Chocolate Shortbread

Chocolate Hazelnut Shortbread Bars

Perfectly flaky shortbread combined with the not too sweet and slightly salty chocolate: leaves you wanting more. This fabulous cookie is easy to make and can be made in big batches ahead of time for large gatherings or to gift friends and family.

The link between psychology and food: taste fades with age.

As we age, our sense of taste gets weaker. One study found that the ability to detect salt was most affected, as was the ability to detect ‘umami’, now considered one of the basic tastes, along with sweet, sour, salty and bitter (Mojet et al., 2001).

Chocolate Hazelnut Shortbread Bars Recipe
Adapted from Food and Wine Magazine

Ingredients

SHORTBREAD
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

TOPPING
3 sticks unsalted butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons heavy cream
4 large eggs, beaten
3 cups hazelnuts, chopped (10 ounces)
Flaky sea salt

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350° and line a 12-by-17-inch baking pan with foil, allowing it to extend 1/2 inch over the edge on all sides. Spray the foil with vegetable oil spray.

In a standing electric mixer or food processor, beat the butter with the confectioners' sugar, flour and salt until a soft dough forms. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and, using a flat-bottomed glass, press the dough into an even layer. Freeze the dough for about 10 minutes, until firm.

Bake the shortbread in the center of the oven for 20 minutes, until lightly golden.

In a saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, chocolate and cream and cook over low heat just until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Whisk in the eggs, then fold in the hazelnuts.

Spread the topping over the shortbread crust and sprinkle lightly with sea salt. Bake the shortbread bar for about 25 minutes, until the topping is set. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until firm. Using the foil, carefully lift the bar out of the pan; discard the foil. Cut the shortbread into 32 triangles and serve.

Pumpkin Blondies

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondies

It's been too long since the last blog post however there is an excellent excuse for my absence.  I am proud to announce that I gave birth to a baby girl two months ago!  Finding time to bake with a newborn has been tough but now with a little routine I have managed to find time to do what I am so passionate about.  Carving out time just for myself is what makes me strong enough to get through my day.  I am so excited to start baking and blogging again and I hope that you find some great recipes that I have shared!

Now onto the main event!  These pumpkin chocolate chip blondies are so soft and moist.  It is more cakey than it is dense like a blondie.  The blondies definitely call for a tall glass of milk.  I made them for a local school bake sale and they were a hit!  The flavors of fall are upon us and I can't wait to share some more recipes.

The link between food and psychology:  the success of food is in its label.

How will you experience food?  Well, the wording we choose will determine it's success.  This experiment showed that people who were told they were eating a smoked salmon ice cream, disliked the taste. The others were told it was a frozen mousse and decided this was more acceptable (Yeomans et al., 2008).  Sometimes people also think food tastes better when it's more expensive or sold in fancier packaging.  So as long as we choose the right food label we can set up great expectations for taste.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondies Recipe
Adapted from My Baking Addiction

INGREDIENTS:
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (15 ounce) can pure pumpkin puree
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on all sides. Grease with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars on medium-high speed until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in pumpkin puree. If the mixture looks curdled, do not fret.

4. Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

5. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in pan.

Father's Day Cake

Carrot Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream

If you don't already know, I dislike raisins.   I actually refuse to eat carrot cake just because of the raisins.  I got some organic carrots and thought this was the perfect opportunity to make a carrot cake without the raisins.  The special father's day touch?  White chocolate butter cream instead of the traditional cream cheese frosting.  It makes the cake much lighter and a little more elegant for Father's Day!

Carrot Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream
Adapted from Ron Ben Israel

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ancho chili powder
1 1/2 ounces chopped walnuts 

1 1/2 ounces chopped pecans

Wet Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
3 cups carrots, shredded 

Ron's White Chocolate Buttercream:

3/4 cups sugar
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
3 sticks unsweetened butter, softened but still cool
4 ounces white chocolate, melted and cooled to room temperature

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9- by 2-inch round cake pans, attach a parchment circle to the bottom of each pan, grease and flour again.

Mix well the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cayenne in a bowl. Toss in the walnuts and pecans to coat.

Using a stand mixer, whisk the sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs for 3 minutes on medium speed. Add the carrots and mix well. Add the dry ingredients and mix for 1 minute on low speed to incorporate.

Divide the batter between the prepared pans.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 20 to 30 minutes.

Allow the cake to cool for 10 to 15 minutes, and then remove the cake from the pans onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before applying the frosting.

To frost the cake, place a small dollop of the Ron's White Chocolate Buttercream in the center of the serving platter; this will help affix your cake to the platter. Then, put the first layer of cake on the platter. Apply a generous amount of buttercream to the top center of the cake. Using a flat spatula, spread the buttercream, starting at the center and moving outward to the sides of the cake. It's important to use enough buttercream and to let the spatula only touch the top of it, so you don't pick up any crumbs from the cake.

Next, fit the second layer on top and repeat. Then, refrigerate for 5 to 10 minutes to harden the fillings/buttercream.

To serve, cut into strips the length of the cake and 2 inches wide and 1-inch thick rectangular cake slices.

For the buttercream:

Place the sugar and egg whites in large metal mixer bowl set over simmering water. Whisk constantly until the sugar melts and the mixture is very thin and warm.

Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.

Continue beating on low speed until cool, about 7 more minutes.

Beat in small pieces of the cool but soft butter on low speed. The mixture may curdle before coming together. Gradually beat in the melted and cooled white chocolate.

Re-beat occasionally while frosting the cake to maintain a smooth texture.

Soda Twist

Cream Soda Cupcakes with Almond Whipped Cream

I've been craving carbonated drinks but especially cream soda.  Cream soda is basically a vanilla flavored soda...that I put in these cupcakes!  This recipe doesn't call for baking soda (which usually helps it rise) because the carbonation in the drink makes up for it.  The original recipe uses Coca-Cola and is for a layer cake which can be found below.

The cake is buttery, soft and not too sweet with a kiss of vanilla.  The almond whipped cream adds a sophisticated but delicious topping.  It's like cream soda and cupcakes came together and had a food baby.

Cream Soda Cupcakes with Almond Whipped Cream Recipe
Adapted from Tasting Table

INGREDIENTS

Cake

1½ sticks, at room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup cream soda

¼ cup whole milk

2 large eggs

Whipped Cream

1 pint heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp almond extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Set about 20 cupcake liners in the muffin tins. 

2. In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter with the sugar on medium speed until light and airy, about 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder and salt and set aside. In another medium bowl, whisk together the cream soda and milk.

3. Add the eggs, one at a time, to the butter-sugar mixture, using a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Turn the mixer to low and alternate adding the dry and wet ingredients in three batches, starting and ending with the flour mixture and mixing until just combined. Divide the batter between the muffin tins. Place the muffin pans in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 16 to 18 minutes.

4. Remove the cakes from the oven and set aside to cool completely.

5.  With a whip attachment, pour the cream into the bowl of stand mixer and beat until it forms soft peaks.  Add powdered sugar and extract and beat until medium to stiff peaks form.  Transfer to a pastry bag and top the cupcakes.

strawberry season

Strawberry Mostachon Cake

A stunning way to celebrate the beginning of strawberry season! The sweet and tart strawberries add freshness to the lightness of the meringue cake. Perfectly balanced with lightly sweetened cream cheese and crunchy walnuts.

Mostachon is a traditional cake from Mexico and it means macaroon in Spanish.  Typically Maria crackers are used in the batter but I substituted vanilla wafers instead.

Therapeutic topic of the week: Treating depression with a specific diet?

It's obvious, what we eat affects how we feel. Food should make us feel good. It tastes great and nourishes our bodies. When eaten in too little or in excessive quantities, however, our health and appearance can be altered, which can create negative feelings toward food.

A recent study published in Nutritional Neuroscience by a group of scientists from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in Spain determined the effect of the classic Mediterranean diet (with some slight modifications) upon levels of BDNF in patients who suffer with major depression and in those who did not. BNDF is a protein that is responsible for many important brain functions. 

The Mediterranean diet is characterized by the consumption of fruits and nuts, vegetables, legumes, olive oil, cereals and fish, with a low consumption of dairy products and meat, and a moderate intake of alcohol. The nuts chosen for this study are rich in monounsaturated (almonds) and polyunsaturated (walnuts) fatty acids as well as many different antioxidants. Fruits, vegetables, and red wine are rich in polyphenols that exhibit antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

The patients were followed for three years! The reason is that dietary changes often affect brain function rather slowly and the full impact of any diet may take many months to be realized. Patients with prevalent depression who consumed the Mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts showed the greatest increase in blood levels of BDNF. Participants who were not clinically depressed showed no change in their blood levels of BDNF. These results were consistent with prior epidemiological reports of an inverse relationship between a healthy diet and the prevalence of depressive symptoms.

By Gary Wenk, Ph D. author of "Your Brain on Food"

Strawberry Mostachon Cake Recipe

Adapted from Marcela Valladolid

Ingredients

Cake:
Nonstick cooking spray
4 egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
One 11-ounce box of vanilla wafers, chopped

Frosting:
8 ounces (1 cup) cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 pounds sliced fresh strawberries, for garnishing

Directions
For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch nonstick springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In an electric mixer on high speed, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the sugar slowly, then the vanilla, baking powder, and salt while beating, about 2 more minutes. Turn the power off and fold in the walnuts and Maria crackers. Transfer to the prepared pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

For the frosting: In an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until soft peaks form and the mixture is smooth.

To assemble: Remove the cake from the oven. Let cool for 15 minutes. Remove the springform. Using an offset spatula, spread the frosting all over the cake. Garnish with the strawberries and serve.

French Macarons

Hazelnut Macarons with Praline Buttercream

I took a class at Sur la table to master the art of french macarons and learned so much. My favorite recipe was this delicious and crunchy hazelnut cookie and smooth creamy filling made with nutella. Incredibly irresistible Let's be honest, macarons are moody. The humidity has to be perfect, the egg whites need to be at room temperature and you cannot overmix the batter. Once you get the method down, the end result is so satisfying. It's light with the perfect sweetness and perfect if you are hosting an oscar party this weekend. Elegant, dainty little cookies that are worth the effort.

Tip: this is one of those times where investing in a kitchen scale is worth the money.

Hazelnut Macarons with Praline Buttercream Recipe
Recipe from Sur la table

Hazelnut Macarons:
7 oz powdered sugar, divided
2.5 oz almond flour or meal
1.5 oz hazelnut flour or meal
4 large (4 oz) egg whites, room temperature
Pinch of cream of tartar
3.5 oz granulated sugar
Brown food coloring (optional)

* Use a digital scale to measure everything.

Praline Buttercream:

4 oz egg yolks, room temperature

1 1/2 oz plus 8 oz granulated sugar, divided

pinch of salt

2 oz water

2 1/4 tsp corn syrup

20 oz unsalted butter, softened, cut into 1 inch pieces

1/4 cup nutella spread

Prepare parchment paper macaron templates. Line baking sheets with silpat silicone mats and top with parchment paper templates.  These templates can be printed and found here.

Pulse 1/3 of the powdered sugar with all the almond flour and hazelnut flour in a food processor to form a fine powder. Sift sugar mixture 2 times. Sift remaining powdered sugar 2 times. In a medium mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Set aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a wire whip attachment, whisk whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add granulated sugar. Once all sugar is incorporated, scrape down sides of bowl and increase speed to high, whisking until stiff, firm, glossy peaks form.

To complete the macaronnage step (macaronnage: the technique of mizing flour and meringue to make macarons), sift the almond flour mixture 1/3 at a time over the egg white mixture and fold using a large silicone spatula until mixture is smooth and shiny. Once all the almond flour mixture is incorporated, check to see that the batter is nicely firm and drips slowly from the spatula.

Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2″ plain round tip (#12) and pipe 1 1/3 inch rounds on the parchment-lined baking sheets. Rap bottom of each sheet on work surface to release any trapped air. Let macarons stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 375 degrees while waiting for the macarons to dry. Place the rack in the lower thirds. Macarons are ready to bake when they no longer stick to a finger when lightly touched. 

Stack the baking sheet with the macarons on top of an empty baking sheet. Bake one sheet at a time, rotating halfway through, until macarons are crips and firm, about 10-15 minutes. If the macarons are still soft inside, lower oven to 300 degrees, over with aluminum foil and bake for a few more minutes.
Let the macarons cool on baking sheets for 2-3 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before filling.

For the buttercream: place the yolks, 1 1/2 oz sugar, salt in the bowl of sa stand mixer fitted with a wire whip and beat on high speed until it reaches the ribbon stages or is light in color, thick and foamy.

Meanwhile, combine water, 8 oz sugar, corn syrup in a small saucepan.  Stir once to combine, then wash down the sides of the saucepan with a silicone pastry brush dipped in water.  Bring to a full boil and cook until the mixture reaches the thread state or 235 degrees on an instant read thermometer.  Remove from heat.

With the mixture running on medium high, pour the cooked sugar in a slow, steady stream into the yolks.  Don't let the sugar hit the whisk or the side of the bowl which will result in lost cooked sugar.

Once all the cooked sugar is incorporated  reduce speed to medium and beat until mixture has cooled to about 100 degrees or warm to the touch.  Reduce speed to low and add butter, 1 piece at a time, whisking after each addition.  Once all the butter is incorporated, return to medium high an whisk for a few minutes until fluffy.  Add vanilla extract and nutella, whisking to combine.

Use the buttercream immediately or cover an refrigerate.  To fill macarons, transfer buttercream to a 12 inch pastry bag with a medium round pastry tip and pipe between two macarons.