Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake. Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake A group of family and friends including some visitors from Alberta went “overseas” for a picnic on the beach a couple of days ago. Going “overseas” is my Dad’s tongue-in-cheek expression for taking the 20 minute ferry ride from Portugal Cove, just outside St. John’s to beautiful Bell Island. The dramatically high cliffed island in the center of Conception Bay has over the years become a favourite spot for family picnics and “boil-ups”.
There are many great scenic locations on the island to spread a picnic blanket and break open your basket of treats. The grassy hills around the lighthouse at the eastern edge of the island is particularly scenic, where you can gaze left and right to the opposite sides of the bay. Lance Cove on the northwest side of the island is also a picturesque location for a great picnic beside a beach comprised of smooth flat round beach rocks formed by the turbulent ocean surf. Bell Island Lance Cove Bell Island Have picnic will travel! How to Pipe Icing Roses.
I baked this spring bouquet of cupcakes for my Weekend Baker post on the Cooking Channel blog. I was limited in space and wanted to go into a bit lot more detail on how to pipe the icing roses. Creating these flowers is not at all difficult, but it helps to have some simple tricks of the trade. With a little practice and the right tools you can easily recreate these flowers. The contrasting color that tips the petals is one of those easy tricks that takes them from ordinary roses to extraordinary. Here is how I did it: You can find my recipe for the cupcakes on the Cooking Channel Piping Icing (This recipe is easy to pipe with and it has lots of body, so the flowers will have structure and not flop over. (makes about 8 large roses. 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 2 tablespoons shortening (This gives a little insurance that it won’t melt in your hands as you are piping) 4 cups confectioners’ sugar pinch salt Food Coloring (I prefer gel or paste for intense colors) (Ateco #914)
Nutella-Mallow Pillow Pockets. When I tell you this, take me very seriously…..run, don’t walk to your nearest grocery store and make these today! I knew I wanted to make a Nutella treat the other day and when this simple idea came to mind I had no idea how crazy good it would be! The pastry with the gooey disappearing marshmallow and nutella make for a treat that you just must try for yourself! Enjoy! Can you handle this line up?! Um….this stuff should be illegal. Ok, easy easy. Take a little fork and crimp those edges, nice and firm. Next, you’ll brush with an egg white wash and sprinkle with sugar, mmmmm! Get a load of this! I sprinkled mine with a little powdered sugar Oooey, gooey and delish! Nutella-Mallow Pillow Pockets 1 package puff pastry, 2 pastry sheets thawed 1 Cup Nutella spread 1 Cup mini marshmallows Egg white wash: 1 egg white whisked with 1 Tablespoon water Powdered sugar for dusting 1. 8 pockets Have a great new week!
Other recipes you may enjoy... Cinnamon Bun Pie Pockets Recipe. This past Friday night was meant for celebrating. The weather was sit-out-on-the-deck-in-the-cool-evening-breeze perfection. Friends gathered from all around the city with chips and salsa and salads and popcorn and laughter and stories to share. The fire pit was aflame. The candles were lit on this (gluten free and vegan) carrot cake. And a very special birthday girl turned the big 3-0. Friends, meet Stacey. Read more TGIF, friends. Hope that you all have had a lovely week, and that a relaxing weekend lies ahead. Did I mention on here that I’m leading an Easter choir at my church?! I’m kind of over the moon about it. Anyway, warm wishes coming your way for a good weekend ahead. Read more Ever since my friends and I met for a tapas happy hour at our neighborhood Spanish restaurant a few weeks ago, I’ve had sangria on my mind. Read more But amongst the thousands of recipes out there using coconut oil, I think I have discovered a new favorite.
Read more That recipe is coming on the blog tomorrow. How to Make Marshmallow Fondant. This time I decided to make it with those mini fruit flavored marshmallows. I had to sort them by colour first. I figured they would add a little bit of flavor to the fondant so I wouldn't have to add much flavoring oil. I use gel colours to dye my fondant but regular food colouring will work too.
You won't be able to get really dark colours without making your fondant sticky, but for lighter colours you can just even it out with more icing sugar. I also had lemon oil and coconut flavoring on hand.. oh la la the value brand (which still works fine). Step One: Take a couple of handfuls of marshmallows and put them in a microwave safe bowl. I like to make smaller batches because its easier to add the colour to the melted marshmallow than it is to work the colour into the fondant later. Step Two: Stick the marshmallows in the microwave for ten seconds at a time until the are puffed up and easily stir into a goo with a wooden spoon. Step Three: Step Four: Fondant with the icing sugar kneaded in. How to Make Peanut Butter S'Mores Turnovers.
Peanut Butter- S’Mores Turnovers I’m not much of a camper. My husband often takes my son on camping trips, and I happily stay behind and thank the gods for our bug-free house, cozy bed and well-stocked kitchen. I always send them off in comfort… marinate a little meat for them to throw on the grill, pack up some convenience foods and bake a few goodies too.
When they return from their camping weekends, I hear mostly about the evenings sitting around the campfire. Story telling, snuggling in blankets, singing songs and roasting marshmallows for S’Mores seem to be recurring favorites. It all sounds great and everything, but it’s just not for me. Here’s the How To: Thaw out a box of Puff Pastry, and cut along the fold lines to make 6 large rectangles. Layer 1/4 of a whole graham cracker, a piece of milk chocolate bar and a spoonful of peanut butter on one side of the Puff Pastry. Transfer filled turnovers to a parchment-lined baking sheet, and brush with egg wash. Gimme S’more. Sep22 Nothing says fall, bonfires, and gooey deliciousness like a s’more. Nothing. But the thing is, s’mores don’t have to be reserved for special outdoorsy occasions.
If you get creative enough you can squeeze them into your daily food pyramid just about anywhere. 34 Comments on “Gimme S’more.” Leave a Comment. Banana and Chocolate Mascarpone Crepes | Evil Shenanigans - Baking & Cooking Blog. The combination of chocolate and banana is highly underrated. Aside from some frozen bananas dipped in chocolate, and chocolate chip banana bread, the combination is largely overlooked. Well, break out your bananas because we are going to make something that will make chocolate lovers rejoice.
The crepes are chocolate but they do not have any sugar in them. Before you say I am mad consider that the crepes are going to be filled with bananas which are naturally very sweet. Along with bananas there is a rich, bitter-sweet, chocolate mascarpone filling, and once plated the crepes are dusted with powdered sugar. With all that sweetness the crepes themselves needed to be bitter to provide a nice contrast in flavor. If you love chocolate and bananas then you need to make this recipe. Banana and Chocolate Mascarpone Crepes Yield 12 crepes Additional powdered sugar for dusting Combine the cocoa, eggs, vanilla, and coffee liquor in a large bowl until well combined. Chill the batter for 30 minutes. Honeyed Pears in Puff Pastry.
Poaching fruit is one of my favorite things to do when cold weather arrives. It's so warming to stand over a boiling pot of fragrant spices and lose yourself in thought. When I made these, I couldn't help but daydream as I stirred; if I were a pear... I wouldn't want to spend my days on the shelf of a cold produce department. I'd want to be taken to a warm home and placed in a jacuzzi of honey and spices. I'd want to be wrapped in an extra long puff pastry scarf and baked until golden and toasty. That sounds a little silly, but that's what I'd want... if I were a pear. The idea for these came from the Pepperidge Farm website. On a personal note, our Christmas tree is already up courtesy of Mr. Since poaching is a relatively easy task, I'll skip to some helpful tips for wrapping the pears in puff pastry.
The poaching liquid has a high concentration of sugar, so your pears will be sticky. When you reach the top, tuck in the end piece of pastry behind the last spiral. 4 small pears 1/2 lemon. Bethany actually» Blog Archive » Make your own vanilla extract. Wouldn’t you be happy to get this as a Christmas gift? I read Catherine Newman’s post about making homemade vanilla as Christmas gifts and thought, Brilliant! I’m gonna do that this year! So we did. I bought a dozen 4-ounce clear Boston round glass bottles and 20 organic Tahitian vanilla beans (I actually received 23 beans).
[UPDATE 12 October 2011: The company I originally bought vanilla beans from seems to be on hiatus. I also gathered my two lovely and capable assistants, Annalie and my mom Debbie. For each bottle of vanilla, you’ll need 2-3 beans and 1/2 cup of vodka. First, we used the scissors to cut each vanilla bean in half lengthwise and then again crosswise. We stuffed all the bean pieces into the bottles, seven or eight pieces per bottle.
We got vanilla-bean flecks and sticky juice on our fingers, but it washed off easily and as a bonus made our hands smell yummy. After we’d distributed all the beans into the bottles, I poured a half-cup of vodka into the measuring cup. Tequila-Soaked Watermelon Wedges. Homemade Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread Recipe (Better Than Nutella) » Su Good Sweets. If someone offered you portable chocolate that could instantly be spread on bread, fruit, crackers and pastries, how could you refuse? Thus began my love affair with Nutella, a European spread made of hazelnut butter and cocoa. During my days at NYU, I was at a make-your-own sandwich bar when I first tried Nutella with French bread. What a revelation!
The chocolate oozed out of the nooks and crannies, while the spread’s smoothness contrasted the bread’s crust. Fascinated by this new condiment, I bought myself a jar and finished it in one week. According to Ferrero’s website, Nutella was created in the 1940s in the midst of a chocolate shortage. According to Mort Rosenblum’s Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light, a 13-ounce jar of Nutella contains 50 (2/3 cup) hazelnuts, 1 1/2 cups skim milk, “enough cocoa to make it brown, and a lot of sugar.”
If you love this original recipe and repost it, please credit this site. Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread (easy version) Notes: Lemon Sugar. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip - What Megan's Making. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip It’s time for a little confession. I realize this may get me shunned (especially in my hometown of Pittsburgh!) , but….I don’t like football. I don’t like to watch it, I never liked playing football with my friends, I don’t even like playing catch with a football. I saw this recipe on Jessica’s blog and made it the very next day. *Note: Jessica also has variations of this dip on her blog. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip Ingredients:1/2 cup butter 1/3 cup brown sugar 1 8-ounce block of cream cheese, softened 3/4 to 1 cup powdered sugar (*to taste) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips, plus extra for sprinklingDirections:In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
Chocolate banana crepes. This past Friday night was meant for celebrating. The weather was sit-out-on-the-deck-in-the-cool-evening-breeze perfection. Friends gathered from all around the city with chips and salsa and salads and popcorn and laughter and stories to share. The fire pit was aflame. The candles were lit on this (gluten free and vegan) carrot cake. And a very special birthday girl turned the big 3-0. Friends, meet Stacey. Read more TGIF, friends. Hope that you all have had a lovely week, and that a relaxing weekend lies ahead. Did I mention on here that I’m leading an Easter choir at my church?!
I’m kind of over the moon about it. Anyway, warm wishes coming your way for a good weekend ahead. Read more Ever since my friends and I met for a tapas happy hour at our neighborhood Spanish restaurant a few weeks ago, I’ve had sangria on my mind. Read more But amongst the thousands of recipes out there using coconut oil, I think I have discovered a new favorite. Read more That recipe is coming on the blog tomorrow.
Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze. I’m not exaggerating when I write that I have been thinking about making these cinnamon rolls for five months. After posting my Sweet Potato Pecan Cinnamon Rolls last November, I started brainstorming other varieties and carrot cake immediately came to mind. I waited all of these months to make these cinnamon rolls because for some reason I associate carrot cake with Spring. Is it the bunnies? Easter? Indisputably a healthier recipe than that of most cinnamon rolls, this one calls for whole wheat pastry flour, applesauce, and a low amount of sugar. I know the directions list looks a bit intimidating, but I assure you none of the steps are too difficult.
. … rolling the dough up nice & snug and nestling the cut pieces into a cake pan. It’s so rewarding to peek at the rolls an hour later and behold them in their puffed-up risen glory. Then they emerge golden and warm from the oven, perfuming the air with their intoxicating aroma. Then comes the cream cheese glaze. Boring, that’s what. Homemade Chocolate Syrup Recipe. I love it when I can easily make something at home and it turns out to be just as good or better than the more expensive store-bought kind. I’ve been wanting to try some homemade chocolate syrup. The basic recipe is very simple, but there are a few variations of it, so the other day I decided to experiment with them and have a chocolate syrup taste test. Not a shabby way to spend the afternoon! The one I liked the best was from Amy Dacyczyn’s The Complete Tightwad Gazette. ½ cup cocoa powder 1 cup water 2 cups sugar ⅛ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon vanilla Mix the cocoa powder and the water in a saucepan.
The result is very rich, so I only use a teaspoon for a glass of chocolate milk. I poured the chocolate into a flip-top glass bottle and added a label. I’ve been gradually learning how to replace some of the foods we used to buy. Small Notebook is full of practical ideas to simplify your life and home.