Coffee and Walnut Cake

So I made another recipe from this really obcure baking book I received for Christmas. Obscure like, it has no author listed anywhere. My friend found it at Half Priced Books, and it's a little strange at times. Baking times and temperatures aren't always important, and neither is any kind of order. But that's only for some recipes=)

Anyways, I had been dying to try another recipe out of the book to see if it could actually produce some good stuff. I choose another coffee item. What can I say? I love coffee even though I don't drink it. Well that's actually a lie. I could drink any variation of iced coffee everyday for the rest of my life! Where was I going with this? Oh yeah, the cake. I happened to have some walnuts around and a perfect storm of flavors had my mind and taste buds intrigued.

I made this awhile ago, but I remember liking it a lot! I remember the frosting being pretty sugary, but then again I did go fristing heavy=) Overall this worked as a nice snack cake. I do not think I would serve it to use for a celebration cake, but tea time or a brunch would be a good option.

Coffee &Walnut Cake
from What's Cooking, Baking
serves 8

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 eggs, beaten
3 tbsp strong black coffee (I always use Nescafe packets and dissolve them into water)
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour (I used regular flour with extra baking soda)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup walnut pieces
walnut halves to decorate with

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour the bottoms of two 8-inch round layer cake pans.

Cream together the butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, beating well after each addition. Beat in the coffee.

Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture, then fold in lightly and evenly with a metal spoon. Fold in the walnut pieces.

Divide batter between the prepared cake pans and smooth level. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 mins, or until golden brown and springy to the touch. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Frosting
1/2 cup butter
1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp strong black coffee (same method as before)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Beat together the butter, powdered sugar, coffee and vanilla, mixing until smooth and creamy.

Use about half of the frosting to sandwich the cakes together, then spread the remaining frosting on top and swirl with a metal spatula. Decorate with walnut halves.

Cappuccino Brownies

So today is my birthday=) I am now 18! Everyone likes to think of all the things they can do once they turn 18, and I'd have to say I'm most excited about the driving curfew being extended.

My birthday this year is pretty awesome. Last year was a mild birthday that I like to think was holding back in anticipation for this year. I have lots of plans. Yesterday morning, my two friends and I went to First Watch for breakfast, which has amazing fresh options. I love it there. I had a parfait and an amazing muffin. If I could figure out the secret to their muffins, I'd... well I don't know really. But I would probably give my self the nickname "Muffin Goblin". Well no, I should pick something less ugly, like "Muffin Maiden". So after breakfast we walked over to the conveniently placed movie theater and saw "Black Swan". Natalie Portman is gorgeous, though I've always known this. It's twisted, creepy, scary; a definite thriller. Younger audiences advised.

Also, I got an early present over the weekend....


Ahhh! It's the Verizon Ally. It's the first smart phone in my family and I'm in love! We got a rebate on the phone so it ended up being free! And, the price of the data plan was reduced too! It's sooo cool! I love all the apps and features and it's pretty much my best friend at the moment. The only thing that could make it better would be if I could easily blog from it and check blogs. I can access my blogger account, but scrolling through whats in my reader is difficult=/ I'll figure something out.


These brownies have nothing to do with my birthday, but I really enjoyed them. They were the first recipe I mad out of a new cookbook my friend got me for Christmas. The book is adorable and has large pictures on every page. However, it only contains straight recipes and no other personal touches. Also, It failed to mention an oven time for this recipe. I went with 350. This was a weird book with no author either. AND, the method they use to combine ingredients for this recipe is odd. Everything is thrown in one bowl and mixed. And it calls for an 11 x 7 baking pan? Who has that? Ok, I'm done ranting=)


As you might be able to see, it is quite sunken in the middle while the sides are puffy. Yeah, no one knows why it happened. But, since I wasn't giving any away, I didn't care how it looked because it tasted amazing. I made the glaze suggested, but had to improvise as we did not have nearly enough powdered sugar. With the glaze and a dusting of cocoa powder, these cappuccino brownies kept me going throughout the week! (Well, actually 3 days 'cause I ate them so fast!)


Cappuccino Brownies
from "what's cooking Baking"
makes: 15

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups self rising flour (i made my own)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder, and extra for dusting
1 cup butter, softened, and extra for greasing
1 cup superfine sugar
4 eggs beaten
3 tbsp instant coffee powder, dissolved in 2 tbsp hot water

white chocolate frosting:
4 oz white chocolate, broken into pieces
4 tbsp butter, softened
3 tbsp milk
1 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions:
Grease an 11 x 7 inch shallow cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and cocoa into a bowl and add the butter, sugar, eggs, and coffee. Beat well until smooth, then spoon into the prepared pan and smooth top.

Bake in preheated oven (I did 350), for 35-40 mins, or until risen and firm. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and peel off the paper lining. Let cool completely.

Frosting:
Place chocolate, butter, and milk in a microwave safe bowl and melt them together. Sift in confectioners' sugar. Beat until smooth, then spread over the cake. Dust the top of the cake with cocoa, then cut into squares.

Pioneer Woman's Best Coffee Cake. The Real Deal.

My days are still busy as all get out. I won't bore you but basically it's school, volleyball, homework, other sport events, fund raising for my trips, college stuff and other school events. But when I do find a small amount of time, it all goes to baking. It is my stress reliever and I can get my mind off of everything else. It's perfect.


Like this coffeecake. I know, not a great segway, but I'm short on time. I had really low expectations for this. Why? Who even knows. I mean, this is a recipe from the Pioneer Woman herself. How could I ever doubt it???? The ingredients are so simple. You have them all. And yet somehow, when they come together, you find yourself with an unbelievably good coffee cake.


I made a cream cheese glaze to go with it, but in all honesty, you don't need it. This cake is insane. Down right good coffeecake. I only made a half recipe because that's all our house can handle. I say go ahead and make this. GO!


Coffee Cake
from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE:

• 1-½ stick Butter, Softened
• 2 cups Scant Sugar
• 3 cups Flour, Sifted
• 4 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1-¼ cup Whole Milk
• 3 whole Egg Whites, Beaten Until Stiff
• 
  
• FOR THE TOPPING:
• 1-½ stick Butter, Softened
• ¾ cups Flour
• 1-½ cup Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
• 1-½ cup Pecans, Chopped

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat egg whites and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar. Add flour mixture and milk alternately until combined. Don’t overbeat. Fold in beaten egg whites with a rubber spatula. Spread in a well-greased 9 x 13 (or LARGER!) baking pan. A cake pan with higher sides would be best.

In a separate bowl, combine topping ingredients with a pastry cutter until crumbly. Sprinkle all over the top.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until no longer jiggly. Serve warm—delicious!

Coffee Chocolate Chip Muffins

When I saw this recipe I immediately fell in love with it. You may or may not know about my love of coffee desserts (and if you don't I'll be showing you more of it soon enough!). But coffee flavor in desserts is incredible. It has to be my favorite flavoring in desserts at the moment. It's not even like I'm a heavy coffee drinker or anything, I just love the sweet coffee taste. So, like many others, I need coffee in the morning, just not in the liquid form. That's why this recipe is so perfect!


I couldn't believe how easy they were to make, as well. It took no effort and no time at all. I did make two changes in the recipe, though, which I've added below. I added 1/2 tsp of cinnamon into the recipe, not enough to overwhelm it, but enough so I know it's there;) I also upped the amount of chocolate chips. They just seemed so scattered and sparse that I had to double it! Anywhere between 1/2 cup to 1 cup, depending on your preference.


I ate these warm out of the oven, or frozen solid the next day. Yes, I ate frozen muffins. It helps me use self control. This way, I don't finish the muffin in three bites. I can, instead, savor the muffin with tiny little bites. Plus, I think it tastes good. Kind of like that thing where people freeze their candy bars? Personally I've never been a fan, but I guess I'm sort of like them by doing this.


I would say these muffins were light and spongy, definitely not on the dry or crumbly side. I tried very hard not to over mix, so I think I did a good job! Because I'm usually not a chocolate fan, the whole "chocolate chip muffin" has never been something I'd eat. I'd have to say, though, that the chocolate chunks in here were awesome. Okay, I really shouldn't have to convince you anymore. It's chocolate and coffee. Get to baking!


Coffee Chocolate Chip Muffins
from Buttercream Barbie

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup melted butter, cooled
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp instant coffee
1/2- 1 cup chocolate chunks (the original recipe called for a half cup, but I ended up dumping a TON more in, so maybe closer to a whole cup)
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or line 12 muffin tins. Mix coffee into melted butter. Whisk well.

2. Whisk eggs lightly into the buttermilk with the vanilla extract. In a big bowl mix together both flours, sugar, baking powder & salt. Now pour in the buttermilk mixture & the butter mixture, and mix in gently. Do not over mix or muffins won't be soft. Fold in chocolate gently just to combine.

3. Fill prepared muffin tins and bake in preheated oven for 20-22 minutes.

Easy right? It's a super quick muffin for those of you who love the coffee/chocolate combination!

Coffee Dark Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Sometimes I act very mature. I drive myself everywhere. I make calls to colleges to set up appointments. I babysit my cousins. I converse with adults. I don't often do childish things. I act silly sometimes, but I'm not the kind of person to pretend to be stupid, or make stupid jokes (a fart joke here and there has it's place, however). I can't stand when people act childish or purposely do unintelligent things that they may think are funny. I may sound like a serious person, but I consider myself sophisticated. Yet, a lot of my friends think I'm hilarious. That sounded completely narcissistic, I know, but hey, if you got it, flaunt it. I have a sarcastic, sometimes dry, humor that I use often.

I tell you this so you can get to know me a little more. And, to reveal to you that I did something very childish recently that someone wouldn't normally think I would do. I stuffed my face with a ton of ice cream to the point where I had a legit tummy ache. I was like a little kid after Halloween who went on a sugar high and had an upset stomach. It may have been a caffeine high now that I think about it. And at least it was coffee chip ice cream, so that's a little more mature, right?

This ice cream was loved by EVERYONE in my family. Yes, my dad finally indulged in something I made! It went so fast. I couldn't believe how good it was. It's been a while since I've made a custard based ice cream (an egg free one) and I don't feel as though I'm missing out. These fast and easy ice cream recipes have been so satisfying!

Eating ice cream out of fancy glasses is so much cooler than a regular bowl!

Coffee Dark Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

adapted from Just Jenn Recipes

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

2 1/2 tablespoons instant coffee crystals (or 3 Nescafe packets)

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups heavy cream

roughly chopped dark chocolate bar

Directions:

In a bowl, combine milk, coffee, sugar and vanilla. Stir to dissolve vanilla and add in heavy cream. Pour into ice cream maker using manufacturers instructions.

During the last five minutes, add in the dark chocolate chunks.

I personally love the soft serve way it tastes right out of the ice cream maker, but at this point, place ice cream into plastic container to chill in your freezer.

Hazelnut Espresso Cheesecake Ice Cream

So I think this is my 100th post? OMG that's crazayzay! I wish I'd had a better post planned... I'll make up for it later, I promise. At this point I have a bunch of drafts I'm still trying to publish before they get really old!

I FINALLY got around to using my ice cream maker again. It's about time. Now that the weather is (dare I say) sweltering, ice cream is always on my mind.

This ice cream sounds pretty fancy, but it is probably the easiest ice cream to make. EVER. If you want something that seems fancy for only a little work, this recipe has got you covered.

The components: 1st is the hazelnut. For those of you nutella lovers, this is made for you. 2nd is the espresso. Now you've got the coffee fix involved. I used the instant packets, which are so fun to watch dissolve into the mixture! 3rd is the cheesecake. I don't think anything needs to be said about the deliciousness of cheesecake. Nope, nothing.


Overall, I enjoyed trying the flavor of ice cream. It was definitely RICH. Like, I put whipped cream on it, and it was serious overload. But a drizzle of chocolate syrup is a nice touch. Plus, I added white chocolate chips, had to. I'd like to try it not as a cheesecake if I make it again.


Espresso Hazelnut Cheesecake Ice Cream
from Daydreamer Desserts

16 oz cream cheese
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup hazelnut spread

In a medium bowl combine the cream cheese, heavy cream, sugar, espresso powder, and vanilla extract.

Begin by beating on low until heavy cream has been incorporated, increase speed to medium-high and continue beating until cream cheese is smooth and creamy.

Transfer mixture to your ice cream maker and follow your manufacturer's instructions.

Approximately 5 minutes before the ice cream is down microwave the hazelnut spread for about 50 seconds at 50% power until it has reached a pouring consistency.

Pour the hazelnut spread into the ice cream maker and as soon as it has swirled through you can turn it off.

Transfer ice cream to a resealable plastic container and freeze for at least 2 hours.

(My dad wanted in this)

Macarons!

For my AP World Literature class, each student chooses a country at the beginning of the year that they will research and write a paper on at the end of the year. In addition, a class length presentation will be given on a topic of our choice relating to the country. When choosing the country, everyone thinks mostly about what kind of fun presentation they would like to do, and what country would allow them to do it.It took no time for me to realize mine would obviously be food related. And what better country than France? I focused on two main areas for my presentation: Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School in Paris and Macarons.

The only picture I managed to take of them, and they look super sloppy=(

Finding out about Le Cordon Bleu was really interesting and definitely gets me thinking about what it would be like to take an actual cooking class. But the macarons were definitely the best part of the project. I researched their history, compared recipes, and then went ahead and made them myself. It was REALLY intimidating reading other people's blogs and hearing how difficult it is to make these. Between cracks, no feet, correctly mixing, resting before baking, and baking times, I was getting quite nervous.But I jumped right in. If they weren't perfect I wasn't going to complain. I've never had one before so I really wouldn't know the difference anyway, right? I'd seen them all over the blog world and was so anxious to try them myself and see what all the hype was about.

I made three kinds. Even though this was a HUGE project for my class, I managed to take very little pictures? Idk. I'm stupid. But they were:

1) Coffee-espresso macarons with a dark chocolate nutella ganache filling
2) Regular macarons with a dulce de leche cream cheese filling
3) Chocolate macarons with a raspberry buttercream filling

All three were a hit. The order I have them in is about how I ranked them taste wise myself.
I really really really liked these! Macarons are so amazing. I have googled but have yet to find anywhere near Pittsburgh that sells them=( But hey, I make pretty darn good ones that I don't need anyone else's! (For the time being. Especially since I wish to visit Laduree!!!)

Fluffing my aged egg whites...

Mixing the dry to the meringue

The coffee-espresso mixture

Allowing the coffee-espresso's to rest 30 minutes before being placed in the oven

The chocolate ones turned out the worst. They tasted fine, but they structurally weren't the best. Many of them cracked, and I don't think very many formed feet.


The plain white macarons by far came out of the oven the best. Perfect feet on everyone, and no cracks in the bunch!

However, I'm not sure if cooked them long enough. They turned out wonderful, let's not forget;) But The ones in the middle of the baking sheet never came off easy and usually separated themselves. See below. It made for great excuses to try them, though...


Here is the lovely dark chocolate nutella ganache being generously spread on the macaron cookies.


When I gave them out at school, the reactions were completely unexpected. Everyone loved them. I brought in definitely over 40 I think, and I brought like 3 home. I still hear compliments about them weeks later. I actually got really emotional over the reviews. I mean, I like to consider my self an amateur baker, but everyone was sooo nice about them. They made me feel amazing!!

Quick Notes: Almong flour from the store was not fine enough. I had to sift it for hours! Yeah that was pretty sad... Plus it was soooo EXPENSIVE! If I make these again, (which they were sooo easy and sooo amazing that I should!!), I will buy/borrow a food processor and grind my own almonds!