A Cake Ball by Any Other Name Would Taste as Sweet

This past weekend, I had a small get together at my house. Ok, so it was one of those silly jewelry parties, but the way I looked at it was just a good excuse to have some good food and good company. I made sure I had plenty of wine, and some good afternoon snacks cheese and crackers and veggies with roasted red pepper hummus.

The biggest decision, of course, was deciding what to have for dessert. Originally I was thinking of making cupcakes...chocolate chip cupcakes with chocolate chip frosting to be exact. But then I remembered a go-to crowd favorite, Cake Balls! They are perfect party dessert finger foods, basically a piece of cake and frosting rolled into a ball coated in chocolate. What could be better? And for this particular day I decided to go with a yellow cake, in which I mixed honey Teddy Grahams, with white frosting covered in semi-sweet chocolate. Um, can we say delicious!?

The word 'cake balls', however, doesn't have the most elegant ring to it (as my boss pointed out). So he presented me with the challenge of renaming this scrumptious, bute-sized dessert. I posed the question to my guests this past weekend and here are a few names we came up with:

Cake Bon Bons
Cake Rocks
Torta di Palle (cake balls in Italian)
Cake Ballz (the z makes the name a little cooler, was someone's rationale)
Cake Conglomerates
TriCakes (since there are 3 components)

In the end, though, we all agreed that cake balls might just be the best. But really whatever you want to call them, a cake ball by any other name would taste just as sweet!

The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Fried Foods

The Food Network has been a huge part of my life since it's inception. Chefs like Bobby Flay, Paula Dean, Giada de Laurentis, etc., have become food icons to me. When all else fails, and there is nothing good on tv, I can always turn to the Food Network for a good cooking show.

One of their newest shows is "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" where these famous chefs/hosts tell us "not only what they like to eat, but where we can get it" (quote from the opening credits). Each show is topic based: chocolate, meat, cheese, salty, barbeque, and any other food category you can think of. With every show my parents and I discuss what we would pick if we were asked what our favorite _____ would be and where...

Well this weekend I found my answer to "The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Fried Foods." I decided that I could use a little getaway, and in the spirit of the weekend (Presidents' Day), I decided to head down to Washington, D.C. A friend of my brother's lives in the city, so we decided to have dinner together. He took me to this placed called Founding Farmers (http://www.wearefoundingfarmers.com/). It's a sustainable restaraunt, that was actually featured on "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" for its devl-ish eggs. Well, I'm sure those are good, but for me, I would have to say if you ever get to go there, you must have B Baby's Beignets. These are, by far, the best beignets I have ever had!

For those of you that don't know, here is Wikipedia's definition of a beignet:
A beignet (pronounced /bɛnˈjeɪ/ in English, /bɛˈɲɛ/ in French; French for "fried dough") in the U.S. is a pastry made from deep-fried dough, much like a doughnut, and sprinkled with confectioner's sugar, or frostings.

But enough of the techinicalities. Let's get to the good stuff...These beignets were out of this world. They were brought to the table simply displayed, brown paper bag, dusted with powered sugar, and served with 3 sauces (raspberry, chocolate and caramel). Well just by the look of them, my mouth was watering. But then we dug in. The beignets were served fresh from the frier, warm enough so the sugar began to melt just a little, forming a glaze. We tore them open, revealing a moist, airy center. We then dipped the half into a sauce of choice and then ENJOYED. Wow, they were sweet bites of heaven that dissolved in your mouth. And the sauce I would have to say was the best was the caramel. The heat from the beignet melts the caramel slightly, and when combined with the glaze from the powdered sugar...well there aren't words to describe.

So if you are ever in DC you must go to the Founding Farmers and get the beignets. I promise you, they will be one of the best things you ever eat.

Think Pink

Over the weekend my friend, Jon, and I were having a very serious discussion about pink frosting (well as serious of a discussion as two people can have about pink frosting). This is how we got onto the topic: First we started talking about whoopies pies and how we could make them even more spectacular. We came up with the idea of making a peanut butter, banana, and bacon whoopee pie, which we appropriately named “The Elvis Whoopie” or “The King.” And even though that sounds amazing, it was really the bacon that brought us to our next train of thought. We went on to talk about bacon in all its glory and how it makes everything it is in or on taste even more amazing. This brought us to bacon dipped donuts, naturally. This is where the pink talk comes into play.

A few years ago, I brought donuts into work. It was an impulse purchase that accompanied my coffee that morning. I picked an array of donut flavors, glazed, jelly, Boston Crème, chocolate frosted and strawberry frosted. So I deliver the donuts, feeling happy about bringing the joy of this breakfast treat into my associates, when all of a sudden my one boss asks, “Who brought the donuts in?” Of course I said it was me. He then said that he knew it was a girl, because no guy would ever choose a pink donut. I was astonished by this comment, and it has stuck with me ever since.

So as Jon and I were talking about donuts, I asked him what his take was on pink (strawberry) frosted donuts. His response was classic. He said, “I love them. Not only are they good because they are strawberry flavored, but when I eat them I feel like Homer Simpson.” (Jon’s whit is astounding). I then began to tell him about the “guys don’t pick pink frosted donuts” and he was appalled by this comment. His response, “It’s just a color. It means nothing. And why sacrifice not eating something so good just because it’s pink???” Of course I completely agreed with him.

So this conversation inspired me to create a pink treat: Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes (filled with strawberry preserves).

The Prep:

 
Batter Up (ha!):

After they were baked, I piped in the strawberry jam:

The final product...they are the prettiest cupcakes I think I have made to date:

Thanks Jon for the inspiration!

New Year (Baking) Resolution

This year I resolve to bake more treats, try new recipes, and share them all with as many people as I can. So get ready, cause 2011 is going to bring with it lots of sweet delights!

New recipe #1: Baked Chocolate Glazed Donuts

‘Tis the Season to be Baking

Well this past month has been a busy one, that’s for sure. There were lots of gifts to be bought, decorations to be hung, and most importantly, goodies to be baked. So even though I have been slacking in the blogging world, it has all been for good reason.

Let’s start from the beginning. On December 6th, my work hosted its annual cookie bake off. Last year I came in 4th place (out of 12), and this year I was determined to move up in the rankings. So with this challenge presented, I decided to make two batches of test cookies. The first batch was the cookie below, double chocolate crackles. It was a recipe that I found in the December issue of The Food Network Magazine.

The second test batch was my own recipe: Double chocolate cake mix, 2 eggs, ½ cup of oil, pecans and toffee bits. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. The result is the image you see below. These were the cookies I chose as my bake off representatives. Although, in the end I think the crackles might have been the more successful of the two. Needless to say, I came in 3rd, and that was third out of three entries. It was a somewhat sad bake off all round, due to lack of entries and participants, but at least it gave me an excuse to try two new recipes.

Once the bake off was over I thought I might have some time to relax until Christmas. Well as it turns out a baker’s work is never done. A few days later my mom and I were hanging around when she told me she had a craving for a really good, classic chocolate cake. Well I can’t ignore a craving, let alone one that involves baking AND comes from the woman who gave me life! So that weekend my mission was clear…Make a fantastic, classic chocolate cake. Right away I found Ina Garten’s recipe called Beatty’s Chocolate Cake. It was 2 layers of moist chocolate cake smothered in chocolate butter cream frosting (both of which were enhanced by mixing in coffee in some way, shape or form). And the result, well you can see for yourself:

So after the cake was made, and what seemed like not a second later, did it come time to figure out what to bake for Christmas this year? See every year on Christmas Eve my family hosts a holiday open house, and every year my mom and I have to come up with the menu. We brainstorm and come up with about 5-6 different appetizers/finger foods to serve along with dessert. Well you can guess who takes care of the dessert portion. So this year I decided to make Bobby Flay’s gingerbread cupcakes with mango butter cream frosting, but instead of regular sized cupcakes they would be miniature. Well with exception to a few hiccups that occurred during the frosting making process, they were another baking success!

So as you can see I have been quite the busy baker. But at this time of year, it’s to be expected. It is, after all, the most wonderful time of the year!

Trying to find the Perfect Recipe is like trying to find the Perfect Guy…

A few weeks ago, I was on a mission to find a new dessert recipe to make for Thanksgiving. As the search went on, I slowly began to realize that the task of finding the perfect recipe is oddly similar to trying finding the perfect guy.

First, when I look for a recipe I find that I have a slight preconceived idea of what I am looking to bake. I tend to look for something slightly unique, and at the same time something relatively simple (related to both the ingredients and the baking process). The same thing applies to guys. We all have those things we look for in a man. Standards that we hope they can fulfill…tall, college educated, physically fit, working, sense of humor, good personality, etc. Every baker has their own idea of what kind of recipe they are looking for, just like every woman has her own standards for what kind of guy she is looking for.

Next comes the actual searching. When I am looking for that perfect recipe I tend to look in multiple places. Just like trying to find a guy…You go to different spots, different bars, and different places of interest seeking out someone who might fit with what you’re looking for. And as an alternative to going out to find a guy, sometimes you look to others to try and set you up…similar, in fact, to a recipe swap.

Finally you come across a recipe, or a guy, that looks appealing. So you decide to go for it and try it out. You buy the ingredients for the recipe, or you buy a new outfit for a date. Then the testing begins. You follow the recipe as best possible, just like you follow the “rules of engagement” on a date. There are certain steps that you have to take when baking, just like there are certain steps you have to take when you go out with someone. And just like you have to do a taste test once everything is baked, that’s kind of like getting a good night kiss at the end of a date. You have to see if all of those ingredients come together to form something delicious and magical.

And if you find that things didn’t turn out the way you hoped…maybe the cake cracked, maybe the sugar didn’t caramelize, maybe the conversation was lacking, maybe the chemistry wasn’t there…well then you start all over again, searching for that perfect recipe; for that perfect guy until eventually everything mixes together to form a perfect union.

Trick or Treat

So this weekend was Halloween. Normally it’s my least favorite holiday of the year (with exception to the fact that it revolves mainly around candy). Besides that though, trying to figure out what to be from year to year is always a stressor for me. Do I look cute or funny? It’s a chilly time of year but most costumes for girls are on the skimpy side, so is there a way to look cute while also being semi-warm?  Can I find something that makes me feel comfortable and happy? Oh and lastly there is always the impending thought of “it’s once a year, I am not going to spend a fortune on a costume.”


So this year I was determined tofind the perfect costume, taking into consideration all of the above thoughts. So I googled away, and finally after searching through countless sites for unique costume ideas, I stumbled upon the winner. Flo, the Progressive Insurance girl! It was cute, it was simple, it was comfortable, it was funny, and it was pretty unique. So I ordered the Progressive apron and the ‘I (heart) Insurance’ button. I went out and bought a white polo shirt, black & white Vans sneakers, and a blue head band. Ran to Walgreen’s and purchased some red lipstick and liquid mascara. Had my friend (Betty Boop) poof my hair and flip out the ends and here is what it turned out to look like (not too shabby if you ask me)

Now how, you ask, does this relate to food? Well it doesn’t except to say that I was so focused on my Halloween costume that I totally forgot to think of something to make for the party I was attending. Now I don’t know about you, but now that I have established myself amongst my friends as “the baker” I don’t feel right attending a social event without some type of fabulous baked good. So it was time to dig deep down into my bag of baking tricks, and pull out something yummy, easy &quick, and something I could make a lot of. The end result: Symphony Brownies! I have made them before, but they are always a hit. Now, it’s not my recipe. It’s Paula Dean’s (must give credit where credit is due). But it is one of the best brownie recipes I have come across so far in my baking adventures. Here is what you do:

Buy any boxed brownie mix you like. Also, buy 3 Nestle Symphony chocolate bars (the large ones with the almonds and toffee). For each box mix you buy, you need 3 chocolate bars. Follow the directions on the box for making the batter. Separately, line a 13x9 baking pan with foil, enough so the foil is handing off the edges, and spray the foil with non-stick spray. Pour half of the brownie batter into the pan and spread evenly. Then, place the three chocolate bars on the batter so they cover the majority of the surface. Then pour the remaining balance of the batter onto the top of the bars and spread that out to cover. As per the directions on the box, place in the pre-heated oven and bake accordingly. Once the brownies are baked let them cool, remove from tray and flip over, peel off foil and cut into squares. Perfectly decadent brownies every time.

So my Halloween was a success. My costume was perfect and I baked a brownie treat that all enjoyed. It just goes to show you that we all have our special tricks for making the perfect treats.