Apple Bread Pudding

I'm baaaaaack! It's been so long, and....yes...it feels so good to be writing a new post. These past few months have just been magical starting from when I got married(!) all the way through today. Everything good happens around this time of year for me...I guess its because Fall is my favorite season, and nothing can get me down! I love the colors, mild weather, the holidays (mostly Halloween), and most importantly...the warm and comforting food! It all just makes me feel so giddy inside.

Fall also makes me want to bake all the time. I've always wanted to try my hand at a bread pudding, so I figured now was the perfect time. It's warm, gooey, extremely sweet, and perfect for a cold fall night with some great "fall-ish" flavors. And I must say, I'm pretty proud of this one! The bread is soaked up with all sorts of saucy goodness and the sweet taste of apple and crunch of the hazelnut-sugar topping...it just can't be beat.

What You Need
1 Granny Smith apple
1 teaspoon Apple Pie spice
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups cubed day-old Italian bread
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 stick butter, softened
1 cup chopped hazelnuts

Sauce
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup whisky

What You Do
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9X12-inch pan.

2. In a small bowl, peel and chop the apple. Toss with the Apple Pie spice (1tsp), and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, mix together the sugar (2cups), eggs (5), and milk (2cups) until combined. Add the vanilla (2tsp), then add the bread cubes and toss until all the bread is coated. Set aside for 10 minutes.

4. In a small bowl, crumble and mix together the brown sugar (1/2cup), butter (1/2stick), and hazelnuts (1cup).

5. After the 10 minutes are up, mix the apple with the bread mixture. Then pour the mixture into the prepared pan, and top with the brown sugar crumble. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until set and remove from the oven.

6. To make the sauce, in a small saucepan, mix together the sugar (1cup), butter (1stick), egg (1), and vanilla (2tsp) until the sugar is dissolved. Add the whiskey, and stir well. Then pour over the bread pudding!

Serve while warm, or cold. But personally, I think it's just great while hot!

This recipe was adapted from The Best Bread Pudding by Paula Deen.

Angel Food Cake

Happy summer! I've been more than ready to enjoy some sun, summer dresses, bike rides to anywhere and everywhere, picnics, ice cream, blockbuster movies, summer fruits, and trips to Bend, the Bay Area, and wherever else the weekends take us! Portland has been off to a slow start in the warm-weather department but I'm glad it pulled through for the first weekend of summer. 

What's also great about summer, are the desserts that include fresh fruit and whipped cream. Like Angel Food Cake for example! Granted, you can dress the cake any way you like, but I love putting sugared strawberries and a dollop of whipped cream on mine. Not only is this delicious, but you also get a guilt-free feeling about it since the cake is so light and you get the added bonus of fruit. ;)

This cake is great for summer get-togethers, mostly because it makes plenty of servings, you can make everything ahead of time, and assembly is easy. Give it a try at your next BBQ!

What You Need

- 2 cups superfine sugar, sifted

- 1 1/3 cups cake flour, sifted

- 1 1/2 cups egg whites at room temperature (10-12 eggs)

- 3/4 teaspoon salt

- 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

What You Do

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine 1/2 cup sugar with the flour and sift. Set aside.

3. With a whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites (1/2cup), salt (3/4tsp), and cream of tartar (1 1/2tsp) on high speed until the egg whites form medium-firm peaks.

4. With the mixer then on medium speed, add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of sifted sugar by sprinkling it over the egg whites. Whisk for a few minutes, until thick and shiny, and then whisk in the vanilla for about 1 more minute.

5. Sift about 1/4 cup of flour mixture over the egg whites and fold it into the batter with a rubber spatula. Continue this step until the flour is completely incorporated.

6. Pour the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan and bake for 35-40 minutes. When the cake springs back from touch, that means it's done. Remove the cake from the oven and invert the pan on a cooling rack until cool.

7. Enjoy! This time I topped the cake sugared strawberries and whipped cream when serving. But you can enjoy this cake with fruit, frosting, whipped cream, or on it's own! Be creative =)

Brown Butter Snickerdoodles

There are many thoughts that float in my mind when taking a bite of these Snickerdoodles: Mmmm! Oh my god these are good. Wow, this is a perfect cookie. It's so soft and chewy. Ooo I love Snickerdoodles. I want another one!

Yep. That's literally what runs through my mind when I eat these cookies. They're irresistible and super easy to make. Though, the only thing that kind of scared me was that the chilled dough was almost rock-hard, so I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to make the cookies! But, it only needed a little bit of man-power and TLC to get the dough to roll.

What You Need
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 large egg and 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon vanilla yogurt
Rolling Mixture
-1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon

What You Do

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour (2 1/2cups), baking soda (1tsp), cream of tartar (2tsp), cinnamon (1/2tsp), and salt (1/4tsp). Set aside.

2. Brown the butter (1cup) in a saucepan over medium heat. You'll want to constantly whisk the butter as it foams and then turns a brown color. You'll know the butter is browned once you start smelling a nutty aroma and the butter is a golden color. Once this has happened, immediately transfer the butter into a bowl and set aside to cool for a minute or two.

3. In a large bowl, mix together the butter, brown sugar (1cup), and white sugar (1/4 cup) until well combined. Beat in the egg (1), yolk (1), vanilla extract (1tsp) and vanilla yogurt (1tbsp) until everything is well blended. Then, slowly add in the dry ingredients and beat slowly until just mixed. Chill dough for at least 3 hours.

4. After 3 hours or so, take your dough out, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a pan with parchment paper. Mix the sugar (1/4cup) and cinnamon (2tsp) in a small bowl. Then, take about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. **Important! Your dough will be very hard, but don't worry! You'll just need to work with it a bit.** Roll the dough into the sugar mixture and place on the baking sheet.

5. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are golden brown. Remove from oven and cool for a couple minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Pop one or two in your mouth and enjoy!

**Recipe adapted from Ambitious Kitchen**

Salted Chocolate Tart

Feels like it's been awhile since I've updated! Among keeping busy with lots of other exciting things, I have been baking (in case you were wondering), but those recipes are failing to make it onto the blog. Sorry!

Anywhoo...I made a tart the other day that I felt was worth sharing. I've been wanting to change things up a bit in the kitchen, so along with that and the reason that I just want to eat a bunch of chocolate, I decided that a chocolate tart would be the perfect fix.

**Warning....baking this will emit delicious smells that will be hard to resist and cats may want to sneak a bite!**

What You Need
Crust
- 9 honey graham crackers, crushed into tiny crumbs
 *If you have a food processor, use that to make the crumbs! If not, you can be like me and put the crackers in a large Ziploc bag and take a rolling pin to it.
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 5 tablespoons melted butter

Filling
- 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt

Glaze
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 3/4 ounces dark chocolate chips (I used
- 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon water
- Sea salt

What You Do
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together the cracker crumbs, sugar (1/4cup), and melted butter (5tbsp) until well incorporated. Press the mixture in a 9-inch tart pan. Bake for 10 minutes and let cool for 15 minutes.

2. In a small saucepan, boil the heavy cream (1 1/4cups). Once boiling, remove from heat and pour over semisweet chocolate chips (8oz) in a medium-sized bowl. Leave alone for 5 minutes, then stir until smooth.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs (2), vanilla (1tsp) and salt (1/4tsp) until combined, then stir into chocolate. Pour into the tart pan and bake for 18-22 minutes or until the filling is set 3 inches from the edge, but the center is still wobbly. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour.

4. Microwave the heavy cream (2tbsp) and dark chocolate (1 3/4) ounces for 30 seconds. Stir until smooth. Then stir in corn syrup (1tsp) and water (1tsp) until incorporated. Pour over tart and tilt until the glaze completely covers the tart. Let cool for 1 hour.

5. When ready to serve, sprinkle some sea salt all over the tart. You'll only need a pinch or two and you're all set!

Keep in mind that you really don't need a whole lot of sea salt, because a little goes a long way. I've also found that the tart tastes even better when cold. So go ahead and refrigerate for a bit before you're ready to serve!

Recipe adapted from Yummly

Better Than Sex Cake

I started making Better Than Sex Cake in high school. Back then I had a sweet tooth like no other but I also wanted to be healthy about it, so I made the Weight Watchers version for family/friends. I even made it in high school with two of my friends for our Conditioning class when we were given the assignment to create a healthy dish for the class potluck and recipe book. Needless to say, our teacher loved it and I do remember her joking, "Wow, this really is better than sex!"

Obviously, I was going to make dessert for Adam and I for Valentine's Day. I knew I wanted something chocolate and delicious. After coming across a Better Than Sex Cake post from a blog I follow, that sparked my memory about how delicious that cake is. Bam. Valentine's Day dessert.

The thing that is probably a bit different from this cake than most Better Than Sex Cakes is that I made the cake itself from scratch. I didn't want to use boxed cake. The less I have to turn to boxed cake, the better. Oh, and it is definitely not the Weight Watchers version of the cake.

What You Need

Cake
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup cake flower
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup sour cream

Filling
- 11 oz. caramel sauce
- 14 oz. sweetened condensed milk

Topping
- Whipped cream
- Toffee bits


What You Do

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8X8 pan.

2. Over a double boiler, melt the butter (1/2cup), chocolate chips (1/4cup), and cocoa powder (1/2cup). Set aside to cool.

3. In a small bowl, combine the flour (3/4cup), baking soda (1/2tsp), and baking powder (3/4tsp). Set aside.

4. In a large bowl, combine the eggs (2), sugar (3/4cup), vanilla extract (1tsp), and salt (1/2tsp) until incorporated. Mix in the chocolate mixture to the wet ingredients. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture until combined, then mix in the sour cream (1/2cup). Add the remaining flour mixture until the batter is thick. Spread evenly in the greased 8X8 pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

5. In a small saucepan over low heat, mix together the caramel sauce (11oz) and sweetened condensed milk (14oz) until well incorporated and just warm.

6. While the cake is still warm, go crazy and poke holes all over the cake and pour the caramel mixture all over it. **I didn't need all of the mixture, but almost all of it was used*

7. Let cake cool completely. When you're ready to serve, spread whipped cream all over the top of the cake. Cover with toffee bits.

Love Buddies

Ah...Valentine's Day...the day of love. The day where your sweetie gets you a box of chocolates and a stuffed teddy bear. Or, at least that's the idea, right? The older I get, the more apparent it is that pretty much everyone hates this 'holiday.' Mostly because there's too much pressure, it was a holiday invented by the card companies, and you should just celebrate your love for someone every day. But the romantic in me enjoys Valentine's Day. And I like it for multiple reasons, but mostly because I get to consume large amounts of chocolate and although I wake up every day knowing how lucky I am to have my man, Valentine's Day allows us to do something a little extra special!

So..to celebrate this day of love and friendship, here is a simple take on the popular 'Muddy Buddy' treat, Love Buddies. Make some for your loved one(s), whether it is your soul mate, best friend, parents, or any one else you may love!

What You Need
- 6 cups rice chex
- 1 1/2 cups strawberry cake mix
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 package Valentine's Day themed M&Ms

What You Do

1. In a large bowl, pour in the cereal (6cups) and set aside. In a large ziploc bag, mix the strawberry cake mix (1 1/2cups) and powdered sugar (1cup) until combined.

2. In a small bowl, microwave the chocolate (12oz) at 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until chocolate is melted.

3. Once chocolate is melted, pour over the cereal and stir until the cereal is completely coated in chocolate. Then pour the powder mixture over the cereal and carefully stir until it coats the cereal. Lastly, mix in the M&Ms until well incorporated.

Pear & Hazelnut Muffins

I don't think I fully appreciated pears until I was in high school. The texture was weird to me as a kid, but I finally came to my senses. Now I love anything with pear in it and these muffins are no exception!

What You Need
- 2 small firm pears (I used anjou pears)
- 6 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
- 2/3 white cup sugar
- 1 cup milk (I used 2%)
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup rolled oats
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped and separated

What You Do
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a muffin tin

2. Peel and grate the pears (2) in a large bowl. You should have about 1 cup. Stir in the butter (6tbsp), sugar (2/3cup), milk (1cup), eggs (2), and vanilla (1tsp) until all combined.

3. In a medium sized bowl. Mix together the rolled oats (3/4cup), flour (1 1/2cups), cinnamon (1/2tsp), nutmeg (1/2tsp), salt (3/4tsp) and hazelnuts (1/2cup).

4. Gently fold in the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until just mixed.

5. Fill the muffin cups with the batter almost to the top and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of hazelnuts. Place into the oven and immediately lower temperature to 375 degrees. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean when inserted into the middle.

6. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Eat these for breakfast or desert...or for both!

**Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen**