Grandpa's 94th Birthday Cake (aka 1-2-3-4 Cake)

This is a family recipe. All I know is my grandpa's birthday was happening and my family asked me to bake a cake, and this one happens to be his favorite.  Post celebrations he said my great grandmother would have approved of the cake.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
4 eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
3 tsp baking powder
1-2 tsp grated lemon peel
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Cream butter, sugar, eggs. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. add flour mixture alternately with milk. Add lemon peel and vanilla

2. Coat angel food or bundt cake tin with 1 tablespoon butter and line with pecans sliced sliver thin (if you don't want to slice the pecan you can dice them) coat both the inside ring and the outside with pecans. 

3. Spoon batter into pan and bake at 350 for 45-60 min until toothpick inserted shows cake is done.

4. Cool completely before unmolding.

5.  Enjoy!

Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting

Dark chocolate and peanut butter is my go-to when it comes to flavor combinations.
I decided to experiment with some new flavors, which resulted in these rich banana cupcakes.

Makes 18 cupcakes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
3/4 granulated sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 4-5 small, ripe bananas)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Nutella Frosting:
1 8oz pack cream cheese, softened
1 cup Nutella
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans and set aside.

2. In a small bow whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda). Set aside.

3. Using a handheld mixer or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium until creamy. Add eggs one at a time while mixing on slow speed. Then beat in the mashed bananas and vanilla extract. Slowly add the flour mixture in 3 additions, continually mixing after each addition. Add the buttermilk until combined. Lastly mix in the chocolate chips.

4. Spoon the batter evenly into the cupcake pans. Fill each cup cake approximately 3/4 full. Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool before frosting.

Frosting:
1. Using a hand mixer beat the cream cheese and Nutella together until smooth.

2. Slowly add the confectioner's sugar, 1/2 cup at a time mixing well after each addition.

3. Add heavy cream.

4. Let frosting chill for a few minutes before piping onto cupcakes. Store finished cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge.

5. Enjoy!

Espresso Meringues

What to do with leftover egg whites? Make meringues!

Makes 2-3 dozen

Ingredients:
2 large egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon espresso powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Mix the egg whites in a medium sized bowl until frothy using an electric mixer. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat until fluffy. Add the sugar in small increments (1-2 tablespoons at a time). Add the espresso powder and vanilla extract when half the sugar has been added. Continue beating the egg white mixture while adding the remaining sugar. Beat until the mixture is smooth and forms stiff peaks.

3. Pipe the meringue onto the prepared baking sheets. Tip: Pipe a small dot of meringue under each corner of the parchment paper This allows the parchment to stay in place.

4. Place baking sheets in the oven and turn off the oven. Let sit in the oven for at least 2 hours, or until meringues are dry.

5. Enjoy!

Lemon and Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

A toasty, holiday weekend seemed like the perfect opportunity to bake a summery dessert. Lemon was my choice fruit today. This recipe is an adaption from Raspberry Lemon Thumbprint Cookies (Food Network Magazine).

Makes Approximately 32 cookies:

Cookies:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter at room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

2 large egg yolks

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache Filling:

6 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped

3/4 cup heavy cream

Pastry bag

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place parchment paper on 2 baking sheets.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to blend

3. In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Beat in the egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Add the flour mixture in 2 additions and beat just until moist clumps form. Gather the dough together into a ball.

4. Pinch off the dough to form 1-inch balls. Place on the prepared baking sheets, spacing one inch apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Take cookies out of the oven and use 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon to create depressions in the center of each ball. Place cookies back in the over for another 7-10 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges.

5. For the chocolate ganache filling: Put chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring the heavy cream to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chopped chocolate and let it sit for 5 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, stir the cream and chocolate mixture until all the chocolate is melted and fully combined. Let cool, place in refrigerator if necessary.

6. Fill a pastry bag with ganache and pipe the filling into each cookie. Refrigerate until ganache filling has thickened, about 30-45 minutes, then serve.

7. Enjoy!

An Introduction

Welcome to my dessert blog! I like baking. I love chocolate. I really love baking with chocolate for my friends and family. Here you will find recipes, lessons learned, and stories that come from my baking adventures.

Please feel free to try any recipe, share my recipes with friends, and leave feedback and ideas.

I love desserts and hopefully this blog finds others that do as well. Enjoy!