Chocolate Chocolate Chunky Muffin

There is a good reason why these are called chocolate chocolate chunky muffin !!! Full of chocolate... a good dessert... although it is a muffin ! I guess having a chocolate muffin for Breakfast is not a sin... especially on a Monday!

I saw this recipe from Dorie Greenspan and just could not resist the temptation to bake it

Ingredients
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 cups (9.6 ounces) all-purpose flour
⅔ cup (4.67 ounces) sugar
⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1¼ cups buttermilk
1 large egg
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1, Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups.

2. Melt the butter and half the chopped chocolate together in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water; or do this in a microwave. Remove from the heat.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

4. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg and vanilla extract together until well combined.

5. Pour the liquid ingredients and the melted butter and chocolate over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough — a few lumps are better than overmixing the batter. Stir in the remaining chopped chocolate. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin molds.

6. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

Note: Add more chocolate chunks for more chocolate boast :)

~bel~

Irish Soda Bread

I have been wanting to try this recipe after seeing it on Tuesday with Doris. Its really a simple recipe with just4 ingredients - flour, buttermilk, salt and baking soda- mix and bake !

The only downfall of this recipe is that it does not last longer than a day due to the low fat content - just buttermilk. But it is a definitely keeper. Easy and yummy!

Ingredients
4 cups of flour
2 cup of buttermilk
1 tsp of baking soda
11/2 tsp Salt

Directions
1. Preheat overn to 375K

2. Mix all the ingredient together until the dough come together

3. Knead for one minute. Pat into a 6 inch ball and place onto pan. Cut an X prior to placing into oven

4. Bake for 40 minutes or when golden brown

5. Remove from oven and cool on rack

~bel~

German chocolate Cake

It is the BF birthday...and he requested for a German Chocolate Cake. His request floored me a weeta bit...hm...German Chocolate Cake.

After much research on recipes.. I decided to use this recipe from Joy Of Baking. It was not too difficult...but gosh this is a BIG cake ! Well.... a German Chocolate Cake is meant to be an impressive 3 layers of chocolate ! I only have two 9 inch pans and so I decided to do a 2 layer cake instead... the end result is still impressive at 6 to 7 inches high:)

Ingredients:
4 ounces (115 grams) semi sweet chocolate, chopped
2 1/4 cups (270 grams) cake flour
3/4 cup (70 grams) unsweetened cocao powder (preferably Dutch processed)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (240 ml) lukewarm coffee (or water)
1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
1 1/4 cups (280 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/4 cups (450 grams) granulated white sugar
5 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Coconut Pecan Frosting:

1 cup (240 ml) pecans1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
1 cup (240 ml) evaporated milk (can also use light or heavy cream)
3 large(60 grams) egg yolks, lightly beaten
1/2 cup(113 grams)
unsalted butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (150 grams) sweetened or unsweetened shredded or flaked coconut

Direction

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place oven racks in the upper and lower third of the oven. Lightly butter and flour (or spray with a nonstick vegetable/flour spray), and line the bottoms of three - 8 x 2 inch deep (20 x 5 cm) round baking pans with parchment or wax paper.

2. In a heatproof bowl, placed over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

3. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. In a small bowl, combine the coffee (or water) and buttermilk.

5. In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar and continue beating until the mixture is fluffy (this will take about three to five minutes). Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and beat to combine. Then add the melted chocolate and beat until incorporated.

6. Add the coffee/buttermilk mixture and flour mixtures in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat only until the ingredients are mixed together.

7. Divide the batter evenly among the three prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for about 30 - 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops spring back when lightly pressed. (I like to rotate the pans about halfway through baking to ensure even baking.) Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 15 minutes. Butter or lightly spray with a non stick vegetable spray a wire rack before inverting the cakes onto the rack to prevent the cakes from sticking. Cool the cakes completely before frosting.

Coconut Pecan Frosting:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Place the pecans on a baking sheet and bake for about 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Remove from oven, cool, and then chop fairly fine.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, milk, egg yolks, butter, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, and when the mixture begins to boil and thicken, remove from heat (about 5 minutes). Stir in the chopped pecans, coconut, and vanilla extract. Let cool until spreadable (about 30-60 minutes).

To Assemble: Place one layer of cake (top facing down), on your serving plate, and cover with one third of the frosting. Place the second layer of cake, onto the first cake layer and frost with another one-third of the frosting. Then add the third cake layer and frost the top of the cake with the remaining frosting (sides of cake are left bare). The finished cake can be stored at room temperature for a 2-3 days or it can be refrigerated.

~bel~

Billy's Big Carrot Cake

The BF has a 50K race this Saturday and we are invited to a carb-loading dinner. I asked the BF what desert I should make and he suggested carrot cake! His suggestion reminded me of the carrot cake recipe in Dorie Greenspan's "Baking: From my home to yours"

This is really an easy cake. I omitted the coconut and raisins. Carrot cake, to me, is carrot and walnut !!!!

Instead of baking the cake over 3 pans. I used a 10" spring foam pan. This is a hugh cake !

It was finger biting making this cake. I poured 1/2 cup of the oil over the dry ingredients by mistake. Luckily, the cake came out well.

Ingredients
For the cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups grated carrots (about 9 carrots)
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)*
1/2 cup raisins
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 large eggs

For the frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 pound or 3 and 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Direction
1. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325F. Butter three 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, flour the insides, and tap out the excess. Put the two pans on one baking sheet and one on another.

2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut, and raisins.

3. Working with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the sugar and oil together on a medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs one by one and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear. Gently mix the chunky ingredients. Divide the batter among the baking pans.

4. Bake for 40-50 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until a thin knife inserted into the centers comes out clean. The cakes will have just started to come away from the sides of the pans. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and unmold them. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

To make the frosting:
Working with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the lemon juice.

The Big Easy Jambalaya

Many of my running peeps were in Big Easy for the Rock and Roll Marathon this past weekend. The many pics of food which they posted on FB remind me of Jambalaya. My first taste of Jambalaya was in Nov last year when they BF made it.

I decided to try it today.... with some cheating>>>> by using a Jambalaya mix. I found an easy recipe on the brand website and decided to use it with some modification.

This is really an easy recipe.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 each medium green and yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) fire roasted or regular diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup water
1 package ZATARAIN'S® Reduced Sodium Jambalaya Mix
1 pound chicken breast
1 package (12 ounces) smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices. ( I could not find andouille saugage)

Direction

1. Heat oil in large deep skillet or 5-quart Dutch oven on medium heat. Add onion and bell peppers and chicken breast cook and stir 7 minutes or until the chicken is cooked

2. Stir in tomatoes, water and Jambalaya Mix. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15 minutes.

3. Stir in sausage. Cover and cook 10 minutes longer or just until rice is cooked Remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired.


Verdict : Somehow my rice is not fluffy as it should be. It is somewhat sticky. I am not really good at making rice over stove top ! I will use the spicier version of the mix next time and be use rotel hot tomato instead of the regular tomato

~bel~

Baked Penne

( Before putting in the oven)

I am "rookie" when it comes to making pasta. The best I ever done was to use ready made off the shelf pasta sauce. However, I am not a fan of ready made sauce and have been toying with the idea of making my own pasta sauce. I tried to make a spaghetti with a made from scratch sauce recipe last month and it was a failure. Kudos to the BF for trying to finish his plate :)

I have been reading and researching on pasta recipe since. The idea of baked pasta has been floating in my head for the longest time and I finally decided to try last night with my own "concoction" - The measurements in the recipe are "estimate" as I added the ingredients based on my "feel"

Ingredients:
1. 1 pound of ground turkey
2. 1 cup of onion
3. 2 can diced tomatoes
4. 2-3 table spoon of paprika
5. 2-3 table spoon of oregano
6. 2-3 table spoon of basil
7. 2 -3 table spoon of chili flakes
8. 1 table spoon of garlic
9. Shredded mozzarella
10. 1.5 table spoon of tomato paste
11. pepper and salt
12. Olive oil
13. 1 pound of penne


Directions:
1. Marinate the ground beef with paprika, pepper and salt
2. Cook the Penne accordingly to box direction
3. Add olive oil to the skillet. Brown the ground turkey and add onion and garlic. Add the basil , chili flakes and oregano.
4. Add the can tomato and tomato paste and bring to a boil
5. Simmer for 15 minutes
6. Add the cooked penne to mixture
7. Placed half of the penne to a casserole. Add a layer of cheese. Repeat layer
8. Baked in oven at 350 for 20-30 minutes till bubbly


Here are some variations :
1. Use Italian turkey sausage instead of ground turkey
2. Use one can of crushed tomato with one can of dice tomato
3. Use Italian seasoning instead of oregano and basil

~bel~

Chili and Pizza !

Gosh...I did not realize that my last post was almost 7 months back. Running and working had pretty much left me with no time and energy to cook or bake

Bf and I decided that we should eat more at home for the simple reason that it is healthier ( and of course.. cheaper as well) . Bf was really excited about this new arrangement and immediately pulled out two recipes- chili and pizza !

I did not cook this weekend but he did.

The Chili recipe was from allrecipe.com. It was so simple and yet so good. I could not resist a second helping.


The pizza recipe was from Runner's World Magazine. The recipe gave pizza a new twist by using pesto as base instead of the usual tomato paste. It also uses goat cheese instead of mozzarella. I never realize that pesto and chicken go so well together


Ingredient for Pizza
1. 12 inch whole wheat pizza crust
2. 3/4 cup of pesto
3. 1 cup arugula
4. 8 0z cooked chicken strips
5. 1/3 cup sliced red pepper
6. 2/3 cup of olive ( we omitted this as bf is not a fan of olive)
7. 1.2 cup of basil
8. 4 ounces of crumbled goat cheese
9. Black pepper

Directions:
1. Place the pizza crust on a baking sheet and baked at 400F for 6 mins
2. Remove crust and turn oven to broil
3. Spread the pest on crust.
4. Top with arugula, chicken, red peppers, olives, basil and cheese
5. Season with black pepper and broil for 1 min

~bel~