Bakinspiration for the Day

It has been quite a while since I have written on my blog, but I am back and ready to create and be inspired by the creative genius out there. As I was looking on Tastespotting, my go to for the perfect recipe and great pictures, I came across a recipe that I liked for peach cupcakes with a sage infused frosting. It reminded me of back in the day when I used to work at in Italian restaurant. We sold this amazing ravioli stuffed with a butternut squash and served with a sage browned butter sauce. Ravioli du Zucca was the dish of choice for almost every table. It was garnished with Amaretti cookie crumbled before it was served, and never was it a miss! Everyone loved it. The sage in this recipe got me thinking about the sage in that recipe. And I decided why not combine the flavors. A butternut squash cupcake, made with browned butter and topped with a sage frosting sprinkled with Amaretti cookies. Genius, non?

Butternut Squash Cupcakes with Browned Butter Sage Frosting and Amaretti Cookie Crumbles

Butternut Squash Cupcakes:

1 large butternut squash (for 2 cups of puree)
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup butter (browned in a pan before and cooled to slightly softened)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups of flour

Quarter and seed the squash. Place in a dish with 1/4 cup of water and bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool, scoop out (no skins!) then puree in a food processor or blender. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together sugars, eggs, and butter. Add dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Whisk in butternut puree. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake at 350 until tops spring back when touched, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18-22 minutes. Rotate pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack to let cool.

Sage Frosting

1 bunch of sage
3 tablespoons of water
3 tablespoons of granulated sugar
12 ounces of cream cheese
1/2 cup of butter (again brown in a pan and cool till slightly softened)
3 cups powdered sugar

Bring cheese and butter to room temperature. Heat sugar and water in a small pan under medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Chop up the sage and add to the sugar and let boil over medium-low heat for 3 to 5 minutes or until the mixture is syrupy. Set aside to cool. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl or onto parchment. Beat butter and cheese at medium speed until creamy. Add half of the sugar and the sage syrup. Beat until combined. Gradually add remaining sugar. Spread onto cupcakes.

Final Touches: Sprinkles with Amaretti cookie crumbles!

Thanks to my inspiration:

http://dicedtomato.blogspot.com/2009/07/peach-cupcakes-with-sage-infused.html

Brainstorming

So I was deliberating the difference between sweet and savory today after looking at a recipe for bacon brittle. Artery clogging for sure, but it does sounds appetizing and definitely not for the faint of heart. The recipe sparked interesting thoughts of other savory flavors that could shockingly translate into sugary goodness. My mind wandered over to the vampire fighting bulb, garlic, a flavor so intense, could it ever lend itself to add an interesting depth to a tart or a cookie. I think anything is possible and there are no boundaries when it comes to food and flavors. So I decided to create a recipe that would work. I will admit that it is just theory, but someday I will test it out. Right now my kitchen is lacking all ingredients except sugar and garlic, so this recipe will have to wait until I stock up on the basics.

Garlic Rosemary Shortbread

The brown sugar gives the cookie a richer and earthier flavor that lends itself as a better companion to the strong flavor of garlic. However, roasting the garlic makes for a mild flavor.

2 cups butter

1 tablespoon roasted garlic

1 cup packed brown sugar

4 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon ground rosemary

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Cream butter, garlic and brown sugar. Add 3 to 3 3/4 cups flour and the rosemary. Mix well. Sprinkle board with the remaining flour. Knead for 5 minutes, adding enough flour to make a soft dough. Roll to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into 3x1 inch strips. Prick with fork and place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.

Picture from: http://www.christinas-home-remedies.com/image-files/toothache-garlic.jpg

Bakinspiration for the Day with a Twist

Lime Mascarpone Tart becomes a Key Lime Coconut Tart!

Today's inspiration comes from http://www.cheesematters.com.au/recipe.aspx?id=2065. I am always in the mood to make a good tart. Not only are they fun and easy, but they always seem to come out beautiful. It might be the ridges in the pie pan that get me every time, but tarts are always a pleasure to look at and people think you always spent so much time on them without realizing that they take next to no time to prepare! So here goes my easy new recipe. Key limes are so much more flavorful and why not mix them with a little coconut for a completely tropical dish.

Key Lime Coconut Tart

250g Mascarpone cheese

1 cup sugar

grated rind and juice of 3 large key limes

6 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup grated coconut

9" sweet pastry crust (See Recipe Below)

*extra mascarpone or pure cream, whipped, for serving

Lightly whisk together mascarpone, sugar and rind until smooth. Whisk in eggs, lime juice, and coconut until smooth and pour into pastry case. Bake at 160°C for 30-40 minutes or until just set. Allow to cool before removing from tin. Serve tart cut into wedges dolloped with cream.

Sweet Pastry Crust

1 1/3 cups plain flour

1 teas ground ginger

1/2 cup melted butter

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/4 cup granulated sugar

Blend flour, ginger and butter until fine crumbs form. Combine egg and sugar and add to the flour, blending briefly until the mixture just forms a ball. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead lightly until smooth. Roll out between baking paper to 2mm thickness and line a flat tin with removable base. Prick well with a fork and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. Bake at 200°C for 20 minutes until a light golden colour. Allow to cool and use as required.

Bakinspiration for the Day with a Twist

Its Cookie Time:

The recipe for the day comes from a basic cookie recipe packed with great ingredients. My Baking Addiction made a coconut pecan chocolate chip cookie that made my mouth water so I started thinking about cookies and what else I could cram into a cookie. I like the idea of coconut right now. It seems quite fitting for summer and tropical goodness. My mind began churning and I remembered a strange and very impulse purchase I made a few weeks back at the register of trader joes. They were dried Hibiscus flowers (as seen below). Why not nix the chocolate chips and pecans and really make a tropical treat by chopping up a few of these (or the bag) and putting them in the cookies. The fruity taste would completely complement the coconut so why not. Here is my recipe with a twist.

Coconut Hibiscus Cookies

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup chopped dried hibiscus flowers
3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Directions
1. Place oven racks in the upper and lower 1/3's of the oven.
2. Heat oven to 350°F.
3. Grease two large cookie sheets.
4. Mix flour, baking powder & salt in a bowl or bag and set aside.
5. Mix butter and sugars with with a mixer until blended and smooth, add eggs & vanilla; mix until incorporated.
6. Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
7. Stir in hibiscus and coconut.
8. Divide into 18 equal balls, a 2" cookie scoop works just about perfectly.
9. EVENLY space 9 on each cookie sheet.
10. Bake for 12-18 minutes, rotating front to back and top to bottom after 8 minutes.
11. Cool on sheets to maintain chewy texture.

I would like to take My Baking Addiction for her great recipe and beautiful picture.

Bakinspiration for the Day with a Twist

http://verysmallanna.com/2009/06/coconut-lime/

I love Madeleines. They might possibly be the best light fluffy cookie out there! These take the recipe of the day because they sound delicious with a great combination of flavors, but I again I need to add my twist so I feel like I am not being completely unoriginal. Coming up with recipes isn't easy, so I do not want to take complete credit for this recipe. But I could not help fiddling with the ingredients. They usually say "if something isn't broke, don't fix it", but if we all subscribed to that philosophy of life, the world would be limited to sugar and chocolate chic cookies. No one would ever have tried adding cinnamon or mixing in peanut butter making even more scrumptious treats. Yes, I did just use the word scrumptious, and I will frequently be dusting off many cobwebs on nouns, verbs and words that you didn't even know existed. Not only am I inventive in the kitchen, but the english language will reach new levels and maybe, if I am lucky, I can pull a Rachel Ray and change the dictionary!

Recipe #1: Ginger Lime Madeleines

This recipe is extra refreshing for summer and would go great paired with a cucumber martini and a sexy summer dress. Hamptons anyone?

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp fine salt

3 eggs

2/3 cup sugar

Zest & juice of 1 lime

Whisk together the flours, baking powder, ginger and salt. Set aside. Whisk the eggs and sugar for about 7 minutes, until fluffy and nearly triple in volume. Quickly beat in the lime. Sift a small amount of the flour mixture into the eggs. Gently fold it in, then repeat in small batches with the rest of the flour. Once it is fully incorporated, plop about 1 tbsp of it into the melted butter. Whisk it in to lighten, then incorporate the butter mixture by thirds into the batter, folding it completely and gently. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 F. If using a nonstick pan, lightly butter the scallops; otherwise, thoroughly butter and flour them. Scoop by neat tbsp into the middle of each indentation. Bake for around 15 minutes, until lightly golden brown around the edges (they will also be springy when poked). Immediately after removing from the oven, rap the pan sharply against the counter and turn the madeleines out onto a cooling rack. 

Recipe #2: Rosemary Lemon Madeleines

A little heavier since the rosemary adds an earthy flavor, but still equally as refreshing. This recipe parallels the above recipe. It is an easy deviation.

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp fine salt

3 eggs

2/3 cup sugar

1 tbsp ground rosemary

Zest & juice of 2 lemon

In a small bowl mix together the butter and the olive oil. Set aside. Whisk together the flours, baking powder, rosemary and salt. Set aside. Whisk the eggs and sugar for about 7 minutes, until fluffy and nearly triple in volume. Quickly beat in the lemon. Sift a small amount of the flour mixture into the eggs. Gently fold it in, then repeat in small batches with the rest of the flour. Once it is fully incorporated, plop about 1 tbsp of it into the melted butter and oil combination. Whisk it in to lighten, then incorporate the butter oil mixture by thirds into the batter, folding it completely and gently. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 F. If using a nonstick pan, lightly butter the scallops; otherwise, thoroughly butter and flour them. Scoop by neat tbsp into the middle of each indentation. Bake for around 15 minutes, until lightly golden brown around the edges (they will also be springy when poked). Immediately after removing from the oven, rap the pan sharply against the counter and turn the madeleines out onto a cooling rack. 

Bakinspiration For the Day With a Twist

http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2009/06/sweet-cherry-orange-peel-poppy-seed.html

I have to give props to this blog for my bakinspiration of the day! Even though this is soy, the combination of flavors sound like they would complement each other really well. But as I am a baking creator, I cannot settle with any recipe. Instead about twenty minutes of thought and another twenty minutes of mixing random ingredients in a bowl will create some mysterious concoction that will usually (though sometimes not) dazzle the senses. So here is my twist to the Lunch Box Bunch's Sweet Cherry Orange Peel Poppy Seed Bread. My new recipe has slightly less words in the title so you won't have to worry about trying to remember what you called it. I created a vegan recipe and a not so vegan recipe. I prefer to harden my arteries with real butter and eggs. I think my cholesterol can be sacrificed for the better taste of real ingredients. No offense to vegans as I do admire their creativity with the plant syrups, soy products and strange gums of the world, and their kindness to the environment and the creatures that we share it with. 

Poppy Seed Tea Bread

~I like the combination of herbs and earthy flavors in baked goods. This recipe may sound strange and it can be quite difficult to make, but if you find yourself in need of something to fill the time, this I am sure will be quite delicious. 

Vegan Version

3/4 cup plain soy milk

3 English Breakfast Tea bags 

1 1/4 cups Spelt or Wheat Flour
1/2 cup vegan sugar
2 Tbsp agave syrup
1/4 cup plain soy yogurt

1/4 cup poppy seeds
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup canola or coconut oil
1 tsp Xantham Gum
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

A good hour before making the bread, you will need to prepare the milk. Slowly bring the soy milk and the tea bags to a light boil. Remove from heat and let the tea bags steep in the milk for quite a while. This allows the essence of the tea to infuse into the bread without all of the herbs. Let cool for about an hour. When ready to make the bread preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine soy milk, oil, agave syrup, sugar, poppy seeds, vanilla extract in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, xantham gum, salt, and cinnamon. Stir dry ingredients into liquid ingredients. Stir until you have a well blended thick batter. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Test doneness with a knife. Cool in pans on wire rack 10 minutes before removing from pans to rack to cool completely.

Not-So Vegan version:

3/4 cup milk

3 English Breakfast Tea bags

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cups poppy seeds

Prepare the milk, tea mixture as done for the vegan version, but be very careful not to bring the milk to a boil too fast as it will scald and become very bitter. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 loaf pans and dust with flour. Beat butter, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Slowly add the eggs. Mix in milk and vanilla until blended. (batter may look curdled) Mix in flour and poppy seeds just until the flour is incorporated. You do not want to overmix. Divide between prepared pans, spreading batter evenly. Bake 45 to 50 minutes until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack 10 minutes before removing from pans to rack to cool completely.

The Perfect Chewy or Hard Ginger Cookies

• 3 sticks butter, melted and cooled
  
• 2 cups sugar
  
• 2 eggs
  
• 3/4 cups dark molasses
  
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  
• 1/2 teas salt
  
• 4 teas baking soda
  
• 2 teas cinnamon
  
• 3 teas ginger
  
• 1 teas pumpkin pie spice
  

Preheat your oven to 350. Butter a flat baking sheet. Mix the first four ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl blend the rest of the ingredients. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix until everything is incorporated. For larger gooey cookies, drop triple tablespoon or larger portions on a baking sheet and bake for around 12 minutes leaving a slightly light brown section on the top. For smaller "snap"like cookies, spoon tablespoon portions on the sheet and bake for 15 minutes or longer until they are dark brown on the top. After you remove from the oven, let the cookies cool for five to ten minutes then place on a cooling rack. Let cool completely and dig in. The harder cookies are especially yummy dipped in a strong espresso.

Special thanks to Ayvind for helping with the set-up and photography of the pictures!