I am an Addict...

Nestled between the articles showing how to Eat Smart, with beautiful, artful pictures of healthy, brightly coloured food items and more articles than you can shake a stick at on how to get fit, lose weight and even more photos of delicious food I saw it....the FOOD PORN PROBLEM.

I didn't even know I was an addict, although I'm sure every addict denies it, isn't that the premise of those addictin shows.  I wonder if Dr. Drew will have food porn addicts in his next season.  Maybe I should apply...but I do have a double addiction really, shoes and food.

Back to the food addiction.  Apparently I am not alone.  You too may be an addict and not know it.  I don't really see this as a concern but it seems women must have a constant source of issues to worry about so we never really feel in control of our lives or ourselves so I guess looking at pictures of food is not such a bad addiction to have.  It's free and doesn't cause harm to anyone, does it.

But according to the article in Women's Health this month we food porn addicts are rampant.  On Pinterst alone there are 50% more photos of desserts pinned than fashion or style.  We don't want the recipes we just want to look at the pretty pictures of the over-the-top cakes, squares, cupcakes, etc.  A simple brownie photo is not enough for us, we want chocolate syrup dripping down the edges, fluffy clouds of whipped cream atop the sauce and sprinkles of chopped nuts or colourful candy bits and then to take us over the edge with delight the single bright red cherry to top it all of! 

There is even a sight, again no recipes, just illict photos of food items called FoodPornDaily.com.  No joke!

So what to do?  Well, it seems looking at all these desserts increases our appetites and causes us to crave these sugar and fat laden items even more than normal.  But there is any easy fix...just do a little exercise and it seems if we make our own food we control our portions more than eating out and then we can have room for dessert.  Actually, the article didn't say anything about making room for dessert but I think there is always room for dessert.

So after reading this article I decided a nice Butter Cake with a nice layer of butter laden vanilla frosting would help me over my depression about my addiction.  I enjoyed a nice slice while looking at the cakes on Pinterst!  I added in about 3/4 of a cup of mini chocolate chips just because.  If you now feel depressed about your addiction the recipe follows and believe me a cup of tea and a little slice of homemade cake will make it all better! 

Butter Cake

Preheat oven to 350F.  Parchment line the bottoms and spray 2 8-inch round pans with cooking spray.

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

In large bowl of electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high for about 3-5 minutes until mixture is pale and creamy.  Scrap sides of bowl as needed.  Turn mixer down to medium and add in eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each.  Add the vanilla and mix.

With mixer on low, alternately add the flour and the milk, mixing just until evenly blended.  You add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1/2 of the milk, then another 1/3 of the flour mix, then the remainder of the milk and then the remainder of the flour.

If you wish stir in some chocolate chips using a spatula so you don't over mix the batter and toughen up your finished product.

Divide the batter evenly between your prepared pans and bake on the middle rack for about 25-35 minutes.

This batter works well as cupcakes.  Just reduce your baking time to about 20 minutes.

Cake is done when the top springs back when lightly touched or a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Ice with your favourite icing! 

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cake ...

The Finished Product covered in a White Chocolate Buttercream!

 Today a friend asked if I would again make a white chocolate macadamia nut cake I had done for her some time ago as well as an Orzo Walnut Pesto salad (you gotta balance the carbs with the carbs & sugar, right!).   I had totally forgot about this delicious impressive, or at I least think, impressive looking cake and after looking in all my recipe drawers and files came across it in a 2009 Fine Cooking Magazine.


Butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and macadamia nuts

 The point of this is if you are like me and aspire to bake or cook all these great recipes you see, take heart.  After keeping the recipe for years I finally had a reason to make it several times in the last year.  So it was worth keeping for 4 years.

I have been looking at more and more baking/cooking blogs and I realize even though no one may read this or really care it is a great way to sort of journal about my own experience in the kitchen trying different things or finally having the chance to hopefully recreate all those beautiful creations I see in blogs and now Pinterest.  Hey maybe someday someone will Pin one of my pictures and I can be part of the 'in' group which I never was in school.  Maybe that's why we love this Pinterest stuff so much...we can be part of someone's group and they never realize we are really part of the 'uncool' group.  But I digress....this is about turning the staples of butter, sugar, eggs, etc. into a yummy cake.

The recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine has several steps to make and prepare the cake.  There is the cake recipe, steps for making white chocolate leaves, a buttercream recipe and a filling recipe.  When putting together my cake I just made the cake recipe, used a favourite buttercream recipe I had and folded in a couple ounces of good white chocolate that I melted and cooled and for the middle mashed up some raspberries, about 3/4 cup of frozen berries and pushed them through a sieze and mixed that with about 1 1/3 cups of buttercream for the filling.  No one need know we skipped a few things....

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Grease 3 9-inch pans and parchment line the bottoms of them.

You will need:
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
3 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
2 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, room temperature (I used sour milk as I never seem to have buttermilk when I need it)
1 1/3 cups chopped white chocolate
1 cup chopped, toasted macadamia nuts

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 

In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes.  Scrape down sides of bowl.  Add the vanilla and then the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until incorporated.  Add half of the buttermilk and mix until incorporated.  Continue adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk, alternating between the two and ending with the flour.  The batter will be thick and glossy.  Fold in the white chocolate and macadamia nuts.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cake pans.  Level the batter with a spatula and put into preheated oven.  Rotate pans halfway through baking.

Bake for about 28-35 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool on counter for about 10 minutes and remove from pans.  Let cool completely before icing.

Sweet Enuf comments from the kitchen...this cake freezes well and even with a buttercream made using egg whites, sugar, butter and vanilla freezes great to.  This is a little heavier cake so a small slice is filling and is a little pricey to make with the white chocolate and the macadamia nuts but worth it.

Hope you have a sweet enuf weekend.

4-Ingredient Artisan Bread - Is It as Easy as Zoe and Jeff Make it Look!

Absolutely! After discovering the You Tube video way back in January of this year showing how easy it is to have fresh bread on the table every day after virtually minutes of prep, I vowed to give it a try.



Alas, days and weeks went by and although I occasionally was motivated to give it the old college try some other cookie or cake would take precedence.



Finally in this past week I have made 2 batches of this bread and it truly is simple, tasty and quick! All you need for success is large container with a lid, unbleached all-purpose flour or regular all-purpose flour, salt, yeast and water.

Measure 1 1/2 tablespoons of yeast, 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt (regular table salt is fine), 6 1/2 cups flour and 3 cups lukewarm water together. It doesn't even matter what order you put the ingredients in. Use a wooden spoon to mix everything together and make sure to get the bits of flour that tend to adhere to the bottom. Once mixed the dough should have a wet consistency and look like the photo above.

Cover loosely with a lid or saran wrap making sure some of the gas can escape and leave it on counter for 2 hours. After 2 hours put it in the fridge..still with an opening for the gas to escape. Dough will keep for about 2 weeks in the fridge.

When you are ready for some fresh bread grab a portion of the dough, a large handful, and using a knife or scissors, cut if off. Flour your hands and sprinkle some on the sticky dough, and shape the dough into a smooth ball by gently smoothing the dough from the top to underneath. This step should take you all of about 45 seconds, yes only 45 seconds! Now place on a piece of parchment paper and leave it to rest for 40 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 450F and if you have a pizza stone preheat it in the oven as well. I just put a cookie sheet into preheat. As well have a cup of hot water ready to add to a metal pan for when you put dough in the oven.



The final step before baking, sprinkle with a little flour and using a bread knife cut several slits, about 1/4-inch thick, into top of bread. The bread expands a fair bit and this stops it from splitting and also adds to the look of the artisanal loaf. Now just transfer the loaf and parchment onto stone or cookie sheet in the oven, throw the cup of water into the waiting pan in the oven, close the door and set your timer for 30 minutes.

Voila, hot, crusty, fresh bread that will disappear as soon as you slice it up. Each batch of dough makes 4-5 smallish loaves.

Just how tasty is it...well I took 3 loaves over to a friends for dinner and as soon as I arrived the bread was cut into and disappeared within seconds. It was a hit with everyone wanting to know how to make it. Plus I bought a whole jar of yeast when grocery shopping this week instead of the little envelope as I know this will be one of my staple go-to recipes.

Sweet Enuf for me to make again soon.

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4-Ingredient Artisan Bread - Is It as Easy as Zoe and Jeff Make it Look!

Absolutely! After discovering the You Tube video way back in January of this year showing how easy it is to have fresh bread on the table every day after virtually minutes of prep, I vowed to give it a try.

 

Alas, days and weeks went by and although I occasionally was motivated to give it the old college try some other cookie or cake would take precedence.

 

Finally in this past week I have made 2 batches of this bread and it truly is simple, tasty and quick! All you need for success is large container with a lid, unbleached all-purpose flour or regular all-purpose flour, salt, yeast and water.

 

Measure 1 1/2 tablespoons of yeast, 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt (regular table salt is fine), 6 1/2 cups flour and 3 cups lukewarm water together. It doesn't even matter what order you put the ingredients in. Use a wooden spoon to mix everything together and make sure to get the bits of flour that tend to adhere to the bottom. Once mixed the dough should have a wet consistency and look like the photo above.

Cover loosely with a lid or saran wrap making sure some of the gas can escape and leave it on counter for 2 hours. After 2 hours put it in the fridge..still with an opening for the gas to escape. Dough will keep for about 2 weeks in the fridge.

When you are ready for some fresh bread grab a portion of the dough, a large handful, and using a knife or scissors, cut if off. Flour your hands and sprinkle some on the sticky dough, and shape the dough into a smooth ball by gently smoothing the dough from the top to underneath. This step should take you all of about 45 seconds, yes only 45 seconds! Now place on a piece of parchment paper and leave it to rest for 40 minutes.

 

Preheat your oven to 450F and if you have a pizza stone preheat it in the oven as well. I just put a cookie sheet into preheat. As well have a cup of hot water ready to add to a metal pan for when you put dough in the oven.

 

The final step before baking, sprinkle with a little flour and using a bread knife cut several slits, about 1/4-inch thick, into top of bread. The bread expands a fair bit and this stops it from splitting and also adds to the look of the artisanal loaf. Now just transfer the loaf and parchment onto stone or cookie sheet in the oven, throw the cup of water into the waiting pan in the oven, close the door and set your timer for 30 minutes.

 

Voila, hot, crusty, fresh bread that will disappear as soon as you slice it up. Each batch of dough makes 4-5 smallish loaves.

Just how tasty is it...well I took 3 loaves over to a friends for dinner and as soon as I arrived the bread was cut into and disappeared within seconds. It was a hit with everyone wanting to know how to make it. Plus I bought a whole jar of yeast when grocery shopping this week instead of the little envelope as I know this will be one of my staple go-to recipes.

Sweet Enuf for me to make again soon.

 

 

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I'm Back! Although I'm not sure anyone new I was gone!

As I scroll through yet another blog of an amateur baker it gives me the motivation to find the blog I set up last year and never followed through on.  Although I have kept up my baking I just never sat down to describe the delicious steps involved in the yummy and occasionally not so yummy recipes I have attempted.  

It would seem there are many of us looking for photos and ideas and tips on creating tasty treats to satisfy our desire for the perfect mix of butter, sugar and the occasional egg mixed with some dry ingredients and add-ins.

Isn't it amazing how so few ingredients can come together to create so many tempting items!  

Well I hope to record my successful and hopefully not to many unsuccessful attempts along with some photos to share.

First up....5-ingredient bread in the next couple of days.  Let's see if it is as easy as it looks.

Stay tuned!

Hope Your Day is Sweet Enuf!

Brownie Heaven-Add Carmalized Pineapple and some Whipped Cream

Generally speaking any bite of any type of brownie, whether they are German brownies, Triple Chocolate Brownies, Fudgie Brownies, Cakey Brownies, Chewy Brownies, etc. etc., is a little bit of heaven that momentarily satisfies my sweet tooth.  The pineapple mixture just takes it one easy step further.

Want to elevate the ordinary brownie to a fancy dessert status that will impress your friends and family, yes even using good old boxed mix brownies?  Just melt about 4 tablespoons of butter in a non-stick fry pan and add 1/4 cup packed brown sugar.  Let the mixture come to a gentle boil and add in about 1 cup or so of sliced pineapple.  Cook for aboout 8-10 minutes and watch the pineapple go nice and carmalized.  Now squeeze in the juice of a lime, cook for about 30 seconds more. 

While the pineapple is cooking whip up 1/2 pint of 35% cream to soft peaks.

Top those yummy brownie pieces with some pineapple and the cream.  Delicious.  Double the pineapple recipe and put over icecream.  Oh, how about over some pound cake and then add the whipped cream or a little ice cream on the side.  Maybe just stand over the pan and eat the extra portion!

Craving Chocolate and Toffee than this recipe is for you!

Need the sweet taste of caramel and a little hit of chocolate...then whip up a batch of these great Skor Toffee Chocoalte Bars. Found this recipe in a Robin Hood holiday booklet and every time it's made I always get requests for the recipe. Straight forward and simple these bars are a hit for any occasion.

I prefer the semi-sweet chocolate in these or even the dark. As well you could use the lighter version of condensed milk but really what's the point with all the calories in these anyway, what's another 50 or so!!

Skor Toffee Chocolate Bars

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 tbsp. butter
1 (300g) package milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (225g) package Skor Toffee Bits

Preheat oven to 350F

Cream first 3 ingredients until well blended and mixture comes together. Press evenly into 13x9-inch cake pan and bade for about 20-25 minutes until light brown.

Cool while you prepare the filling.

Heat the condensed milk and 2 tbsp. butter in heavy saucepan stirring constantly over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes or until mixture thickens. Spread this yummy concotion over the base and bake for another 12-15 minutes until golden.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Now bake for another 2 minutes and remove from oven. Then spread the melted chocolate evenly over the top and next sprinkle the Skor bits over this. Press Skor bits down lightly into chocolate.

Cool completely before cutting into bars. If necessary and the call to Skor Bars is too strong refrig to speed up the cooling process.

These cut best at room temperature. For perfect looking bars trim off the edges andf eat yourself before cutting into squares!!