook and stir constantly over medium-high heat (about 5 minutes) until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat and add the coconut. Stir in the vanilla extract. Cover and cool to room temperature.
2. When cake has cooled, spread half the filling between the first two layers of cake, then the other half between the second and third layers. The cake should be assembled so it can be iced as soon as the frosting is completed.
(for the frosting)
1. In an electric mixer bowl, combine the egg whites and the vanilla extract and set aside. In a medium-size saucepan over high heat, combine the water with the sugar and the cream of tartar. As mixture begins to bubble at edges, stir once to make sure the sugar is dissolved completely, then let come to a rolling boll (about 2 to 3 minutes) and remove immediately from heat.
2. Now, in a medium-size bowl, on the medium-high speed of an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and the vanilla extract with the whisk attachment until foamy, about 1 minute.
3. Without turning off mixer, pour the sugar syrup into the beaten egg whites in a thin, steady stream. Continue beating constantly, on medium-high speed, for about 5 minutes or until stiff peaks form but frosting is still creamy. Frost top and sides of cake immediately. Generously sprinkle top with shredded coconut.
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Also this weekend.....
We worked on our vegetable garden!
We are growing the following tomatoes:
-Sun Gold
-Heartland VFN
-Better Boys
Herbs:
-Sweet Basil
-Thai Basil
-Thyme
It's the first time I've had my own vegetable garden and I am pretty stoked. I really hope it does well! I can't wait for all of the caprese salads this summer! And maybe I'll make some Thai Basil Chicken too!
Wish me luck!
While Casey worked on the planting box, I grilled us some sandwiches.
Hot Italian Sausage with Grilled Onions, Eggplant, Zucchini, Provolone, Basil & Mustard. It was a well deserved treat for all the work.
We had Easter dinner at my parents house:
And Cooper celebrated his first Easter! He's 6 months old now!!!!
He celebrated by making out with his Easter Duck
Hope you all had a wonderful holiday! I know I did.
Fig Crumble
Seriously good folks. SERIOUSLY good. Everything I love in a pie (the crust) without the intense work of making a pie! The figs are perfectly sweet and that crunch. THAT CRUNCH. OMG. The buttery-ness of that crumble...the sweet little hint of sugar...the bite! I am in love.
with a crumble bar!!!
Make it. It's FANTASTIC! I am envisioning warming some up and scooping some vanilla gelato on top!
*Swoon*
Fig Crumble Bar
(Everyday Food Recipe)
-3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for pan
-2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
-1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
-8 ounces dried Calimyrna figs (about 1 1/2 cups), stems removed
-3/4 cup apple juice
-1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan; line bottom and two sides with a strip of parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang. Butter paper; set pan aside.
2. In a food processor, pulse together 2 cups flour and 1 cup sugar. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer half of mixture to prepared pan; with lightly floured fingers, press firmly into bottom. Set aside. Shape remaining mixture into large, moist clumps; transfer topping to a bowl, and set aside. Wipe food processor bowl clean.
3. Make filling: In food processor, blend figs, apple juice, lemon zest, and remaining 2 tablespoons each flour and sugar until a thick paste forms.
4. Using a small offset spatula or table knife, spread filling over crust. Sprinkle with topping. Bake until topping is golden brown, 60 to 65 minutes.
5. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let cool completely. Using paper overhang, lift crumble from pan, and transfer to a cutting board; cut into 20 bars. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days.
***I used SALTED butter for this recipe because I love that salty sweet combo. It's fantastic. I also didn't have apple juice, so I used a Mango Passionfruit juice instead. It worked out great! I think the point is just to be able to lubricate the figs enough to make a paste and add some subtle sweetness. So if you don't have apple juice, substitute it with something else!***
Let Ryan eat Lemon Cake!
All week I was thinking about how I was going to make my brother, Ryan a lemon cake for his birthday. I also wanted to make it extra special and have his face on it. I found a recipe in the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook for the cake...and decided on skipping the lemon curd and used lemon pudding instead.
Casey totally hooked me up and helped me with the face part. Look at the stencil!
It seriously makes me laugh every time I look at it...the stencil is sitting in our kitchen still and I feel like I would be so sad if I threw it out. The image was adapted from a photograph, and it's likeness is spot on!
It started off with a lemon cake...all frosted and nice. Then a photo...some Photoshopping...and some slick Exacto skills from my husband. First there was some preliminary testing...which caused us to add skewers on all side of the stencils for support. Dusted the top with cocoa powder after covering the cake in Saran Wrap.
Filled in the parts that were left on to connect the stencil together...and tada! A few hours well spent, I'd say.
Let's take a peak at the filling...
I added some strawberries on the sides
We were filled with sooo much excitement driving this cake to my parent's house. When you have something this funny, it's really hard to contain the joy. It was a hit! My brother loved it and so did my parents.
After we dug into it, Casey commented "Ryan is half the man he used to be." We got a good chuckle off that.
As for the cake...it was very tasty! The cake part wasn't as moist as I hoped, but I think it was due to my leaving it in the oven too long. The pudding inside turned out wonderful. I was nervous about taking a gamble, but it all worked out! The frosting was soooo good too. Another cake down! Hmmm what cake to bake next?
Lemon Layer Cake
(adapted from Magolia Bakery Cookbook)
For the Cake:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
-1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour-
-3/4 cup milk
-1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
-2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and lightly flour three 9-by-2-inch round cake pans, then line the bottom with waxed paper.
To make the cake: In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream butter until smooth. Add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time. Combine the flours and add in four parts, alternating with milk and lemon juice and zest, beating well after each addition. Divide batter among cake pans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack.
For the Filling
-1 package JELL-O Instant pudding (the smallest box)
-1 3/4 cup milk (or whatever it calls for to make the Pie filling recipe)
Follow the direction on the box for Pie filling. Make sure you do this well in advance. Make sure you put an even amount of frosting on each layer. I kinda skimped on the first layer and was annoyed by it!
For the Lemon Buttercream Frosting:
-2 sticks unsalted butter (room temp)
-8 cups of powdered sugar
-1 teaspoon lemon zest
-1/2 cup lemon juice
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of sugar and juice, then the zest. Beat until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the remaining sugar, one cup at a time until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. (It took me less that 5 cups to get to this point). Use and store at room temperature.
When cake has cooled, spread the pudding evenly between layers and frost the outside of the cake with the buttercream frosting.
Makes 1 three-layer 9-inch cake.
Irish Soda Bread
The internet has been chalk full of provocative pictures of Irish Soda bread lately...and boy have I been seduced. Is this the only time of year people make it? I saw Martha make some on her show last week and decided that I would put that recipe in my food queue. You should see how much headspace is taken up in my noggin for food...it's ridiculous.
I found a recipe in Martha's Baking book and decided on a whim last night to make some. After Cooper when down for the night, I was hit by the most wonderful smell in my kitchen. What a glorious thing...to have fresh baked bread on your counter. That scent is intoxicating.
I've never really tasted traditional Irish soda bread, so I am not sure how this one fairs in comparison. The raisins were juicy and extremely plump & moist. We smothered a piece in butter and topped it with honey the second it came out of the oven. It tasted like a crispy scone.
Such good crunch...the next day I didn't even have to reheat it because it was still soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. Casey said he normally doesn't like Irish Soda bread, but I think the addition of sugar in the dough probably convinced him otherwise.
I decided against using caraway seeds in this loaf as it called for them in the recipe. I couldn't find any at the store :( But maybe next time I'll try to make it with them.
Irish Soda Bread
recipe Martha Stewart Baking Book
-4 cups all-purpose flour
-1/4 cup sugar
-1 teaspoon salt
-2 teaspoons baking powder
-2 tablespoons caraway seeds
-4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
-2 cups golden or dark raisins
-1 1/2 scant cups buttermilk
-1 large egg
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1 large egg yolk
-1 tablespoon heavy cream
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and caraway seeds until well combined.
2. Using a pastry cutter or two knives in scissor fashion, cut in butter until the mixture feels like coarse meal. Stir in raisins until evenly distributed.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg, and baking soda until well combined. Pour buttermilk mixture into the flour-and-butter mixture all at once, and stir with a fork until all the liquid is absorbed and the mixture begins to hold together. It should resemble a rough biscuit dough. Using your hands, press the dough into a round, dome-shaped loaf about 8 inches in diameter. Lift the loaf from the bowl, and transfer it to the prepared baking sheet.
4. In a small bowl, mix the egg yolk and cream together. With a pastry brush, brush the egg wash over the loaf. With a sharp knife or razor, incise a cross, about 1/2 inch deep, into the top of the loaf. Transfer to the oven. Bake, rotating halfway through, until it is deep golden brown and a wooden skewer comes out clean when inserted into the center, about 70 minutes. Remove from oven, and transfer bread from the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool.
with a bread like this...it's a shame people only make it on St. Patrick's Day.
Magnolia Bakery’s German Chocolate Cake
Happy Birthday to Casey!
This year I decided to try something new for Casey's Birthday. I made him his second favorite kind of cake--German Chocolate!
What you see here is my first attempt! It turned out SUPER good. Very light and fluffy- So light that it didn't hold it's shape like a regular cake might. But when it gets into your mouth who really cares? My 4 year old nephew even chimed in "So good when it hits your lips." ha!
This cake is a show stopper. Soo rich! Soo gooey! I think I caught a few people in my kitchen putting swiping their fingers up against the frosting for a taste!
We had some for breakfast this morning and it didn't disappoint! I am currently suffering from a sugar coma. So shocked I am able to type this!
and here's a little peak of our breakfast this morning!
Magnolia Bakery's German Chocolate Cake
For the Cake:
-4 oz Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate, broken into squares
-1/2 cup water
-2 cups all purpose flour
-1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-4 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
-1 cup butter, softened (two sticks)
-2 cups sugar
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1 cup buttermilk
For the Frosting:
-1 1/2 cans evaporated milk
-6 egg yolks
-2 cups sugar
-1 cup butter, cut into small pieces
-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
-4 cups sweetened, shredded coconut
-2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Grease and flour 3 9x2 inch round cake pans, then line bottoms with wax paper.
3. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the chocolate with the water, stirring to melt the chocolate, and blend well. Set aside and cool for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a medium sized bowl, sift together the flour, the baking soda, and the salt. Set aside.
5. In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks, about 1 minute.
6. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
7. Add the egg yolks, beating until well combined.
8. Add the chocolate mixture and the vanilla extract.
9. Add the dry ingredients in thirds, alternating with he buttermilk, beating after each addition, until smooth.
10. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites on the high speed of an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gently fold into batter.
11. Divide batter among the prepared pans.
12. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Be careful not to over bake, as this cake has a different, lighter texture than most.
13. Let cake cool in pans for 10 minutes.
14. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack.
15. In a large saucepan, beat together the evaporated milk and the egg yolks.
16. Stir in the sugar, the butter , and the vanilla extract.
17. Stir over medium heat about 15-18 minutes or until thickened and bubbly and golden in color. Remove from heat.
18. Stir in the coconut and pecans.
19. Transfer to a large bowl and cool until room temperature and of good spreading consistency (about 2 hours.)
20. When cake has cooled, spread frosting between layers and over top of cake.
***I had a hard time frosting the sides because the frosting turned super gooey. I just popped the bowl in the fridge and let it cool for about 20 minutes and it was perfect for spreading!***
