Toffee Layer Cake

For mother’s day this year, my little sister and I decided the best way to celebrate would be, of course, with food. For a while now, we’ve had this amazing Norwegian cookbook that I’ve been eyeing. And what better way to tell mom “I love you” than by secretly baking her a layered, decadent, delicious toffee cake?

It was really, really delicious. It was somewhat labor-intensive, but if you have a special occasion and are searching for the perfect dessert to celebrate it with, this cake is both extremely attractive and intensely delicious. The toffee on top consists of little more than cream, butter and raw cane sugar, and the spongy layers spread with whipped cream and a smidgen of apricot jam are crumbly and saturated in flavor. It was a bit of a self-serving gift, I’ll admit, as I wanted to consume just as much as Mom did. But it was a clear success, and completed one of the happiest and most delicious mother’s day dinners I’ve had in a while.

(P.S. The fancier pictures with the black background are Caty’s; the other one is mine from the day of. She would also like it to be known she contributed to this recipe by eating some of the leftover cake. And then some more.)

So, without further ado:

Toffee Layer Cake

From the Nordic Bakery Cookbook by Miisa Mink

Layers
4 eggs
1 cup raw cane sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons apricot jam

Topping
1.5 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup raw cane sugar
4 teaspoons unsalted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch springform pan.

2. Put the eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl and whisk with a handheld electric whisk until the mixture is foamlike. This will take up to 10 minutes. When it is ready, it will be very pale, have doubled in size, and the batter will drop off the beaters in a figure eight when you lift them out of the bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, sift the baking powder, flour, and cornstarch together, then fold into the egg mixture.

4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake pan and bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Let rest in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool for a further 20 minutes.

5. To decorate, whip half the whipping cream until quite firm.

6. Cut the cake horizontally through the middle to make two equal layers. Lay one layer on a cake stand and sprinkle half the milk over itto moisten it. It is best to start from the edge and work toward the center. Spread the apricot jam on top, then spread half the whipped cream over that. Place the second layer of cake on top, then sprinkle the ramaining juice or milk over it.

7. To make a toffee frosting, put the sugar and remaining unwhipped cream in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, or until it thickens. Add the butter and stir until melted and smooth. Pour the toffee over the cake, using a spatula dipped in hot water to spread it evenly, if necessary. Spread the remaining whipped cream neatly over the side of the cake. Refrigerate the cake for at least an hour before serving, to allow the toffee to set.

Fresh Guacamole

Aaaaand we’re back! Sorry for the post hiatus. Thankfully, today has brought new scrumptiousness, an addictive guacamole recipe, per request from one of our commenters. The beautiful thing about guacamole is that it is perfectly acceptable to wing it, if you have a rough idea of how you like your guac to taste. Personally, I prefer it salty (over-salty, if you ask miss Caty…) and limey, with bits of tomato and red onion. This is a general recipe, for guacamole the way we enjoy it- but let it be stated that ALL ingredients should be adjusted to your personal preference. Enjoy.

Fresh Guacamole

4 avacados
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup shredded cilantro
1 lime’s worth of juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Mash avocados in bowl until somewhat smooth. Stir in other ingredients to taste.
2. Serve with tortilla chips and eat the whole thing. Then complain about how full you are.

 

PS If you’ve got leftover guacamole, whip up a Guacamole Grilled Cheese Sandwich!

Banana Crumb Muffins

Banana crumb muffins.. It’s like banana bread hopped into a muffin pan and covered itself in brown sugary goodness.

Yes, that’s exactly what banana crumb muffins are like. On Monday, Georgia and I decided to beat the Monday blues by whipping up a batch of her favorite muffins. Originally, she had planned on making them Monday morning before school. We all knew how that would turn out, so instead we made them in the afternoon.

Though, the recipe is pretty easy and takes almost no time, so you could theoretically make them in the morning before school/work/whatever. Or, you could just sleep, which is also cool.

I’m not even going to tell you how many of these babies we ate. They are THAT good. I highly recommend you make them right now. Or tomorrow morning, if you’re crazy like that. And don’t forget the crumb topping. It’s necessary.

Banana Crumb Muffins
From allrecipes.com

1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten lightly
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8-1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

1. Preheat oven to 375. Lightly grease or line 12 muffin cups.
2. In a large bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a smaller bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until the batter is moistened.
3. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle the topping over muffins.
4. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack before serving.

The Hunger Games Feast

Hi all! Today we present to you a feast inspired by the recent release of one of our favorite book-turned-movies, The Hunger Games. If you haven’t heard of this book and/or film, you probably have been living in a cave  (not unlike the one Katniss and Peeta take refuge in) for the past few weeks. If this is the case, I highly suggest you get off your derrieres, go to your nearest bookseller, and read it NOW. Then go see the movie. Both are phenomenal. I cried. Four times.

ANYWAY. Before going off to the movie on Friday, Caty and I (along with our wonderful friend and fellow chef Sophie) decided to cook a meal that could, arguably, be something the characters in The Hunger Games could eat. We concocted a mainly produce-based meal: Carrot soup, blackberry sauce with goat cheese (like Prim’s!) and caramelized apples. It was delectable, and actually pretty healthy, all things considered. The soup was creamy and garlicky, the apples sticky-sweet, the blackberry sauce rich with flavor. Tell me that doesn’t sound good.

Our ideas came from fictionalfood.net.

So, without further ado, here are our recipes:

Carrot Soup (slightly adapted from cookingnook.com)

3 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cups carrots, sliced
1 potato, peeled and diced
12 oz vegetable broth
1 cup water
3/4 teaspoon salt
Ginger
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Sauté garlic and onion in butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add carrots and potato, stir to coat. Add broth, water, ginger, salt and pepper. Simmer, covered, over medium heat for 15 minutes until vegetables are well cooked. Add extra broth if the soup is too thick.

2. Purée the soup in batches using a blender, immersion blender or food processor until it is smooth. Pour the soup back into saucepan and serve.

Blackberry Sauce: Melt 1 tablespoon butter and 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add blackberries, cook for about 5 minutes. Serve over toasted whole-grain bread with goat cheese.

Caramelized Apples: Melt 1-2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. Add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon (or measure to taste.) Dice apples and simmer, turning until they are evenly coated with butter/sugar mixture. Cook until soft and caramelized. Serve á la mode.

May the odds be EVER in your flavor.

Berry Pi

Happy Pi Day! In honor of everyone’s favorite irrational number (and because Caty and I need to find some way to make calculus class less dull) we have concocted some little treats for you all to enjoy. Pi-shaped dough on top not required. We used some frozen berries (the strawberries were actually Schnack-garden-grown, and were delicious) to make our mini pastries, and they came out awfully cute. So, celebrate Pi Day! Any excuse for dessert.

Berry Pi

Filling

Mix together: 1 cup blueberries (or strawberries)
1/2 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice (not for strawberries)

Crust

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/4 cup ice water

1. In a food processor, pulse the flour with the salt. Add the butter and pulse until the size of peas. Drizzle in the water and pulse until the crumbs are moistened; turn out onto a work surface. Gather into a ball, flatten, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness or less and line ramekins or pie tins with it. You may want to prebake the crust for ten minutes or so, so it doesn’t get soggy when you add the filling.
3. Fill with berry mixture, bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
4. Consume 3.14159

Guacamole Grilled Cheese

Hello, friends!

I would just like to quickly share the grilled cheese I just made. Guacamole grilled cheese: made with cheddar cheese, guacamole, caramelized onions and tomatoes on whole grain bread. It’s SO good. If you have an avocado and cheese in your fridge right now, please please make this. You won’t regret it, I promise.

It’s still Meatless March, so look out for more vegetarian recipes coming your way very soon! (For those of you who are still carnivorous–I bet this sandwich would be absolutely delicious with the addition of bacon or turkey. Or both!)

For those of you who like to follow recipes, here’s the preparation:

1. Heat sliced onions and sliced grape tomatoes in olive oil in a cast-iron skillet until lightly browned
2. Top 1 piece of whole-grain bread with 2 tablespoons of guacamole, shredded cheddar cheese, the onions and tomatoes
3. Cover with the second piece of bread and heat on the skillet until brown on each side, flipping occasionally

Rotini with Arugula Pesto and Roasted Peppers

Hello there! Caty and I are celebrating Meatless March, our month-long endeavor into vegetarianism. To welcome March in with some delicious veggies, Caty and I decided to make our own arugula pesto, a sauce surprisingly simple and delightfully delectable. It was easy to make, and homemade pesto is infinitely more yummy than the store-bought alternative. A tip I’ve learned for the perpetually busy? Make enormous amounts of pesto, freeze in ice cube trays, and pop out when needed for dinner in a pinch.

Arugula Pesto
adapted from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything

2 cups arugula, well washed and dried
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons walnuts or pine nuts, lightly toasted in a dry skillet
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3/4 cup olive oil

1. Remove any tough stems from the arugula. Place it in a food processor or blender with the garlic, nuts, salt, and about 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
2. Add 1/4 cup olive oil and pulse a few times. With the motor running, add additional olive oil to make a creamy sauce, stopping the machine occasionally to scrape down the sides if necessary.

We served it with rotini pasta and roasted red bell peppers (place on a cookie sheet, add some olive oil, and broil until soft) for an early, scrumptious dinner. Enjoy!

Baked Falafel

Mollie Katzen’s Moosewood Cookbook is one of my favorites from my family’s cookbook collection. My mother found it at a used bookstore and it shows all the signs of a well-loved cookbook. The binding is broken, pages are falling out, and a couple frequently used recipes are caked with remnants of their final product. We should probably just get a new copy, but there’s something about the 1970s hand-written copy of the Moosewood Cookbook that makes it difficult to get rid of. (Or maybe we’re just lazy.)

The book is full of vegetarian recipes. Though I am not a vegetarian, I do take pride in participating in Meatless Mondays (if I don’t forget) and have a secret love for brussel sprouts and asparagus. One of my favorite recipes from the book is falafel. Falafel is described as an Israeli “spicy chickpea croquette.” It’s typically fried, but I opt to bake it for a couple of reasons. (Sometimes it’s spelled “felafel,” but I’m not quite sure which way is right.)

Most falafel recipes call for dried chickpeas, soaked for a couple hours. But I use canned chickpeas out of convenience. The canned chickpeas don’t allow the falafel to hold together very well, so if you try and fry them, you end up with a big mess. Baking the falafel is also healthier.

You can serve falafel in pita pockets or on a salad. Or, just eat them straight-up with a little bit of tzatziki (a yogurt-cucumber sauce) or tahini sauce (sesame paste mixed with lemon and other spices). I like to fill a pita with fresh tomato, cucumber, lettuce, red onion, tzatziki and tahini. Other options for fillings include banana peppers, tabouleh and pickles.

Baked Falafel
Adapted from the Moosewood Cookbook

4 cups (about 2 15-oz cans) chickpeas
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup finely minced celery (about 2 stalks)
1/2 cup finely minced yellow onion
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 beaten eggs
3 tablespoons tahini
3 tablespoons fine bread crumbs or flour

1. In a large bowl, mash the chickpeas. Add the remaining ingredients and chill.
2. Preheat oven to 375
3. Shape the mixture into 2-inch patties and roll in flour. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, turning the falafel over halfway thorough cooking.
4. Fill a pita pocket with falafel, onion, tomatoes, tahini and tzatziki (recipes below)

Tzatziki: Mix together
4 oz (1/2 cup) plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 clove pressed garlic
1/2 tablespoon fresh dill
2 1/2 tablespoons shredded cucumber with the water removed.

Tahini: Beat or whisk together
3/4 cup tahini paste
3/4 cup yogurt
1 small clove of crushed garlic
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons finely minced parsley
1/4 teaspoon cumin
Dash of each cayenne, paprika and salt
Dash of tamari (optional)

Red Velvet Cookies

Happy (almost) Valentine’s Day.

In honor of everyone’s favorite day of love (or, in some cases, watching The Notebook alone with a bucket of ice cream) Caty and I have whipped up these lovely little cookies. They are perfect for sharing with a special someone (or your 74 cats). They are partially prefabricated, which is usually against our blogging morals, but in this busy day and age a little cake mix won’t kill you. Especially when the results are so adorable.

This is a recipe we found on the great blog Two Peas & Their Pod. Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cookies

1 box red velvet cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar, for rolling the cookies
Heart shaped cookie cutter, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix and flour. Whisk until clumps disappear. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together cake mix, flour, eggs, oil and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Take about 1 tablespoon of cookie dough and form into a ball. Roll the ball in powdered sugar until fully coated. Place cookie dough balls on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, or until edges are set and cookies begin to crack.
3. Let cookies sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes. If desired, cut cookies into heart shapes, using a heart shaped cookie cutter. Transfer cookies to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.

World Nutella Day: Grilled Nutella and Banana Sandwich

Happy World Nutella Day! There seems to be a special holiday for every type of food, but this one’s definitely worth celebrating. If you want to honor the creamy chocolate-hazelnut spread, try a grilled Nutella and banana sandwich. It’s a step up from spreading Nutella on toast, and if you sprinkle the banana with cinnamon and brown sugar before grilling, you’ve got a fancy Bananas Foster-esque dessert or breakfast. Enjoy!

Grilled Nutella and Banana Sandwich

Melt butter on a preheated griddle. Spread Nutella on two slices of bread and top one with sliced banana. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on top of the bananas then place the other slice of bread, Nutella side down, on top. Cook on the griddle until the bread is golden and the Nutella is melted.

 

For more ways to celebrate World Nutella Day, visit www.nutelladay.com.