Patty P’s French Coffee Cake

Patty P’s French Coffee Cake

When I was growing up in Connecticut I knew it was Sunday or a holiday when this cake was brought out. My husband and my friend Leslie love this cake today.

• 2 stick unsalted butter
• ¾ cup light brown sugar
• ¾ cup white sugar
• 5 whole eggs
• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 package vanilla Jello or Kroger pudding
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans) or 1 cup oatmeal
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
•  Pam

Preheat oven to 350˚. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one a time beating well after each addition. In a large bowl whisk together: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, vanilla pudding. Add dry mixture alternately with sour cream to the wet mixture. Add vanilla and almond extract.  In a small bowl mix nuts or oatmeal, brown sugar and cinnamon. Grease a tube pan or bundt pan with Pam. Pour half the batter into a pan. Put half of the topping over the batter. Finish with the remaining batter and sprinkle with the rest of the cinnamon mixture. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes (depends if it is a heavy pan or if your oven temperature is about right). Stick a skewer in to test if it is done or push gently with your hand. If it springs back it is done. Let it cool in the pan for an hour or more. Take out and wrap in foil or place on serving piece.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I know for many Cinco de Mayo is the perfect excuse to enjoy a tall margarita but I thought today I would switch it up. Don't get me wrong, I'll definitely be breaking out the tequila for an ice cold margarita but I wanted to share a more unique recipe with Mexican roots to honor the holiday. 

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Lulu’s Salty Caramel Banana Coconut Flan

Serves: 4-5

Preparation time: 20 minutes active, 1 ½ hours baking

Ingredients:

2 cups milk

3 eggs

1 egg yolk

¾ cup sugar

1 cinnamon stick, or ¼ tsp of ground cinnamon

1 large piece of lemon zest

1 tablespoon rum

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Preparation:

Start by infusing some flavor into the milk. Put the milk in a medium saucepan with the lemon zest, cinnamon, nutmeg and rum.

Slowly bring this to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Once done, set aside to cool (this is important).

You will need some custard cups suitable for the oven. You don’t necessarily need flan cups, but you need something about 3” wide by about 2” tall.

In a small non-stick skillet, spread out ¼ cup of the sugar. We are going to create the caramel to go in the custard cup.

Heat the sugar carefully and it will start to melt. Stir until you get a nice golden brown color.

Pour about ½ tablespoon into each cup and tilt the cup to spread the caramel to cover the bottom of each cup.

You need to work fast as the caramel will harden quickly!

Go ahead and preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Now in a small mixing bowl, combine eggs, ½ cup of sugar, and vanilla. Beat until foamy.

Pour in the milk (it has cooled, right?) through the strainer to remove the extra bits.

Mix the milk and eggs well.

Pour the mixture into each cup as near to the top as you can. Place the cups (not touching each other) in a deep baking pan or dish.

Pour boiling water into pan around the cups so that you have about an inch of water in the pan. This creates a water bath for the custard.

Bake now for 1 ½ hours. Check the custard with a thin knife in the center of one of the flans.

Remove from the oven when done and remove the cups from the bath to cool.

Can be served at room temperature or cooled.

Remove from the cup by sliding a think knife around the edge of the cup. Enjoy!

Butterfinger Ice Cream with Chocolate Sauce

This recipe is so simple—stir crushed candy bars into softened ice cream—but it’s a real crowd pleaser. Dress it up with homemade chocolate sauce and wafer-thin chocolate cookies.

• 1 pint vanilla bean ice cream • 3 original-size Butterfinger candy bars, crushed (reserve one bar for garnish) • 1 Cadbury caramel-milk chocolate candy bar • 1/2 cup whipping cream • 1/2 teaspoon salt • Chocolate cookie wafers • Fresh mint leaves

Let vanilla bean ice cream soften in refrigerator. Transfer ice cream to bowl. Mix in two crushed Butterfinger bars. Transfer ice cream mixture to freezer-safe container; freeze.

For sauce, heat caramel-milk chocolate bar and whipping cream together in double boiler, stirring until candy bar melts. Remove from heat. Stir in salt. Let cool; store in refrigerator. To warm sauce, microwave for 30 seconds.

To serve, spoon sauce into bottom of bowls. Top with ice cream mixture. Garnish each serving with remaining crushed Butterfinger bar, chocolate cookie wafer, and mint leaf. Makes 6 servings.

Read full story here in Traditional Home

National Oatmeal Cookie Day

Happy National Oatmeal Cookie Day! 

I love to keep this dough in the freezer and treat myself to a bite of cookie dough every once in a while.

Makes 6 dozen

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup toasted wheat germ

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups packed light brown sugar

2 sticks butter, softened

1 stick margarine, softened

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup dried cranberries

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat. 2. Stir together the oats, flour, wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt and in a large mixing bowl and set aside. 3. Place sugar, butter, and margarine in the bowl of an electric mixer and mix on medium speed until fluffy. 4. Reduce speed to low and slowly add oat-flour mixture until just combined. Add chocolate chips and cranberries and mix gently with a spatula. 5. Scoop the dough into rounds and place them 1-inch apart on the baking sheet.  6. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until golden and just set. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! For all the hopeless romantics out there, this day is for you! Whether you're celebrating with friends, family, or a loved one, make sure it's a decadent day. Today is the day to forget about your diet and the gym. Live a little! Today's ingredients consist of chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate. I'm serving up my mom's mouth watering chocolate cake. It's simple, elegant, and delicious! Kisses from the kitchen. -XO

Mom’s Chocolate Cake

Serves 8

• • 4 oz semisweet chocolate
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 7 oz cake flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup boiling water
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 ¾  cup sugar
  • 12 oz butter
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons dark rum

  Put chocolate, cocoa and sugar in Food Processor and mix it. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and process. Take it out. Add boiling water to machine and then add eggs- process one at time. Next add sugar, butter, sour cream and dark rum. After you process all those ingredients add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together.

  Spray pan, put in parchment, spray again.

  Bake at 325 F.

  12” Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes

  8-9” Bake for an hour or less (50 min)

  Glaze

  • 6 oz semisweet chocolate
  • 4 tablespoons of water
  • 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) powdered sugar, sifted
  • Pinch salt
  • 4 tablespoon (2oz) butter
  • 2 teaspoon dark rum

  Mix in double boiler, semisweet chocolate, water, powdered sugar and salt until there are no lumps. Stir constantly. Add butter. Take off heat and stir in rum.

Chocolate Pumpkin Layer Cake

Adapted from John Down, Christopher Norman Chocolates Time: 1 1/2 hours plus cooling

20 tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) soft unsalted butter, more for greasing

2 cups flour, more for dusting

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 cup plain pumpkin purée, canned, frozen or fresh

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped pecans

2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

10 ounces unsweetened chocolate, preferably 99 or 100 percent, melted and cooled to room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Use a little butter to grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment paper. Butter and flour the paper. In a large bowl, whisk flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, baking soda, baking powder and salt together.
2. Using an electric mixer, cream 8 tablespoons butter and the granulated sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in pumpkin purée. Mixture may look slightly curdled. Stir in flour mixture about half a cup at a time until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips and pecans.
3. Divide batter into pans and bake in middle of oven until springy to the touch and a tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes, run a knife around edges, invert onto racks and peel off paper. Let cakes cool completely.
4. In a large bowl, blend remaining 12 tablespoons butter and confectioners’ sugar together. Blend in chocolate and vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
5. Place one cake layer, smooth side up, on a platter. Ice top. Place second layer, smooth side down, on top; ice top and sides of cake.

Yield: 8 to 12 servings.

To make ahead: For fully frosted cake, put in freezer unwrapped; when frozen hard, wrap in plastic, then foil. Remove wrapping before defrosting.

Unfrosted cake layers out of their pans can be wrapped first, then frozen up to three weeks.

Frosting can be made up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerated, then brought to room temperature for at least one hour.

Happy Birthday Julia Child - All American Brownie

In honor of what would've been Julia Child's 100th Birthday yesterday, I'm sharing with all of you one of her many classic recipes. Here are Julia Child's Best Ever Brownies courtesy of Shine from Yahoo. And you know if Julia says they're the best ever, they definitely are! 

"Master chef and teacher Julia Child, who would have been 100 Wednesday, is famous for complicated French dishes such as her six-page cassoulet recipe, but one of her favorite sweets was a straight-forward, all-American brownie. Developed for the cookbook Baking with Julia, these decadent confections have a deep chocolate flavor and cakey texture that firms up and gets chewy if refrigerated.

Bon appétit!"

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

8 ounces unsalted butter

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temperature

Directions:

1. Put a rack in the center of the oven and pre-heat to 350 degrees.

2. Sift together the flour and salt; set aside.

3. Melt the butter and all of the chocolate together the in the microwave in a large bowl or gently over double boiler.

4. Add one cup of the sugar to the chocolate-butter mixture and stir for 30 seconds. Stir in the vanilla.

5. Mix the remaining sugar and the four eggs in an electric mixer bowl for a few seconds until just combined.

6. Little by little, pour half of the sugar-egg mixture into the chocolate mixture, stirring gently but constantly with a rubber spatula so that the eggs don't set from the heat.

7. Whip the remaining sugar and eggs in the electric mixer until they are thick, pale, and doubled in volume, about three minutes.

8. Using the rubber spatula, gently fold the whipped eggs into the chocolate mixture.

9. When the eggs are almost completely incorporated, gently fold in the dry ingredients.

10. Pour and scrape the batter into an un-buttered 9-inch square baking pan.

11. Bake the brownies for 22-26 minutes, they should rise a little and the top will look dark and dry.

12. Make a small cut in the the center of the brownies after about 22 minutes to check for doneness. They'll be perfect if they are just barely set and still gooey.

13. Remove from oven and cool in the pan on a rack before cutting.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIA!

Ice Cream Sliders

A new take on the Ice Cream Sandwich. I found this recipe on the Tasting Table, a wonderful food blog that I'm a total fan of. I thought this recipe was so creative; such a fun interpretation of a classic dessert. The perfect summer treat...that is, if you can eat it before it melts!

Yield: 6 ice cream sliders (with leftover wet nuts)

Cook Time: 8 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Wet Nuts

• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• Pinch sea salt
• ¾ cup roughly chopped mixed nuts (such as walnuts, pecans, almonds and macadamia nuts)
• ½ teaspoon almond extract

Sliders

• 1 pint container vanilla ice cream
• 1 pint container chocolate ice cream
• 6 mini brioche buns, sliced in half crosswise

DIRECTIONS1. Make the wet nuts: In a medium saucepan, combine the corn syrup, maple syrup, brown sugar and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, cooking until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the nuts and cook until they are warmed through, about 5 minutes. Stir in the almond extract, cool, then transfer to a container. Store in the fridge until ready to use.2. To make the sliders, use a serrated bread knife to slice each pint of ice cream crosswise into six ½-inch-wide discs. Place a disc flat on a cutting board and use a 2½-inch round cookie cutter to stamp a circle out of the center (save the trimmings for milkshakes; if your kitchen is very hot and the rounds soften or start to melt, quickly transfer them to a plate and freeze to harden the ice cream). Quickly place a vanilla round on a bun bottom, top with a chocolate round, cover with a spoonful of wet nuts and place the other bun half on top. Repeat five more times. Serve immediately.

Apricot Sparkling Wine Floats

A grown up interpretation of Fine Cooking's recipe. Elegant, yet playful, and a great way to take advantage of stone fruit season.

Serves 6

• 1 tablespoon vanilla paste
• 1 lb ripe apricots, pitted and cut into pieces (about 3 cups)
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 pint vanilla ice cream
•  750 ml bottle of Cristalino or off-dry sparkling wine chilled

In a 3-quart saucepan, add apricots, sugar, lemon juice, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 2 tbs water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar and sal. Reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the apricots are very tender, 3 to 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath by filling a large metal bowl with a few inches of ice and water. Have ready a second metal bowl that will fit into the ice bath.

Transfer the apricot mixture to the second bowl and put the bowl in the ice bath. Stir occasionally until cool, about 5 minutes. Puree the apricot mixture in a food processor.

Put two small scoops of the ice cream in each of 6 tall, narrow glasses. Top each with about 2 TBS of the apricot sauce. Repeat with another layer of ice cream and sauce. Add about 1/2 cup of sparkling wine to each glass. Serve immediately with straws and spoons.

Mini Apple/Peach Tarts

These are great because they can be made a couple of days beforehand. They have a delicious buttery crust that lends itself to more than just apples; peaches, strawberries, or chocolate mousse with caramel would also be delicious.  

Serves 12

For the dough

• 2 cups all-purpose
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 2 sticks salted butter, chilled and cut into pieces

For the apples

• 2 ½ pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 16 equal pieces
• 2 ½ teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 teaspooons ground cinnamon
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 ½ tablespoons salted butter, cut into small pieces, at room temperature

1. Preheat oven 10 400 F. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat
2. In a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar until blended. Add the chilled butter and pulse until the mixture resembles crumbs. Add up to ¼ cup ice water and pulse until dough just comes together when pinched with your fingers.
3. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and gently knead together with your hands. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before rolling out the dough.
4. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll out onto a lightly floured surface until the dough is approximately 1/8 inch thick. Using a 3 1/2 inch round biscuit cutter cut out 12 rounds. Prick each round with a fork and partially bake them on a sheet pan for 8 minutes. Let cool on the sheet pan.
5. Meanwhile, to prepare the apple filling, in a large bowl, toss the apples with the lemon juice, cinnamon, and granulated sugar.
6. Place in a baking dish and dot the top with small pieces of butter
7. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the sugar-cinnamon mixture has begun to caramelize and thicken and the apples are cooked through. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan, stirring occasionally.
8. To assemble, arrange the apples on each pasty round, covering the entire surface and spooning a little of the juices left into the pan over each.
9. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden.