Gooey Texas Sheet Cake with Caramel

Day 122

I found a fairly incredible recipe for a soft-centered Texas sheet cake, prepared in mini cast iron skillets on the blog/website of The Cookie Rookie. You can read and see the original below. What a brilliant idea! In fact, I suspect I’ll be visiting this site frequently for good recipes, from now on. 

Since I don’t have mini cast iron skillets (but they’re on my gift list, now, for sure!), I decided to try the recipe with my shallow crème brulée ramekins, and I wanted to add caramel too.

Photo by Maggie Kapustin

So, once I had the batter in each ramekin, I cut three Hershey’s milk chocolate caramels (see picture below) in half and pushed them into the center, almost touching.  This was a risk since The Cookie Rookie’s cake was pretty much perfection, just as is. 

I then baked the cakes according to the original recipe, but since I had smaller, more shallow baking dishes, I checked each cake frequently. The idea is that you want the cake done around the edges and almost done in the center. The caramels DO change the consistency if you choose to move away from the original recipe, so you have to remove the pans from the oven whenever they have reached your preferred texture. 

Once out of the oven, follow the warm icing directions (warm icing = heaven) or simply top with your favorite ice cream. We tried it both ways and loved them. Coffee ice cream really adds that certain something, but vanilla is superb too!

I hope you’ll check out The Cookie Rookie’s story too; this is a blog so worth following! http://www.thecookierookie.com/about-us/ . I really enjoyed reading about how this blogger got her start. 

Here’s her recipe. You HAVE to try this. Today. 

http://www.thecookierookie.com/gooey-texas-sheet-cake-skillet/

And, here are the (optional!) caramels I used: 

TBT—Throw Back to Thanksgiving, 2015!

Day 121

Pumpkin Pie & Tres Leches Cake

This entry took forever to add here. I’m not sure why, since the pictures have been ready for a couple of months. At any rate, that’s why I had to do a “TBT” entry (but instead of Thursday, it’s cleverly Thanksgiving…Okay, okay, not so clever). 

Anyway, every Thanksgiving, my husband’s family comes for dinner. Everyone takes a turn hosting the different holidays, and Thanksgiving is ours.

Photos by Doug Kapustin, Copyright 2016

 

Planning our menu is always the most fun, and we try to bring all of his family’s traditional favorites as well as some new dishes to the table. This year, we made the usual roasted and smoked turkeys, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, corn, biscuits, herbed stuffing, gravy, Doug’s sister’s awesome cranberry sauce, and Doug’s mom’s scrumptious mashed potatoes.  Then, we accented the meal with a Brussels sprouts salad and a seven-layer salad. Appetizers included artichoke dip, chili cheese dip, and sweet and sour meatballs. 

Dessert was the coup de force, though. This year, in addition to Doug’s signature pumpkin pies for which his whole family actually begs, I made a tres leches cake, served atop a bed of the most decadent caramel sauce you’ve ever tasted. Most of our already full family members still opted for a “sampler plate” of both desserts AND finished them. It was that good.

Then, we cleaned up and went straight to bed. Really, we did!

 And the sleep was glorious; it was the kind of sleep reserved for babies and puppies with full bellies. I can’t wait for Thanksgiving again. 

Here are both recipes, for you to enjoy whenever somebody “slings a craving on you” for some holiday decadence. Bon appétit, and Happy TBThanksgiving!

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients: 

1½ cups canned pumpkin

¾ cup sugar

½ tsp. salt

1¼ tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ginger

½ tsp. each, nutmeg and cloves

3 large eggs, slightly beaten

1¼ cups milk

2/3 cup evaporated milk (1 -6oz. can)

1 (9-inch) unbaked pastry shell (store bought or homemade)

Directions: 

Thoroughly mix pumpkin, sugar, salt, and spices. Blend in eggs, milk, and evaporated milk. Pour into pastry shell (crimp edges high). Bake in hot oven (400 degrees) for 50 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean. Cool before serving. 

Serve with fresh, whipped cream if desired. 

FYI- We quadruple the recipe for four pies, in case you want to do the same.

If opting for a homemade crust, here’s my favorite recipe, courtesy of Ina Garten;  it’s truly foolproof, just as promised by The Barefoot Contessa: 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/perfect-pie-crust-recipe.html

Tres Leches Cake

Ingredients: 

For the cake-

1 box Pillsbury Moist Supreme yellow cake mix

4 eggs (at room temperature)

1½ sticks butter (¾ cup), softened to room temperature

½ sugar

8 oz. container sour cream

1 tsp. cinnamon 

1 tsp. vanilla

¼ tsp. cloves

¼ tsp. nutmeg

1 can evaporated milk

1 can sweetened condensed milk

¼ cup heavy cream

For the icing: 

1 pint heavy cream

4 tbs. sugar

1 8oz. container mascarpone cheese

Directions:

Fit a mixer with the paddle attachment, then combine the butter, sour cream, and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, then cake mix. Blend well. Add cinnamon, vanilla, cloves, and nutmeg and blend just until incorporated. 

Pour into greased and floured 9x13 glass baking dish. Bake at 350 until a knife in the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes (since ovens vary, start checking at 25 minutes and keep checking every 2-3 minutes until done).  Remove from oven.

Immediately take a fork and make holes all over the cake’s surface while hot. 

Mix evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and ¼ cup of heavy cream in a bowl until combined, then slowly pour over hot cake, giving it time to absorb properly. Get as much around the edges as possible too.  You might have as much as ½ -1 cup of the mixture left over after drenching the cake, and that’s okay. 

Allow cake to absorb the mixture as it cools, for about 30 minutes. Refrigerate until cool.

To make icing:

Whip heavy cream, sugar, and mascarpone cheese until thick and spreadable. Spread on cake and sprinkle with additional cinnamon and chocolate shavings. 

As an optional but extra delicious treat, serve each slice of cake atop a bed of the Pioneer Woman’s caramel sauce. Here’s her recipe link: 

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/easy-caramel-sauce/

Also, the original Tres Leches cake I made (not this one) was from The Pioneer Woman too. Hers is outstanding—as are all of her recipes, come to think of it. But, I opted to make my own with a doctored cake mix only because I like the denser, more pound cake-like texture when it’s drenched with liquid. There’s just less mush and I prefer that. If, however, you prefer a spongier, more traditional tres leches, you really should try this one: 

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/tres-leches-cake/

Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Pie Bars

Day 120

This is what I came home to this afternoon. No, really.

I walked through the door, feeling tired and even a little grumpy, but the aroma of cooked sugar and butter overwhelmed me. My daughter, Tate, was baking, and she had found a new recipe that she wanted to tweak. The original was for a chocolate chip pizza, which sounds amazing, but her idea was much, much better.

Photos by Taylor Fowler

Brainstorm with me here. What texture would be even more complementary to brown sugar, butter, and chocolate than a pizza crust? A pie crust. Tate decided to turn a dessert “pizza” into dessert “pie” bars. The results were incredible, and I do not exaggerate when I say that these might be my new favorite dessert bars. They are that good.

The nicest part, aside from the flavor, is how easy they are. Please make these right as someone is entering your front door tonight or tomorrow or sometime soon. They will love you forever and ever for it.

Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Pie Bars

Ingredients:

2 (store bought) refrigerated pie crusts

2 sticks of butter, melted

1 box of Betty Crocker Super Moist Yellow Cake Mix

1 cup chocolate chips

¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed

¼ cup granulated sugar

 Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Unroll/Spread pie crusts on large baking sheet covered in parchment paper, side by side, overlapping slightly. Press overlapping portion together to form solid sheet. Cut off any sides that fall over the baking sheet and use them to fill in the two crust circles, if desired. Bake pie crust for 5-7 minutes. Take out crust and rest on counter. If there are air bubbles, they will collapse once filling is added.

In a bowl, stir together granulated and brown sugars with a fork, breaking up any lumps. Mix

together butter and yellow cake mix (there may be lumps.) Spread mixture onto crust, leaving approximately ½ inch from the edges without batter.

You might need your hands for this, to keep the crust from breaking apart; this part is messy. 

Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of batter (more or less than 1 cup, if desired; ½ cup even tastes great if you prefer the stronger brown sugar taste). Gently press chips into batter.

Sprinkle sugar topping over pizza, covering batter and chips but avoiding the lip of the pizza. You might not choose to use all of the sugar, but use as much as you can.

Bake 10-14 minutes on upper middle rack of oven (check at 9 minute mark).

If after 12 minutes the topping has not browned, switch oven to broiler for approximately 1 minute….Watch carefully.

Cool 10-15 minutes. Cut into bars (some “bars” will have rounded edges, but just embrace that imperfection). Enjoy!

Best-Ever Brownies

Day 119

My daughter, Tate, found this incredible brownie recipe a month or two ago, and we can’t stop talking about it. If you’re looking for a traditional brownie with an even more decadent twist, this recipe is for you.  What a great way to kick off the new year, unless of course your New Year’s resolution involves losing weight because you won’t be able to eat just one of these!

Brownie recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Chocolate Frosting:

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 cups powdered sugar

Instructions:

1 Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a 9x13-inch baking dish with foil and spray foil with non-stick spray. Set aside.

2 In the bowl of an electric stand-mixer, add the melted butter and cocoa powder. Using the paddle attachment, blend until smooth.

3 Add the flour and sugar. Beat together then add eggs and vanilla. Mix just until combined. Don't over mix. (Batter will be thick)

4 Pour batter into prepared baking dish and spread out evenly. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove brownies from oven and let stand 15 minutes before frosting. You want the brownies still warm when you frost them!

5 FOR CHOCOLATE FROSTING: Beat together all the frosting ingredients until smooth. Pour and spread over warm brownies. Let cool completely before cutting and serving.

Notes

Yields: 12 large brownies or 24 small brownies

life in the lofthouse http://life-in-the-lofthouse.com/

Lemon-Garlic Edamame “Hummus”

Day 118

My daughter— My Very Favorite Person—is in the hospital. I’m here with her and couldn’t be moved with a stick of dynamite, so I’ve had some time to think about lots of things. Mostly food. And prayers to make Tate better. And then food again. She hasn’t been truly hungry in days, so when she woke up this morning and said “If I go home today, can you make me a chocolate chess pie? (YES!) And what’s for dinner? (ANYTHING YOU WANT!),” I was elated. Overjoyed. We decided on homemade reubens with real corned beef, but reaching that decision made me reflect on our favorite sandwiches in general. Tate and I essentially agree on most foods other than sweets. She doesn’t really have a sweet tooth. It has made me question whether I’m her mother, but all signs point to yes. She is just choosy about her desserts, I suppose.

She’s one of those people who, when I ask her if she’d like some of my coveted Ritter Sport Chocolate Butter Biscuit Bar (offering a bite= true love), she says sure and takes a bite no larger than a hamster might make.  No second bite. Nothing. She’s had her fill after a portion that Barbie could hold in her hands. I don’t get it, but I do admire it. I eat the WHOLE bar so fast I look like a threshing machine. Then, I want another. 

So, tonight, because she has been so sick and because she never asks for sweets,  she’s getting the best doggone chocolate chess pie I’ve ever made and homemade reubens. This is all contingent on getting discharged from the hospital, of course, so pray for her and wish us luck, if you’re so inclined.

Okay. I’m ready to get to the point of this recipe post. Just please bear with me; I haven’t slept much in a few days. 

Much healthier than reubens, one of our favorite sandwich toppings is a generous layer of hummus. It’s delicious with rich cheeses and tons of veggies on a baguette. Hummus really is a staple in our kitchen; we love it as a spread for naan bread, or even with cucumbers and olives as a dip.  To boot, it’s so easy to make! 

Recently, while brainstorming a recipe idea for my friends at Hedonist Shedonist (hedonistshedonist.com), I was researching edamame as a pureed bean. Many recipes support using it in similar ways to chickpeas for an interesting flavor variation.

There is a great deal of debate about the health benefits of soy, for sure, but I figured that organic edamame couldn’t be that bad for us, so I gave a new recipe a shot. I tried it twice, changing one aspect to increase creaminess and to improve texture. I think you’ll agree that the thickness and texture are just right. I even tried it without the extra 1/8 cup of olive oil and it was still very nice, just a bit thicker if you’re craving a hearty dip instead of a smooth spread. It’s totally up to you. 

Lemon Garlic Edamame “Hummus”

Ingredients: 

1 large garlic bulb

1 tbs. olive oil plus 1/8  cup  (Olea)

¼ cup sour cream

¼ cup ricotta cheese

4 tbs. chopped FRESH basil

2 tbs. lemon juice

1 tsp. grated lemon zest

2 cups cooked and shelled edamame beans 

salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

Cut off pointed end of garlic bulb, brush with 1 tbs. olive oil and place in foil. Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Remove from foil and squeeze cloves into food processor. Add edamame and pulse until a smooth paste forms, scraping down sides of processor as needed. Add lemon juice and zest, basil, sour cream, and ricotta cheese. Process until smooth. Add rest of olive oil slowly into food processor chute while running until entire mixture is smooth and creamy. Taste to salt and pepper properly. Serve with raw veggies or bread. 

Adapted from Southern Living recipe at this link: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/roasted-garlic-edamame-spread

Blackeyed Pea Salad

Day 117

Happy Labor Day weekend! You’ll want to try this for your summer send-off picnic this weekend. My daughter, Tate, discovered a very similar recipe on a Pinterest link, adapted it to suit our tastes, and made it this morning. I’m really glad she did; I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s that good, and so quick and easy! Thanks Tate!

Photo by Taylor Fowler

 Blackeyed Pea Salad

Ingredients:

For the salad-

3 cans of black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed

1 large jalapeno, deveined and chopped finely

¼ large red onion, diced

6 medium green onions, sliced with greens

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium red or yellow bell pepper, diced

2 medium or 1 very large tomato, diced

1 bunch cilantro, rinsed well and chopped finely (we used a food processor)

For the vinaigrette-

½ cup really good extra virgin olive oil (I STRONGLY recommend Olea Estates olive oil)*

¼ cup rice wine vinegar

½ tsp. sugar

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In the bottom of a large, glass serving bowl, mix vinegar, garlic, mustard, some salt and pepper, and sugar. Stir until blended. Add olive oil. Mix well. Add all bean salad ingredients to vinaigrette and stir gently until fully incorporated and mixed. Taste, then salt and pepper to your seasoning preference. Refrigerate for at least one hour to allow flavors to combine properly. Allow to rest outside of refrigerator for 30 minutes prior to serving.

*Olea Estates is amazing. You’ll never want to purchase your olives or olive oil elsewhere after trying theirs. http://www.oleaestates.com

I had the chance recently to enjoy an informal email chat with Demos Chronis, one of the owners of Olea Estates about his family’s traditions and products. Here’s just a sample of what he had to say. I’ve never been more impressed with a family business, and I’m sure you’ll agree.

About Olea olives:

“We hand pick them one by one, when the olives are ready. So we go through our fields multiple times a day, during the harvest season, to catch them at the right stage. The brine is made from spring water, sea salt and organic vinegar. Also the containers we use are all BPA free (and we have the certifications on our website). We prefer these BPA free plastic containers, cause in that way our olives are lacto-fermented and preserve the probiotics that are found on the surface of the olives. All the glass jars that contain olives must be boiled with the olives in them in order to be out in the market (a sterilization law of EU and US). But that kills the probiotics, alters the nutritional value of the olives and the taste. That is the reason for our containers. So the moment we pick the olives we put them in salt water to remove most of the bitterness and then transfer them to the brine and pack them.”

About Olea olive oil:

“We hand pick the olives, transport them straight to the mill, wash them thoroughly and cold press them. Only olive oil from the first press makes it to the glass and tin containers of Olea, where the rich, full flavor of the oil remains sealed for you to enjoy. There are no preservatives, additives, colors or any kind of foreign oil added to Olea. We do not further refine byproducts of the first press to produce more oil. The difference is the stage of the olives that we use to produce the olive oil.

The Olea Estates olive oil is produced when the olives are mature and ready to be harvested. Here is an important aspect of our process. Even 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil like this will be cloudy right off the press. This is because it contains tiny particles of olive flesh and skin that remain in the oil during the pressing process. These particles have to be removed, to ensure a uniform clarity and no cloudiness. To get rid of these particles all mass produced olive oil goes through a filtering process that separates these particles from the oil or eliminates them using chemical treatment. Along with the particles goes some of the olive flavor and nutrients. At Olea we patiently use a natural process to retain the full olive oil flavor but still guarantee the clarity of filtered olive oil. We seal the olive oil in stainless steel tanks and let it sit idle for 60 days in special and monitored temperature and humidity conditions. During this time the particulate matter naturally settles to the bottom of the tank. After two months we extract the olive oil from the top of the tank and ship directly to the USA. Of course, this is not possible for mass produced olive oil as the overhead of two months, the tanks required to do this job and the work involved (including cleaning the tanks at the end of the season) would prohibitively increase the cost in a competitive market. However, we use this olive oil to feed ourselves and we do not like feeding on chemicals (even though they are obviously safe for consumption); we also sure appreciate the full flavor of unfiltered olive oil.”

-Demosthenis Chronis, Ph.D, Olea Estates