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Archive for category In the Kitchen

3 Ingredient Ice Cream: Banana, Coconut & Vanilla!

Mar 4

Posted by Amy in Cooking, In the Kitchen | 4 Comments

Banana Icecream

 

 

If there’s one thing that is frustrating to give up when you’re pregnant it’s ice cream. Am I Right?  Ladies? Yeah, torture. Since avoiding excess carbs and sugar, I’ve had to get really creative to still get my sweet fix. Especially now that we’ve skipped spring in the South and headed straight for summer temps.

Inspired by two simple recipes, I created a creamy satisfying Sunday afternoon Sundae for Jason and I using 3 ingredients: Frozen bananas, coconut milk and homemade vanilla extract. (You could skip the vanilla, but it just has a great richness that adds to the “ice cream” taste).

If it weren’t for my Pinterest addiction, I would have never known that you could whip frozen banana chunks into cold a cold creamy dream. Top it with some whipped coconut cream and you have a dairy, sugar and definitely guilt free dessert! This would be very satisfying for folks with a dairy allergy too.

3 Ingredient Banana Coconut Ice Cream Sundae

(serves 2)

Peel the two bananas and cut into bit sized chunks. Place on a small cookie sheet in the freezer until frozen and then store in a freezer bag until ready to make your treat. At the same time, put your can of coconut milk in the fridge. This isn’t an instant process, so you’ll want to do both of these steps at least a day in advance.

To make the coconut whipped topping, open the can of coconut milk and carefully spoon the cream into a mixing bowl.  Don’t worry if you get a small amount of the coconut water that has settled to to the bottom, it will still whip up.  Add the vanilla and blend with a whisk attachment on the stand mixer for 3-5 minutes until creamy & fluffy.

Place the bananas in a large food processor fitted with the normal metal blade. Slowly pulse bananas until they form a crumb-like texture. Scrape down the sides and allow the bananas to melt just slightly. Then turn the food processor on and allow it whip until the banana puree is completely smooth and wonderful.

Spoon the banana “ice cream” into a bowl and top with coconut whipped cream. You can sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on top, stir in peanut butter or add a little cocoa powder to the banana mixture as it’s whipping to vary the flavors. It would also be delicious with some toasted pecans or a couple of vanilla wafers if you were feeling really sassy.

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Cranberry Flax Crunch Cookies

Mar 1

Posted by Amy in Baking, In the Kitchen | No Comments

Healthy cookies that taste great….it’s a tough challenge.  The key is to balance the ingredients and use just enough of each to give them flavor, without lots of added sugar and carbs.

Oatmeal Cranberry Flax Cookies

If it’s not totally obvious, I have a sweet tooth. Deprive me of goodies completely and I’m not a happy girl – especially pregnant. Browsing through my monthly cooking magazines,  I came across this recipe for Oatmeal, Cranberry and Flax cookies from King Arthur. I’ve had success with many of their recipes in the past, so I decided to give this one a go.

Of course, I always like to put my own touch on things so I added a handful of shredded coconut and some dark chocolate chips.  Can you tell I was afraid it would taste like I tried to make healthy cookies?  I also halved the recipe because, well, then I can’t gobble up 3 dozen. Here’s what they looked like going in the oven:

I love that there is just enough butter to help them brown, a hint of sweetness from the cranberries and brown sugar and the oats really hold it all together. The chocolate and coconut gave it just a touch of richness that made you really feel like it was a treat. Actually, the best part of the recipe is that there are basically 2 steps.  It couldn’t be simpler!

Cranberry Flax Crunch Cookies

(makes 15 cookies)

  • 1/2 c. butter, softened
  • 1/3 c. light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. homemade vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 c. whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur)
  • 3/4 c. rolled oats (not instant)
  • 1/3 c. flax meal
  • 3/4 c. dried cranberries
  • 1/4 c.  shredded coconut flakes
  • 1/2 c. dark chocolate morsels

Beat first 7 ingredients in a stand mixer until creamy. Combine remaining ingredients and stir into the butter egg mixture.

Scoop 1/4 c. dollops of batter onto a prepared cookie sheet and flatten tops.  Allow batter to stand for 30 minutes to incorporate liquid evenly.

Preheat oven to 350 F and bake for 12 minutes, until slightly golden.  Allow them to cool on the baking sheet.  Serve with a big glass of milk & enjoy!

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Creamy Jalapeño & Chive Hummus

Feb 25

Posted by Amy in Cooking, In the Kitchen | No Comments

Hummus from Dried Chickpeas

Eating healthy is always on our list of priorities, but it’s even more important now that I’m carrying a tiny human to feed. I’ve been following 101 Cookbooks, an inventive natural food blog for several years, but always felt the ingredients were something you had to have a Whole Foods budget or a California market to get your hands on.

When we moved to the Atlanta area, I discovered the Dekalb Farmer’s Market and it has quickly become a weekly shopping destination for me. From blood oranges to kohlrabi to dried chanterelles you can find just about anything you could imagine at an awesome price.

Jalapeno Chive Hummus

On my last trip, I picked up almost 2 lbs of dried chickpeas for a whopping $2.97.  I followed Heidi’s recipe pretty closely, although I made a half batch of the hummus part but made the full jalapeno sauce portion.

I also didn’t have parsley on hand, so I swapped it for fresh chives instead. I expected a lot of heat from the jalapeno, but it gave a surprising freshness to the sauce… the heat really took until the next day’s leftovers to show up. Overall this was a smooth, satisfying accompaniment to some toasted oat pitas.

Creamy Jalapeno & Chive Hummus

(makes 2 cups of hummus)

  • 1/2 lb dried chickpeas
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 c. water
  • 1/4 c. lemon juice
  • 3/4 tsp. sea salt
  • 1/4 c. tahini
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/4 c. chives
  • 1 jalapeño, destemmed and deseeded
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 tsp. sea salt
  • 2/3 c. olive oil

Soak the chickpeas for 4 hours. Rinse and discard the water. Add 4 cups of water and the baking soda to the chickpeas. Boil over medium high heat for 40 minutes, skimming foam from the top. Drain.

Combine cooked chickpeas, water, lemon juice, salt, 1 clove of garlic and tahini to your food processor. Puree for several minutes, scraping down sides of the bowl in between to ensure smoothness. Put the hummus into a pretty serving bowl.

De-seed and de-stem the jalapeno and place it in the food processor bowl. Pulse it with the chive, garlic and salt. With the food processor running, slowly stream in the olive oil. Swirl the jalapeno sauce into the hummus until the desired flavor is achieved. (Leftovers can be used in a dressing, sauce or as a marinade).

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Peach Blueberry Buckle

Jan 2

Posted by Amy in Baking, In the Kitchen | 1 Comment

The only thing that can make great coffee better is an awesome baked good to go alongside it. Jason and I have been huge fans of the caramellato at Octane Coffee in Atlanta since before we moved here. Their main location is walking distance of his office and it’s a fun funky place and these folks have serious brewing skills. Need I say more:

Octane Caramellato

They recently opened a new location (near Grant park) and half of the store is “Little Tart Bake Shop”. One step inside and I fell in love. It’s bright and open, industrial and decorated with common materials but in a chic fun way. Large typography on the wall, huge mirrors-turned-dry erase-menu and lots of coffee alchemy going on. (It inspired us to incorporate more of the industrial look into our house renovation). On our first trip, we ordered several goodies because we couldn’t decide what to try, so many sweet & savory options.

By far our favorite was a golden blueberry buckle. A cross between a blueberry muffin and a scone, it was flecked with huge caramelized blueberries in a fluffy buttery crumb. I’ve been wanting to recreate it at home and I quickly learned that the interpretation of a buckle is widely varied. Some describe it as more of a coffee cake with a streusel on top. Others just a rustic dough baked on parchment into a biscuit shape. I decided to make a very large version of the Little Tart interpretation:

What sold me on this recipe was the addition of peaches or nectarines, a perfect compliment to the blueberries! I nixed the streusel for a wash of milk, sugar and cinnamon that gave the top a beautiful sticky golden covering. I opted to make one large buckle, but you could easily do this in 12 muffin tins for individual portions at a brunch. Enjoy!

Peach Blueberry Buckle

(serves 8-12)

  • 3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened
  • 3/4 c.sugar
  • 2 tsp. homemade vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 pint blueberries
  • 1 1/2 c. peaches or nectarines
  • 1/4 c. milk
  • 1 tsp. granulated sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Peel and dice the peaches and wash your blueberries. Let both strain to remove excess liquid.

In the meantime, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in the vanilla.

Combine the dry ingredients and add in 3 increments to the butter mixture, alternating with an egg each time.  Don’t overmix.

Pour into a greased 9″ cake pan and smooth with a spatula.  Prepare the milk wash with the remaining ingredients. Brush over the pastry until the whole surface is shiny (note: you may not use it all).

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the center is set.  Allow to cool and serve to your very lucky breakfast guests!

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Hot Chocolate on a Stick with Homemade Marshmallows

Dec 29

Posted by Amy in Baking, Family, In the Kitchen | No Comments

People ask you also sorts of questions when you are pregnant but the recent favorite is about what I’m craving.  I haven’t had too many strange midnight snacks… the weirdest was that I wanted mini marshmallows, uh….frozen.  (You should totally try it, hubby liked them too).  A close second to that is chocolate and anything with cheese or carbs.  I know it sounds like I’m in junk food heaven but I’ve actually been eating tons of leafy greens, lean proteins and fruit for the most part.

Anyway, back to marshmallows.  I have been wanting to make them from scratch for a long time, but I had filed them away as one of those difficult recipes that you should only attempt when you have extra patience.  To my surprise, they are actually relatively easy if you have the right tools!  I came across these cute snowflake shaped ones and thought they would make a perfect topping to Hot Chocolate on a Stick which I first discovered on Pinterest, my new favorite source of inspiration.

We have a recent Christmas tradition of only getting gifts for the kids, so I thought Hot Chocolate on a Stick would be a fun inexpensive surprise for the adults. I wrapped them up in twos in cute gift packaging  and printed up some little personalized labels to go along with them! I also put instructions on the back to heat up 8 oz of milk and stir in the stick for almost instant hot chocolate. Aren’t they fun?!

 Hot Chocolate on a Stick

Here is the recipe if you want to make up a batch yourself!

Hot Chocolate on a Stick

(makes 48)

Homemade Marshmallows

(makes about 60 snowflakes & extra tidbits)

  • 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
  • 2/3 c. water, divided in half
  • 1 1/2 c. sugar
  • 2/3 c. light corn syrup
  • 1/8 tsp. salt
  • 1 teaspoon homemade vanilla extract
  • Cooking spray
  • 1/4 c. confectioners sugar

Line a 9×13 pan with non-stick foil and spray with cooking spray.  Add 1/3 c. of cold water to gelatin in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Let soften while making the sugar syrup.

Heat sugar, remaining 1/3 c. water, corn syrup and salt in a saucepan over medium heat.  Cover and bring to a boil until a candy thermometer reaches 238 degrees.

Whisk the gelatin on low speed and stream in the hot sugar mixture down the side of the bowl (caution: Hot sugar will burn you!) When all the sugar is poured in, raise the speed to high and beat mixture until it has tripled and is white, fluffy and sticky.

Spray a spatula with cooking spray and coax the sticky fluff into your prepared pan.  Use an offset spatula to smooth it flat.  Sprinkle the top with confectioners sugar and allow to firm up overnight.

You can cut the marshmallows into cubes or use a fun cookie cutter dipped in confectioners sugar to make shapes.

Cocoa Rounds or Blocks
  • ½ c. heavy cream
  • 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
  • 3 3/4 cups dark chocolate chips
  • cooking spray
  • wooden sticks

Heat the heavy cream and sweetened condensed milk over low to medium heat until just steaming. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate chips.

Allow to melt thoroughly.  You can place it back over low heat if the chocolate is lumpy at all, but mine was very smooth after stirring. Be careful not to overheat it.

Prepare two mini muffin pans, by spraying with non-stick cooking spray. Using a small spring loaded icecream scoop, dispense the chocolate into each cup filling each 3/4 of the way full.

Poke each marshmallow long ways with a greased metal skewer or other sharp utensil. Slide the marshmallow 1 inch up the stick and dip into chocolate.  Repeat for 48 sticks and then place in the refrigerator to harden. Package up and put a smile on the face of your friends during the colder months of the year!

I learned that you should always make a few extra in case the kids want to enjoy some too….

Hot Chocolate with Marshmallows

 

 

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Banana Bread Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling

Oct 31

Posted by Amy in Baking, In the Kitchen | 1 Comment

Banana Bread Cream Cheese Muffins

 

On Sunday morning I woke up wanting real breakfast, not just some flakes in a bowl.  I hunted around the kitchen and found two very over-ripe bananas.  Not quite enough to make my favorite banana bread recipe, but a good start.

Taking inspiration from a pumpkin cream cheese muffin I had at Starbucks, I decided to stretch the banana bread batter by creating a cream cheesy filling! I just so happened to have pumpkin seeds on hand too, so why not go all out!

I’m using a “vintage” oven that we inherited with our new house.  The appliance guys who delivered our washer & dryer even made fun of it’s two burners and antique look.  I thought I would hate it, but now that I’ve cleaned it up and tested that everything works, I actually kinda like her!

Banana Bread Muffins with Cream Cheese

You can catch a glimpse of the old girl in this photo of the muffins ready to go in the oven.

I also warmed up some hot apple cider and we snuggled on the couch with our breakfast on a 35 degree morning.

Banana Bread Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling
Banana Bread Muffins

(makes 12)

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1 c. granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 c. flour
  • 1/4 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 2 mashed bananas
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (homemade!)

Preheat oven to 350. Cream together butter and cream cheese until fluffy.  Add in sugar and continue to whip until light & airy.  Add egg, stirring until just incorporated.

In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Add to wet mixture slowly, beating on medium speed.  Stir in bananas and vanilla extract.

Spray a muffin tin (or use paper liners if you prefer).  Distribute 1/4 of batter into each of 12 muffin cups.

Cream Cheese Filling
  • 4 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1 tbsp. flour
  • 1 tbsp. sugar
  • 1 egg

Beat the cream cheese and sugar together over medium speed until airy. Add flour and mix until incorporated. Stir in egg and whip until uniform and a creamy pale yellow.

Fit a round tip onto a piping bag and fill with cream cheese mixture. Pipe a tablespoon of cream cheese mixture into each muffin.Top with pumpkin seeds, chopped pecans or other garnish, if desired.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until sides just begin to brown.  Do not overbake – you want these to be nice and moist.  Cool slightly and serve.

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Too Busy Baking to Bake Anything

Sep 19

Posted by Amy in At Home, Baking, Creating | 3 Comments

You might have noticed that things are little slow here at The Bake Cakery.  OK, a lot slow.  While I haven’t been baking goods of the sugary variety, there has been something else baking:

For those that know Jason and I, you might have thought this announcement would never come, but with grad school finished up and 8 solid years of marriage to look back on, we decided it was time!

I have been experiencing the joys of pregnancy: namely nausea, exhaustion, and moodiness. Without an appetite, I haven’t had the desire to bake or even think about new recipes for the past few weeks.  Now, with my first trimester about to end, I’m finally starting to feel hungry again.  I did have my first peanut butter craving and whipped up a batch of these cookies to celebrate.

According to the What to Expect When You’re Expecting App, Baby Beaird is in the peach stage of the produce journey at 12 weeks and 3 days.

This will be the first grandbaby on my side and he/she will join 4 other sweeties on the Beaird side.  Between moving to a new city, buying a fixer upper and deciding to start a family, we know we’ll have our hands (& hearts) full for a good long time… and that’s just the way we like it.

Homemade Candied Ginger & Ginger Simple Syrup

Jul 12

Posted by Amy in Cooking, In the Kitchen, Saving Money | 2 Comments

I’m a big fan of ginger in savory dishes, but only recently have I been turned on to the sweet side of the spicy root. Store bought crystallized ginger is tasty but can be a fairly expensive ingredient for baked goods because its sold in small quantities.

My friend Jenny also spoiled me with Red Rock Ginger Ale and I’ve been mildly obsessed with how hot-but-cream-soda-y it is. At $5 for a 4-pack it’s not cheap either and well, I am.

Homemade Candied Ginger Recipe

Always looking for ways to make things myself, I grabbed a $2 hunk of ginger at the Farmer’s Market and began my research. Obviously the first step to ginger anything is peeling it and my mom (who taught me most everything I know about cooking) showed me a neat trick.

Since it’s easier to show than explain, I made my very first YouTube video just for y’all:

Now that we’ve got our ginger peeled, it’s show time. This recipe is a 2-fer because you end up with chewy spicy candied ginger and a wonderful ginger infused simple syrup – the starting point for ginger ale!

Candied Ginger & Ginger Simple Syrup

(makes 2 c. of crystallized ginger and 1.5 c syrup)

  • 1 lb of fresh ginger root
  • 2.5 c. of water
  • 2 ¼ c. of granulated sugar, divided

Carefully peel and chop ginger root into small ¼ in. cubes. Heat the water and 2 cups of sugar over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.

Add in the ginger root and continue boiling for 1-1.5 hours. Keep a close eye on it near the end to prevent burning the sugar or boil over.

Ginger Simple SyrupThe ginger will turn from light yellow to a golden amber color, have a soft gummy texture and the syrup will become thick when it’s ready.

Prepare a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and sprinkle it with the remaining ¼ c. of sugar.

Be super careful & pour the hot syrup/ginger through a metal sieve into a glass bowl (note: this WILL melt plastic). Reserve the syrup and let it cool for the ginger ale.

Working quickly, dump the solid ginger onto the sugared sheet and toss it in the sugar with a heat-safe spatula.  Add more sugar if needed to keep the ginger pieces from sticking together.  Cool to room temp and it’s ready to use!

Ginger Ale

(makes 1 glass)

  • 8 oz. seltzer water
  • 4 tbsp. ginger simple syrup
  • 1 lime wedge (optional)

Mix, pour over ice. Enjoy!

I have big plans for all that candied ginger so stay tuned for some baked goods featuring the ingredient!

Elmo Smash Cake for Baby V!

Jul 11

Posted by Amy in Baking, Family, In the Kitchen | No Comments

Coming off a couple of insane weeks of travel, Jason and I made the trek from Atlanta to our sleepy hometown of Vero Beach.  There were lots of reasons to celebrate – new babies, several birthdays, recent engagement and of course the whole reason we had a long weekend – Independence day!


Elmo Cake

When a long weekend and your nephew’s first birthday party coincide, you just don’t miss that! In fact, no matter how exhausted you are, you volunteer to make the smash cake ’cause that little man is only turning 1 once.  Elmo agrees.

We also volunteered to bring an Elmo fruit platter that was inspired by a photo on Pinterest (sorry, after much googling I still can’t find the original source of the photo). While I was helping Elmo paint a masterpiece, hubs meticulously arranged strawberries, mandarin oranges and blueberries into this:

Awesome job right?  My man may let me take over the kitchen most of the time, but he’s got serious skills.

As for the details of the cake, my original goal was to limit the use of food coloring. I also wanted to keep it mostly buttercream (fav recipe here) so little V could smash it easily.  Unfortunately I realized it’s almost impossible to achieve that “Elmo red” any other way.  By making removable marshmallow fondant decorations, he was able to smash it and get more cake than frosting. See?

He even shared the lemon cream cake (1/2 of this recipe) with mom & dad who noticed the subtle lemon & tried to sneak in a few extra bites :) .

I express my love through cake and I hope when this little guy gets older he sees the family pictures of his first birthday and knows there are a lot of people who think he’s pretty cool, crown and all!

Happy Birthday 1st Birthday Baby V!


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Homemade Vanilla Extract

Jun 13

Posted by Amy in DIYing, In the Kitchen, Saving Money | 21 Comments

If you bake, you’ve probably shelled out a pretty penny for vanilla extract. Nothing beats that extra sweetness and flavor in a cake, frosting or cookie! At $8.99 a pop for the cheap-o corn syrup stuff or $20+ for the really good stuff, its pricey. You can be like my friend Joey and buy a gallon at Sam’s and yes, that should last you a while.  But what if you could easily make your own at home?

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Now when I say easily, please know it doesn’t take much effort, but I didn’t say fast. If you start now, you could have some ready for Christmas cookies! I’ve had the one above going for about 2 months and it’s not dark enough yet. Luckily I’m patient and have plenty of store bought vanilla bean paste to last a while. I find that we are pretty disconnected from our food and where it comes from. Have you ever spent much time thinking about how vanilla extract is made, what makes it wonderful and where it comes from?  If you just want to hurry up and get your extract started (the sooner the better…) then skip down to the recipe. Otherwise, stick around and I’ll share what I know about this amazing “bean”!

What is Vanilla?

Vanilla beans actually come from an orchid. Crazy right?  I just saw the Vanilla Orchid in person at the Atlanta Botanical Garden (the orchid greenhouse is the best part!)  To get high yields, orchid farmers hand pollinate the flowers. Once formed, the beans are cured and fermented for up to a year to allow the aromatic flavors to develop. (Now you know why it costs so much!) Commercial vanilla extract uses grain alcohol to dissolve the flavor compounds of the vanilla.  The FDA requires a very set ratio of vanilla bean to water to alcohol in order to label it vanilla “extract”.  From what I’ve read, it takes up to two full years for vanilla extract to reach its full flavor. We won’t be quite so precise (or patient) with ours.

Vanilla Extract Recipe

Vanilla Extract Ingredients

  • 1 tightly sealing glass jar
  • 4-6 vanilla beans (find on Amazon)
  • 2 c. premium vodka

Split the vanilla beans lengthwise. Scrape the beans if you want to use them, otherwise leave them alone for a deeper flavor in your extract. Insert the whole pods into a glass jar ensuring that they are short enough to be completely covered once you add the vodka (if not, just cut them in half). Top the beans with 2 cups of vodka.  Seal, shake and place in a cool dark place.  Shake once in a while when you think about it and start using after 4-6 months.

I put my jar in the pantry where its very dark with the door closed.  I see it there and I remember to shake it up.  One of the things I read that I’m excited to try is that as you use the extract, top it off with vodka. Supposedly the extract will stay flavorful for 7 years. I also can’t wait to try the same approach with lemon peels, lavender and other flavors that might make a nice extract for baking!

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