Chocolate Cherry Tart

This is a little something I just threw together. Nothing fancy, very simple... but will impress people. I wasn't even going to post it, but then was encouraged to do so after I was told how good it was. Sometimes "simple" just works!
Enjoy!

Chocolate Cherry Tart

For the crust:

• 125 g (1/2 cup) butter, softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup flour, sifted
  

For the filling:

• two cups pitted cherries (fresh, canned or tined)
• 3 cups of dark chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup whole milk

1. Preheat oven to 180 C (355 F.) Lightly grease sides of a 25cm fluted tart tin with butter.
2. To make the base of the tart, put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on high until fluffy. Add cocoa and beat on low until combined. Add egg yolk and vanilla and mix until just combined. Remove bowl from mixer and and add flour, mixing by hand until dough comes together. Press the dough firmly into the bottom and sides of the tin. Prick the bottom with a fork evenly around the base and centre. Refrigerate for 10 mins or until firm.
3. Bake in the oven for 20 mins or until firm to the touch. Set aside and cool for at least 30 mins.
4. Spread cherries evenly in cooled tart shell.
5. To make chocolate ganache, place milk in a medium sauce pan. Heat until tiny bubbles start to form, just before it boils. Remove from heat and add dark chocolate to milk without stirring. Let stand for 2 mins, then with a whisk, stir until smooth.
6. Pour chocolate ganache evenly over cherries. Gently shake tart to ensure even coverage. Refrigerate for at least one hour to set.

Perfect Sugar Cookies

Anyone who knows me, knows that if there is a holiday near by, then chances are I'm baking something for it! Although my husband once again went overboard, buying me roses and tickets to a show, I chose to go the classic way to man's heart... food. (It amazes me that he is not the size of a house.)
This is a great sugar cookie recipe! Sweet, and just the right medium of crisp and chewy. There are two big mistakes that people usually make when baking sugar cookies. One, they do not refrigerate the dough before rolling it out and cutting it. By refrigerating it first, it makes it firmer and easier to cut once you roll it out. I refrigerate it for at least 3 hours. And second, they use too much flower when rolling the dough out. Most of us take what's left once you cut the first batch out and roll it out again to cut more from it. If you have crazy amounts of flour on your work space and on your rolling pin, you are incorporating it back in to the cookie dough and this will make a harder, sometimes tougher cookie when it should be light and flaky. I get rid of the flour on the counter completely and roll it out between two pieces of baking paper. The dough won't stick to it and it's almost mess free!
ENJOY!

Ingredients

For cookies:

• 4 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup softened butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 4 Tbs milk
• 2 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 160 C. (320 F.)
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking powder.
3. In a large mixing bowl combine butter and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after the addition of each. Add milk and vanilla until just combined.
4. Add dry mixture to sugar and butter mixture and beat until just combined.
5. Divide mixture in to two evenly shaped disks. Wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 ours.
6. Work dough between your hands until it softens slightly. Place between two large sheets of baking paper. Roll with a rolling pin until 1/8 inch thick. Cut out desired shapes with cookie cutters. left over dough can be combined and rolled out again. Place cut out cookies on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake until lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Place on a cooling rack once removed from the oven.

For royal icing:

• 4 egg whites
• 5 cups of icing (powdered) sugar
• 1 Tbs lemon juice of flavored essence
• food coloring

1. Beat egg whites until peaks form.
2. Slowly add sifted icing sugar to egg whites. Mix until just combined. Add flavoring of lemon juice and mix once more until just combined.
3. Divide into smaller bowls and add food coloring. Water can be added to thin as needed. You will need a thicker icing for the outline and boarders, and thinner for filling areas.

My tips for decorating: With a edible marker, draw desired outlines or designs on cookies. Trace with a thicker texture royal icing. Once dry, about 30 minutes, fill in with a thinner texture icing

Marshmallows

This is a recipe I have been wanting to tackle for a while now. I had been hesitating because in my head, I thought it must be too complicated (and messy from what I'd heard!) But yesterday I decided "what the heck," and in to the kitchen I went! The really great thing about this recipe, is that that the colour and flavor combinations are endless! There are a whole bunch of really great, good quality candy and confectionery flavorings available these days. I recently picked up a bunch of fun flavours and had been itching to use them in something. I had 3 in mind for these marshmallows, but settled on cherry. If you do not have any of these flavorings, you can just use good old vanilla and get a great, original tasting marshmallow!
Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup icing (powdered) sugar
• 3 1/2 envelopes (3 tablespoons) unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup cold water
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup corn syrup (or glucose syrup if you're in Australia)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 egg whites
• 1 Tbs of your choice of flavor (vanilla, peppermint, almond, hazelnut, cherry, blackberry, etc...)
• a couple of drops of coordinating food coloring.

1. Oil a 9x13 baking dish. (I used cooking spray.) Dust bottom and sides generously with icing sugar.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup of the cold water and let stand for at least 5 minutes.
3. In a heavy 3 quart pan, combine sugar, corn syrup, 1/2 cup cold water, and salt. On low heat, stir until the sugar is dissolved. Insert candy thermometer and increase heat to med-high until mixture starts to boil. Without stirring, leave to boil until mixture reaches 240 F (soft ball stage.) This should take 10-12 minutes.
4. Pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture. With mixer on high speed, beat until thick and white and tripled in volume. This should take about 8 to 10 minutes.
5. In a separate mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add whipped egg whites with flavoring and color in to the sugar mixture until just combined.
6. Pour mixture in to prepared dish. Spread evenly and wiggle dish until level. Dust the top with more icing sugar. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, uncovered.
7. Now it's time to cut them in to what ever shape you choose! I went with basic 1 in squares, but you could use any small shaped cookie cutter. What ever you use to cut them, a knife or a cutter, will need to be well oiled. To cut mine, I turned the slab of marshmallow on a large cutting board and with a large knife, cut it in to squares, rinsing and spraying my knife with cooking spray when the knife started to get sticky.
8. In a large bowl, put about 1/2 cup icing sugar. Once marshmallows have been cut, toss them in icing sugar until evenly coated. Marshmallows should be kept in an air tight container to prevent moisture making them sticky!

Crack Pie

This may be the oddest named thing I've ever baked and blogged about! It is, however, one of the tastiest! It's called Crack Pie, and no, there's no crack in it. The recipe is said to have come from a famous bakery in NY, and has been shared on blogs, in news papers and on shows like Martha Stewart. Apparently it acquired it's name because it is addictive as crack! I can confirm that those who had the pleasure of tasting this little gem, are now self confessed "crack"addicts!


So what is crack pie I hear you ask? The easiest way to describe it is: A buttery, twice baked oatmeal cookie crust with a baked butterscotch custard filling! Nothing healthy here, just sugar (two kinds,) butter (nearly a pound,) egg yolks (8, although I suspect a couple more would make it even richer,) some cream (thickened, of course,) and a few other yummy ingredients that clog your arteries just thinking about them! I would call this more of a tart than a pie, but either way... it's DELICIOUS and totally ADDICTIVE!
Enjoy!

Crack Pie

Oatmeal Cookie for crust

• 2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup rolled oats

Crust

• Crumbled cookie from above
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Filling

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup plus milk powder
• 1 cup melted butter
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 8 egg yolks

Directions for oatmeal cookie

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. Cream the butter, brown sugar and sugar until light and fluffy.

4. Whisk the egg into the butter mixture until fully incorporated.

5. Stir in the flour mixture until fully combined. Stir in the oats.

6. Spread the mixture onto a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking sheet and bake until golden brown and set, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to the touch on a rack. Crumble the cooled cookie to use in the crust.

Directions for crust

1.Combine the crumbled cookie, butter, brown sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse until evenly combined and blended

2. Divide the crust between 2 (10-inch) pie or tart tins. Press the crust into each shell to form a thin, even layer along the bottom and sides of the tins. Set the prepared crusts aside while you prepare the filling.

Directions for filling

1. Heat the oven to 175 C (350 F) degrees.

2. Whisk together the sugar, brown sugar, salt and milk powder. Whisk in the melted butter, then whisk in the heavy cream and vanilla.

3. Gently whisk in the egg yolks, being careful not to add too much air.

4. Divide the filling evenly between the 2 prepared pie shells.

5. Bake the pies, one at a time, for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 165 C (325 F) degrees and bake until the filling is slightly jiggly and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove the pies and cool on a rack.

6. Refrigerate the cooled pies until well chilled. Serve cold, and the filling will be gooey. Dust with icing (powdered) sugar before serving.

Cranberry Bliss Bar

It's been a busy couple of weeks and I have not had much time to bake. Although with the holiday season right around the corner, I am starting to crave some of my favorite holiday treats! One thing that always signals the start of the holiday season, for me, is the those famous red cups filled with rich, spicy coffee delight from Starbucks! I probably should not post this... you should go get the real thing from Starbucks, but unfortunately, they are no longer offered here at Starbucks in Australia! This leaves me no choice but to make it my self to get my Cranberry Bliss Bar fix!

Enjoy!




Cranberry Bliss Bar

· 1 cup butter, softened
· 1 ¼ cup of brown sugar
· 3 eggs
· 3 TBS ground ginger
· 2 tsp cinnamon
· 2 tsp vanilla
· ½ tsp salt
· 1 ½ cup flour
· 1 cup cranberries, chopped
· ½ cup of white chocolate, chopped
· ½ cup candied ginger, chopped

· 4oz package of cream cheese
· 1 ½ cups icing sugar
· 2 TBS butter, softened
· 1 TBS vanilla

· Preheat oven to 180 (160 for fan oven)

· Grease (I prefer to line it with baking paper!) a 9x13 pan

· Beat brown sugar, butter , eggs and vanilla

· In a separate bowl, sift flour, ginger, cinnamon & salt

· Combine both mixtures and add white chocolate, ½ cup cranberries & candied ginger. Don’t over mix,stir until all ingredients are just combined.

· Press mixture in to lined pan

· Bake for 20-25 mins or until golden brown and then cool completely on a cooling rack.

· For frosting, combine cream cheese, icing sugar, butter and vanilla, mix for about 2 mins.
Spread cream cheese frosting over the base and then sprinkle with remaining cranberries

Cherry Crumb Cake

Holey moley! It's been over 2 months since I have posted a recipe on here. I do apologize for those of you who follow it! I have been baking, I just didn't get around to photographing and uploading my creations, most of which have been cakes and cupcakes. There were 4 sets of Birthday cupcakes, 2 Birthday cakes and a wedding cake... am I forgetting something? I keep meaning to post my chocolate cake/cupcake recipe on here. I get so many requests for it. Watch this space! (Note to self: post devils food cake recipe next!)


While the Northern part of the world is heading in to my favourite time of the year, fall, we here in Australia seem to have skipped spring and gone straight to summer! With that in mind, fresh fruit is on the agenda . Heat or no heat, I will continue to use my oven to bake... I know... CRAZY, but that's what air conditioners are for! I had a craving for cherries, but after visiting 3 different places trying to find them and discovering they aren't quite in season yet, I had to settle for a jar of cherries. It turned out pretty darn tasty, but I will for sure be trying it again with fresh cherries when they are in season. Maybe even a strawberry and peach version!


ENJOY!

Cherry Crumb Cake

For the crumble

• 1/2 cup ground almond meal
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 Tbs melted butter

For the cake

• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup ground almond meal
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 8 Tbs butter, room temp
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 Tbs almond extract
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups cherries

1. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C.) Line a 9 inch square baking pan with parchment/baking paper.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, almond meal, baking soda and salt. In another larger bowl, cream together sugar and butter. Beat in eggs, then add vanilla and almond extract. Mix well.
3. In alternating steps, add flour mixture and buttermilk to the sugar/butter mixture, starting and ending with flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Make sure you do not over mix, mix until just combined.
4. Spread the batter into the bottom of the lined baking pan. sprinkle the cherries evenly over the batter and gently press in to the batter with your palm. Set aside.
5. To make crumble, mix melted butter, flour, almond meal, sugar and salt together to create large crumbs. Sprinkle evenly over cherries.
6. Bake for 50 mins or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
7. Cool on a cooling rack before removing from pan and cutting in to 9-12 squares.
   

Coconut Cream Pie

It was completely unintentional that the last two recipes that I have posted have been coconut creations. I am constantly browsing websites and cookbooks for recipes that I want to try. I keep a file of bookmarked recipes that I intend to try someday. While looking through it the other day, I came across this coconut cream pie recipe. I've never been a huge fan of cream pies, but how could anyone say no to anything with a buttery graham cracker crust, a rich coconut custard and a light and fluffy meringue on top? "Don't mind if do!"
ENJOY!

Coconut Cream Pie

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• ¼ cup coconut
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted

filling:

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
• 3/4 cup light coconut milk
• 1/4 teaspoon coconut extract
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Meringue:

• 3 large egg whites
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon flaked sweetened coconut, toasted

To make crust:

1. Mix graham cracker crumbs, coconut, sugar and melted butter until well blended . Press mixture into an 8 or 9 inch pie plate.
2. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 7 minutes. Cool completely.

To make filling:

1. Combine flour, sugar, salt, and eggs in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Heat milk and coconut milk over medium-high heat in a small, heavy saucepan until tiny bubbles form around edge (do not boil). Gradually add hot milk mixture to sugar mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Place mixture in pan; cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
2. Spoon custard into a bowl; place bowl in a large ice-filled bowl for 10 minutes or until custard comes to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Remove bowl from ice. Stir in extracts; spoon mixture into prepared crust. Cover and chill 8 hours or until firm.

To make meringue:

1. Preheat broiler. Place egg whites in bowl of an electric mixer; beat on high speed until soft peaks form. Combine 2/3 cup sugar and water in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until candy thermometer registers 225 F (115 C). Pour hot sugar syrup in a thin stream over egg whites, beating at high speed until stiff peaks form.
2. Spread meringue over chilled pie, and sprinkle with coconut. Broil for 1 minute or until meringue is lightly browned; cool 5 minutes on a wire rack. Serve immediately.