Glazed Yeast Doughnuts

There are few desserts that I can eat 7 or 8 of in one sitting.

Seven cupcakes?  I’d do my best, but nah…

Eight scoops of ice cream?  Nope…

Seven pieces of pie?  No way!!

Seven or eight warm homemade glazed doughnuts?

*Gulp*  Ten.  Easily.

No kidding.  These are a sweet, light, fluffy, circle of joy.  Warm out of the fryer and then dipped in a vanilla or chocolate glaze.    Gets me every time.    I make a large batch for the family to enjoy and then immediately box up the rest to give away.  You can’t keep this stuff just lying around.

It’s lethal.

This is a perfect Sunday morning activity to do with the whole family.   We fried some with holes and some without.  No filling needed.

We dipped.

We double dipped.

We, errr… triple dipped too.

See the pink ones below?  Just a dab of coloured gel in the your glaze.  Easy peasy.

Do you share my love of the doughnut?  I can’t wait to hear about it!!

Glazed Yeast Doughnut

• 2 cups cake flour
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 pkg (8 grams) – instant yeast, quick rise
•  3 tbsp honey (I use creamed honey)
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole milk, heated to 115 degrees
• 3 egg yolks
• enough oil for frying

1.  Mix cake flour, salt, yeast, honey and shortening in a large bowl.   Slowly add the milk and vanilla and stir to combine.  Add one cup of the all-purpose flour and the egg yolks.  Add another cup of all-purpose flour and mix just until combined.  The dough will be sticky.  Dump the dough onto a counter and knead for 8 minutes adding just enough flour to allow you to knead without it sticking to the counter (add as little as possible).    The dough ball will be very soft and moist.

2.  Place the dough back in the bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least one hour (overnight is good too!!).

3.  Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface (to about 1/2″ thickness).  Cut out with a doughnut cutter or use a biscuit cutter.  I used a 2″ biscuit cutter and an icing tip for the hole.

4.  Let doughnuts rise on a flour dusted parchment lined baking sheet (cover them up with a towel!).  Once doubled in size (about 1/2 an hour), they are ready to fry in oil heated to 350 degrees!  Fry on each side for approx.     1 1/2 minutes per side.  No more!  Drain on a wire rack over a baking sheet.

Glaze while still warm.

Vanilla Glaze

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2-4 tbsp warm milk – just enough to make the glaze pouring consistency

1.  Mix all ingredients in a bowl and dip the warm doughnuts in.

*for the chocolate, I used the same glaze above but added 3-4 tbsp of dark cocoa powder

Peach Fritters

My dad is a great story-teller.   It’s something that I love about him and a bond that we share.  I love to hear the stories of his childhood in a small fishing village.  I love to hear stories about my ancestors and my heritage.  And I appreciate every one of them because they make the generations past seem real to me.

This year for my birthday he gave me the best gift.

He gave me an old cookbook that was my great-grandfathers.  My father is named after him and he died in 1927 in an accident.  He was a cook on a tug boat and my grandmother got this book when they went to retrieve his body and belongings.   It just made me feel so much more that cooking must be in my genes.   That I’m doing the right thing.

I decided to try the recipe for Fruit Fritters that was in there.  I love how some of the pages are marked with pencil and some have drops of  whatever on them.

I wonder, did he make the Fruit Fritters?

On my card my dad said that my great-grandfather would have been proud of the work I have done in the kitchen.

Gosh, that is just the best gift isn’t it?

For my fritters I used peaches.  It’s peach season around here and they are big and juicy and so sweet.  Apples would be good too.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp grated nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 4-5 medium peaches, peeled and sliced into 1 inch slices
• powdered sugar for dusting

1.  Sift dry ingredients together.  Add milk and eggs and mix until smooth.

2.  Heat canola oil to 350° in a deep pan or fryer.  Batter peach slices and gently drop into oil.  Fry for 3-5 minutes.  Dust with powdered sugar.  Best eaten warm.

Mini Wild Blueberry and Cream Cheese Trifles

May seems to be flying by and I can’t believe I missed my one year blog anniversary!   One year ago on Mother’s Day I started this crazy adventure and somehow wrangled my husband into doing the pictures for me.

I had no idea what blogging would entail.   No really, I had NO idea what I was doing.  Photography?  Food styling? I’m just a girl who loves to bake yummy things and share them with others.  And I still have a lot to learn.

The world is such a small place for bloggers and foodies alike.  I can’t believe the mail I’ve received from people who live in some pretty amazing places.  I love to hear from you!  I love to receive all of your questions and comments.   There are actually more people than just me who think frosting should be added as the 5th food group.

Who knew!

I have learned so much from you too.  I am constantly amazed by the other sites I visit.  Some of you have been a real inspiration to me!  Let’s see where this road takes us, shall we?  I’m excited to see what the next year brings.

*make these in disposable cups for easy clean-up!

*recipe adapted from My Baking Addiction

•  5 slices of ready made pound cake cut into small cubes
• 250 g cream cheese softened
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 lemon zested
• 1/4 cup sugar
• wild blueberry sauce – I used about 1 1/2 cups of my homemade Wild Blueberry and Lemon Preserves (here)

1.  Whip cream cheese, vanilla, cream, lemon zest and sugar in a small bowl until soft peaks form.

2.  I layered the cream cheese whip, pound cake and blueberry sauce in disposable plastic wine cups.  Yield 7 dessert cups.

Enjoy!

White Modelling Chocolate

Want to know the best thing about this cupcake?

Besides the fact that it’s elegant and gorgeous looking, it’s entirely chocolate.  Cake, icing,  branches and flower.  The cake and icing don’t matter here (even though I believe cake and icing ALWAYS matter, just read on for a minute here…).    Today’s post is about the chocolate flower on top.

I’ve made the dark modelling chocolate before.  It’s one of the posts I receive the most mail about.  Remember here?  So I thought I would leave the recipe for the white as well.   I don’t think the white hardens as firm as the dark (still quite firm though), but it tastes just as yummy!

The best part about modelling chocolate?   No “glue” required and flowers firm up fairly quickly.  This flower takes just a little chocolate and some coloured lustre dust for accents.  Remember though, it is chocolate so it doesn’t tolerate heat!

I promise this will be a two-part post with a tutorial for the flowers to follow.  My hubby, who is also my photographer, is also a snowplow driver and we have been hit with a lot of snow today.  Needless to say I’m on my own, so I’ll have to wait until he’s here to finish up the tutorial.

I just love a dogwood flower.  It’s such an elegant flower.  Wouldn’t these be great for a wedding?  Shower perhaps?  Garden party?

Check out the Hungry Happenings site for fantastic information about working with chocolate.  While you’re there, check out some of the yummy creations!  This is where I get my recipe for modelling chocolate from.

*from Hungry Happenings 

• 16 oz good quality Belgian White Chocolate
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup (more if needed)

1.  Melt chocolate over a double boiler.  Let chocolate cool to 91 degrees F, stirring often.  Pour in the corn syrup and mix well.   If the mixture is crumbly, add a little more corn syrup.  I do not knead mine at this stage as recommended, I put it in a sealable plastic bag and let it sit at room temperature for atleast 24 hours.  It will be quite hard when you start to knead it.  To soften it up a bit, pop it in the microwave for only a few seconds.

2.  Keep leftovers wrapped in plastic and sealed in an airtight container at room temperature.  Leave chocolate creations at room temperature to firm up and then store in an air tight container (at room temp).

Small Batch Chocolate Vanilla Bean Latte Cupcakes

Remember a while ago when I said I would post a recipe for small batch cupcakes?

Please forgive me but I forgot….

And, I forgot that I forgot until this week-end when I decided to make them again for this post…

See, I am constantly searching on Pinterest looking for cake stands and baking inspiration.  Man there are some creative people out there!  There are ruffle shirts and scarves, ruffle cakes, ruffle dresses and gowns, you name it!

I decided that if you can make a ruffle flower out of a t-shirt in less than 10 minutes, surely I could follow the same instructions and make one out of fondant!

I think it turned out pretty cute and overall was really easy.  Like no brainer kind of easy.  So I needed a small batch of cupcakes just to show you how it turned out.  The instructions I followed are here from A Bit of Sunshine.  What a cute site!

I used it to garnish a Chocolate Cupcake with some Vanilla Bean Latte Swiss Meringue Buttercream.   I have yet to find a Swiss Meringue Buttercream that I don’t like.  It’s smooth and creamy and full of flavour.  It’s that simple.  The cupcakes are surprisingly moist for such a small batch and had gorgeous rounded tops!  Perfect, when you just need a nibble of something sweet.

Small Batch Chocolate Cupcakes

*from Small Batch Baking, from Debby Maugans Nakos

yield 4 standard size cupcakes

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 3 tbsp buttermilk, room temp
• 1 large egg, room temp
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line four muffin cups with paper liners.
2. Combine the buttermilk, egg and vanilla in a small bowl, and whisk to mix. Gradually pour the melted butter into the buttermilk mixture, whisking constantly.
3. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium-size mixing bowl, and then whisk to blend well. Add the sugar and whisk to combine. Add the buttermilk mixture and whisk just until the dry ingredients are moistened.
4. Spoon the batter into the prepared liners and until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean, 16 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
6. Frost with Vanilla Bean Latte Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

Vanilla Bean Latte Swiss Meringue Buttercream

*note: this will make approx 2 1/2 cups of frosting.  You will have extra!

• 1 cup unsalted butter cubed, at room temperature
• 3 large egg whites
• 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 vanilla bean split with seeds scraped out
• pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp of instant espresso powder dissolved in 2 tsp water

1.  Fill a saucepan (large enough to fit your mixing bowl just a few inches) with two inches of water.  Bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat to med-low so water continues to simmer.

2.  In your stand mixer bowl, hand whisk the egg whites and the sugar just until combined.  Place over simmering pot and whisk for approx 4 mins until the egg whites are hot (about 150 degrees).  The sugar should be dissolved by this time as well.  Place bowl on stand mixer and attach the whisk attachment.  Whisk on medium until whites have increased in volume and the outside of the bowl is just slightly warm to the touch (this can take up to 10 minutes!).

3.  Remove whisk attachment and replace with paddle attachment.  Beat on low-speed until mixture is completely cooled.  Increase speed to medium and add butter pieces one at a time.  Scrape the bowl and continue to beat until buttercream is glossy, smooth and thick.  It may separate at first, but continue beating and it will emulsify.  Add vanilla flavouring, vanilla seeds, a pinch of salt and espresso and beat until combined.  Use immediately.

Dark Chocolate Beetroot Cake with Sugared Cranberries

I am not a huge beet fan.

This week I asked a lady I work with whether she ate beets.  She rattled off a few ways that she likes to cook them and  proclaimed that she loved them.  The only thing that kept circling through my tiny brain was “Ewwwwww….”

But this week-end beets and I have had a new beginning.   A re-awakening!  A moist, chocolatey, gloriously decadent new beginning.  Are you with me??

I simply could not get over how amazing this cake tasted.  I was pretty skeptical last night as I was boiling the beets in preparation for this morning.  I mean, how can a cake that tastes this awesome be chalk full of antioxidants and nutrients?   And, not even a hint that there are beets in here.  Just a deep chocolatey, moist, earthy cake.   If I didn’t have beet stained fingertips, no one would believe me.

A simple ganache and some sugared cranberries is all that is needed for garnish.  Even a slight dusting of powdered sugar would do.  It’s so elegant and so simple.  Very impressive.  I’m not kidding.  Put beets on your grocery list.  You will not be disappointed!

I think my husband did a wonderful job on these photos.  I stood there watching with my finger in the ganache bowl.  Afterwards, we shared this piece.  We’re a good team.  A good food blogging, photo taking, cake eating team.

Dark Chocolate Beetroot Cake

*recipe adapted from Always Order Dessert

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons extra dark cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
3/4 cup + 1/4 cup butter, softened and divided
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup quality Belgian semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups beet puree (about 6-7 small-medium beets roasted, peeled, and processed until smooth)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

For the ganache:
1 cup quality Belgian bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup heavy cream

Grease and flour your bundt pan.

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and sift until evenly distributed. Set aside.

2. Cream 3/4 cup butter and the sugar in a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the eggs in one at a time and beat until well incorporated.

3. Combine the chocolate with the remaining butter and microwave 20 seconds at a time, stirring each time, until melted. Stir in espresso powder and set aside.

4.  Add the vanilla extract to the eggs, followed by the chocolate, and the beet puree and mix until well combined.

5.  Add the flour mixture to the beet mixture and mix just until completely and evenly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake at 375 degrees F for about 50 minutes or until a tester inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes before inverting on a wire rack.

6. While the cake is cooling, make the ganache by combining the chocolate and butter in a medium bowl. Heat the cream through gently just until it starts to bubble and pour over the chocolate. Stir slowly until the chocolate melts and the ganache becomes smooth and glossy.

7. Pour the ganache over the cooled cake and let set 15-20 minutes before serving.

Garnish with sugared cranberries.

Note:  If you taste the cake while warm you will taste the beets.  Strange, I know, but if you wait until the cake is completely cool, you will taste nothing but rich chocolate!

Good Things Come In 3′s….

The first person every little girl falls in love with is her dad.  And I, like I’m sure many others, have spent a good deal of my life comparing the other men in my world to my dad.  He’s  an ultra-focused, perfectionistic kind of guy with a killer dry sense of humour.  He’s my ‘go to’ guy when I need a home inspector, an appliance repair person, someone to tell me how to cook my seafood dinner, someone to teach me how to build something, a financial advisor and the list goes on….Thank you dad for teaching me all about my heritage.  I love your family stories and how you have shown me all the neat places and people from your childhood.

How blessed I have been to have another father figure in my life too!  A step-dad who can tell you the back road route to any destination, whom I have called many (NUMEROUS) times when I needed directions or something was wrong with my car.  Oh, and not to forget the hell he put any date through who came to pick me up!  Thank you for making me proud to have the nickname “squirt” even though I’m a grown woman with a family of my own (who all have nicknames too!).

And, finally number three, a fantastic person who I love more each day for the role model he is to my own children.  He is a hard worker, ultra-loyal, laid back kind of soul.  And, he has taught my sons (without even realizing it), the way you respect and love your leading lady.   Thank you for showing me how easy it is to just sit back and enjoy the ride.

So, now that we’ve got all that mushy stuff out of the way, lets eat boys!  This one’s for you.  Who wouldn’t enjoy a dessert made with Irish Whiskey?  Yum!  Happy Father’s Day,

Irish Coffee Sundaes with Caramel Whiskey Sauce

from Epicurious - I did not change a thing from this recipe!  It is absolutely perfect as is.

For coffee nut crisp:

• 1 large egg white
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules, crushed
• 1 cup walnut pieces (3 1/2 ounces), coarsely chopped if desired

For sauce:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 6 Tablespoons Irish whiskey
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• good-quality coffee/cappuccino ice cream

1.  Whisk egg white, sugar, coffee powder, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Stir in walnuts until coated. Spread mixture onto a parchment lined cookie sheet (make an 8 x8 rectangle) and bake at 325° for 25 minutes or until fairly dry to the touch.  Remove to a rack and break into small pieces when cool (I left some larger pieces to use for garnish).

2.  For the sauce, bring the sugar and water to a boil in a 2–quart heavy saucepan over medium–high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil without stirring, until syrup begins to turn golden, about 5 minutes. Continue to boil, swirling pan occasionally, until syrup is a deep golden caramel.

3.  Remove pan from heat and carefully add whiskey, cream, and salt (mixture will bubble up and steam and caramel will harden).  Return the pan to heat and simmer, stirring, until caramel is dissolved and sauce is smooth. Cool to warm.

Serve sauce over scoops of cappuccino ice cream then sprinkle with walnut crisp.

I would double the batch of walnuts, these are really addictive all by themselves!

Ooey Gooey Goodness

I love to camp.   I do not like the clean-up as much.   So I’m avoiding it and instead am going to share my great new discovery with you.   There’s nothing better than a messy, sticky, gooey s’more and it’s even better when the marshmallows are homemade!  I found a few recipes and couldn’t believe how simple they were to make.  Really, 30 minutes and you’re done.  And, once people were done with the “you made your own marshmallows?!?” comments, the vote was in and these were awesome.  In between some yummy chocolate or melted in krispie squares, these rock.  Just in time for summer.  Enjoy!

Marshmallows

*Adapted from The Golden Iris

1 cup cold water, divided

3 1/4 oz envelopes unflavoured gelatin

2 cups white sugar

2/3 cup pure glucose (corn syrup will work too)

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup icing sugar

1.  Line a 13x 9″ pan with tin foil and lightly spray with cooking spray.

2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer pour 1/2 cup of the cold water.  Sprinkle the gelatin on top and let it sit for 15 minutes.

3.  In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, glucose, salt and remaining water.  Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves, then increase to med-high heat and let mixture boil for 8 minutes, without stirring.  At this point, syrup will form a soft ball when dropped into a glass of ice cold water.

4.  Using whisk attachment on stand mixer, begin beating the gelatin mixture while slowly pouring the boiling syrup down the side of the bowl (not directly on whisk attachment as it can splatter).  Syrup is boiling hot, so pour slowly and carefully!  Beat mixture for 15 minutes at high speed.  Add vanilla and beat for one minute more.

5.   Scrape into pan and smooth top- marshmallows are sticky, so a buttered spatula works well at this point!  Let mixture stand at room temperature until firm- approximately 4 hours.

6.  Stir together cornstarch and icing sugar.  Sift a generous amount onto work surface and unmold marshmallow on top.  Sift more powder onto the top of the slab.  Lightly spray a large knife with cooking spray and cut marshmallows to desired size. Sift all sides of your marshmallows with powder to avoid sticking!  Transfer to a rack and shake off excess powder.  Place in an airtight container.

*Add food colouring at the same time as the vanilla for some coloured fun!

Early Spring Crop

Rhubarb is a “do like” or “definately don’t” kind of thing.   It’s a tart and sour fella that can produce the yummiest cobblers and coffee cakes.  And we all, I’m sure, have tried the rhubarb/strawberry combo.  My father-in-law has a patch in his large garden and I have recently been asking, “Is it ready yet??”  The season usually starts here in late May or early June.   His won’t be ready until next week so I hauled my sorry self out of bed early this morning to go to the market in search of freshly picked stalks for todays post.  I strolled by a few vendors who didn’t have any yet and then almost ran to the vendor who had a nice big basket full of freshly harvested stocks (I think she was taken aback by my excitement, it is only rhubarb after all…)…

Enjoy todays post, just in time for the rhubarb season to start.   A really simple Rum Butter Cherry Rhubarb sauce served warm over homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.   And I guarantee that once you make your own ice cream (without the ice cream maker…) you will turn your nose up at any store bought carton again!  Enjoy,

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Adapted from David Lebovitz, The Perfect Scoop 

1 cup homogenized milk

1/4 tsp kosher salt

3/4 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

2 cups half and half cream- you can also use heavy cream for a creamier texture

6 large egg yolks

1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan until hot, but not boiling. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk, then add the bean pod to the milk. Cover, remove from heat, and let milk infuse for one hour.

2. Set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Pour the half and half into the 2-quart bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk then gradually pour some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Put the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.

4. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the custard thickens. It should be thick enough to coat the spatula.

5. Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir over the ice until cool, add the vanilla extract, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly.  Several hours or overnight is best.

Once the mixture has chillled for several hours you can remove the vanilla bean* and put it in your ice cream machine and follow manufacterers instructions or do it without a machine as outlined below:

1. Remove the vanilla bean and pour ice cream into a freezer safe bowl (I use stainless).  Leave in the freezer (uncovered) for 45 minutes.  Remove from freezer and whisk for approx. 3 minutes.  Back into the freezer for another 30 minutes and whisk again.  Continue freezing and whisking for about 2 1/2 -3 hours until set.  Place ice cream in a sealable container and freeze until ready to use.

*Keep that vanilla bean!  Wash it with water and allow it to dry out.  Put it in your sugar canister to give an extra kick to baked goods.  And, you can use it again for your next batch of ice cream!

Rum Butter Cherry Rhubarb Sauce

*Adapted from Canadian Living Magazine

2 cups jarred sour cherries (reserve juice)

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter

2 cups sliced rhubarb (fresh or frozen)

2 tbsp cornstarch

2 tbsp amber rum

1.  In saucepan, bring 1/4 cup cherry juice, sugar and butter to a boil over medium-high heat, until sugar dissolves.  Add cherries and rhubarb: cook over medium heat until rhubarb is tender, about 5 minutes.

3.  Blend cornstarch with rum; stir into fruit mixture and cook, stirring, until thickened.

Spoon warm mixture over ice cream.