My Very First Daring Bakers Challenge!


I was so excited for my first Daring Bakers Challenge! I couldn’t wait to find out what the recipe would be. I had to wait almost a whole month before I could even find out. Finally the recipe was revealed, and I have to admit I got a little nervous. It would be Dorie Greenspan’s Perfect Party Cake, from her cookbook, Baking from my home to yours. I’m not sure why, but cakes have been challenging for me lately. I don’t know if my oven is off or just the baker trying to use the oven, but my baked goods haven’t been rising properly and I was worried that it would happen again for my perfect party cake. Then, I decided just to go for it, and hopefully all would end well. I also decided what better time to try it out than Easter! I woke up early Sunday morning and started my first journey. I was crossing my fingers that my cake would rise higher than I’d ever seen a cake rise before. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. My poor cake didn’t even rise an 1/8 of inch. I questioned whether I should try for a second time, but just did not have the time nor the energy. So I just decided not to cut the cakes in half and just have a simple layer cake instead of the 4 layer cake I had intended.

I have to say, this was a delicious cake. I decided to keep my first challenge simple and so I stuck with a strawberry preserve and strawberries inside the layer. I wished that I had just gone for it and tried to cut the layers in half, I’m sure it actually would have worked out fine, but I was so scared that I would mess it up, I was trying to be a little too safe. But an extra two layers of strawberries and it would have been the best cake I had ever had! I absolutely loved the buttercream frosting. It was so different than any buttercreams I have tasted. Using egg whites instead of powdered sugar made it so velvety and smooth. It wasn’t too sweet, it almost tasted like a sweet cream. Mmmm….My pictures didn’t really turn out as I intended either, but hopefully for my next challenge I will feel more confident and I know everything will turn out perfect! I’m sooo excited to see what my next challenge will be! If you want to see a million more versions of this lovely cake, check them out here. And for the recipe, go here.

Baked on March 30, 2008 | Recipe Card: Cakes, daring bakers challenge | 20 Bites 

Low Fat Double Chocolate Cupcakes With Strawberries and Cream


If I had to choose two foods to live on for the rest of my life, I would definitely choose strawberries and chocolate. I love the two seperately and I love them together. When I stumbled upon this recipe for Low Fat Double chocolate cupcakes, I had to give them a try and see if they were any good. I was very doubtful, but when they came out of the oven and I tasted a warm, chocolate cupcake with little bits of melted chocolate inside, I was sold. Low fat can still be very delicious! Obviously I don’t experiment a whole lot with the low fat foods, but it is my goal to inch my way in. I want to be healthier, but I just can’t sacrifice cutting myself off from the delicious desserts that I so adore. So, in moderation I will enjoy them and be happy! I have seen many blogs lately with chocolate muffins or cupcakes, so I decided to put my own personal spin on this particular cupcake. I love strawberry shortcake, love it, love it, love it! This time, I decided to try it with chocolate. It turned out perfectly! Absolutely delicious! Each cupcake has only 139 calories and 2 grams of fat. So you can eat this dessert without guilt! Try it, you will love it!

Low Fat Double Chocolate Cupcakes
adapted from Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook
2 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and egg white, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Stir in the buttermilk, water, vinegar and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; add to batter just until moistened. Stir in chocolate chips.
2. Fill muffin cups coated with cooking spray three-fourths full. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.
I dusted powdered sugar over the cupcakes for a finishing touch.

Yield: 14 cupcakes

Nutrition Facts:
1 cupcake equals 139 calories, 2 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 1 mg cholesterol, 221 mg sodium, 29 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 

3 g protein.

Baked on March 27, 2008 | Recipe Card: Dessert, cupcakes | 20 Bites 

Baked Mac-n-Cheese

Yummy!  I’ve always loved homemade macaroni and cheese.  Although I grew up eating the boxed variety, I’ve always loved the real deal.  Easy to make and yummy to taste, this delicious version is just my style.   A little bit of ham diced up and some fresh onion flavor, this is sure to please even the pickiest eater.  I know from experience, my daughter is the pickiest of them all, and she devoured it!  I’m sorry, but Martha Stewart really does know how to cook good food! In addition to her Cookie book, I also picked up her Everyday Food, Great Food Fast, cookbook, and I love it!  It has so many wonderful recipes, most of them very easy to prepare.  On this particular recipe, the only thing that I would change, would be to add a little less of the noodles, so there is a bit more of the cheesy sauce.  Other than that, it was very tasty and satisfying! 

Macaroni and Cheese
1 pound elbow pasta
4 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup all purpose flour
4 cups milk
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1 1/4 cups (5 oz.)shredded yellow Cheddar cheese
1 1/4 cups (5 oz.)shredded white Cheddar cheese
course salt and ground pepper
8 oz. ham diced into 1/2 inch pieces
2 slices white sandwich bread (I used wheat)
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Cook the pasta according to package instructions; drain and reserve.  Meanwhile, in a 5 quart heavy pot, melt butter over medium heat.  Add the onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3-5 minutes.  Whisk in the flour to coat the onion.  Ina slow, steady stream, whisk in the milk until there are no lumps.
2. Cook, whisking often, until the mixture is thick and bubbly and coats the back of a wooden spoon, 6-8 minutes.  Stir in the cayenne, if using, and 1 cup each of the yellow and white Cheddar cheese.  Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
3. Toss the pasta with the cheese mixture; fold in the ham.  Transfer to a 9×13 inch baking dish or individual dishes (see below).  Set aside.
4. In a food processor, pulse the bread until large crumbs form.  Toss together with the remaining 1/4 cup each white and yellow Cheddar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.  top the pasta with the breadcrumb mixture. Bake until the top is golden, about 30 minutes.
Making Individual Servings
This recipe makes enough to fill eight 12-16 oz baking dishes.  Divide the macaroni and cheese evenly, sprinkle with topping, and bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden.

Baked on March 25, 2008 | Recipe Card: main dishes, pasta | 13 Bites 

Homemade Graham Crackers

I’ve always wanted to try and bake some homemade graham crackers, but it seemed like it would be a little too complicated for my taste.  But, I decided to step outside my little box and try it anyway!  It was worth it, these are very tasty and delicious!  It did take some time rolling them out and scoring them but, after they came out of the oven and I tried a fresh, warm graham cracker for the first time, it was totally worth the time and the mess.  I found the recipe in my new favorite cookbook, Martha Stewarts Cookies.  She has so many yummy goodies in this book and I want to make every one of them! So, 2 down and many more to go.  You will be seeing a lot of baked goods from this cookbook in my blog, until I get tired of baking that is, and frankly I don’t see how that could ever happen.  So, step outside of your box and make some homemade graham crackers!  Make a S’more or dip them in milk!  You won’t be sorry!

Homemade Graham Crackers
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup untoasted wheat germ
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons honey
1. Whisk together both flours, wheat germ, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a bowl.
2. Put butter, brown sugar, and honey in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2-3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Reduce speed to low.  Add the flour mixture, and mix until combined.
3. Turn out doug onto a floured surface and divide into quarters.  Roll out each piece between two sheets of floured parchment paper into rectangles a bit larger than 9 by 6 inches, about 1/8 inch thick.
4. Using a fluted pastry wheel, trim the outermost edges of each rectangle, and divide into three 6 by 3 inch rectangles.  Pressing lightly, so as not to cut all the way through, score each piece in half lengthwise and crosswise, to form four 3 by 1 1/2 inch crackers.  Stack parchment and dough on a baking sheet and chill in freezer until firm, about 20 minutes.
5. Remove two sheets of dough from freezer.  Pierce crackers using the tines of a fork.  Transfer dough to large baking sheets lined with parchment paper.  Bake at 350 degrees, rotating halfway through, until dark golden brown, about 8-10 minutes.  Repeat with remaining dough. Let cool on sheet 5 minutes; transfer crackers to wire racks to cool completely.  Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.
Makes 4 dozen

Baked on March 24, 2008 | Recipe Card: cookies | 7 Bites 

Sweet Nachos

Okay, so this picture does NOT give this sweet dessert justice.  Trust me when I say that there is nothing like this.  The flavor combinations are absolutely indescribable!  You have to taste it for yourself.  Once you have, you will crave it every second until you have it again.  I know this from personal experience.  My husband and I used to go to a little local Mexican restaurant that just happened to be next to a dog food factory.  Yes, you read that correctly.  It looked like a little run down place, no lights around outside,very dark, very creepy and you honestly didn’t know if your car was going to be there after you had finished and left the restaurant.  But this is the very reason that we would risk anything just to get a taste of these nachos for dessert.  Then, we moved away, 65 miles away to be exact, and we wondered how we would get our fix…and than I thought about the actual ingredients involved.  Not very complicated!  So, one night I made them and it was just like being back in that little run down shack!  I even created the honey butter recipe from scratch.  It’s really tasty and sweet! Priceless.  Make them.  You will thank me later.  :)

Sweet Nachos
serves 4 
(but my husband and I can have the plate licked clean easily–just the 2 of us)
Oil for frying
6 flour tortillas- cut into 8 triangles each (48 triangles total)
Your favorite Vanilla Ice Cream
Honey Butter (recipe below)
Cinnamon and sugar mixture (1/4 cup sugar + 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon)
dash of cinnamon
Heat oil in a shallow pan over medium-high heat.  You can tell when the oil is hot enough by placing the end of a wooden spoon into the oil and the oil bubbles around the spoon.  Place the tortillas into the oil in small batches until very lightly browned.  Place on paper towels and lightly sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture.  Place tortillas on serving plate.  Scoop vanilla ice cream over tortillas.  Pour honey butter over ice cream and tortillas.  Sprinkle top with a dash of cinnamon.  You can make as little or as much of this recipe as you desire, just adjust the ingredients accordingly.  Enjoy!
Honey Butter
(this recipe makes a ton)
1 cup honey
1 cup butter, softened
5 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
dash of cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
Warm honey in the microwave or in a double broiler.  Using a mixer, add softened butter and mix until all the butter is melted through and blended well.  Add powdered sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Mix until smooth and creamy.  You can poor into a squeeze bottle for later use, or just keep in a bowl in the refrigerator.  Enjoy!

Baked on March 20, 2008 | Recipe Card: Dessert | 16 Bites 

Next Page »