Barefoot Bloggers – Birthday Sheet Cake & Beatty’s Chocolate Cake

Welcome to chocolate overload zone!

I made these cakes on the same day during my Ramadan blogging hiatus. The making of both is somewhat of a blur (which you are no doubt thankful for). I was so geared up to make these, especially the sheet cake because who wouldn’t want a humongous chocolate cake with fudgy icing (well, except Kayte). See, in my mind, I had turned this into a chocolate sheet cake and was euphoric about the Barefoot Bloggers selections for September. Two cakes! Both chocolate! That is, until I realized this wasn’t a chocolate cake at all. Ultimate bummer.

We aren’t huge fans of white or yellow cake, so I doctored the cake batter with a healthy dose of Vietnamese cinnamon. The end result was a subtly cinnamon cake with chocolate icing that was delicious. It’s a very sturdy cake, not a tender crumb but perfect for a child’s birthday party. Since there were no available children having birthdays, I took this to the mosque to serve after iftar (the meal we have after breaking our fast in the evening) and it was very popular.

But Beatty’s chocolate cake was a transcendent chocolate experience. I pulled out all the stops and used the “good” chocolate as Ina always suggests. It was moist, and oh the frosting, the frosting, the frosting. I iced the cake in record time (hence the awful appearance and specks of butter, which melted right in and didn’t affect the texture or flavor) before I had to leave for the evening, and left the kitchen looking like it had been used for a kindergarten cooking class. Since I was fasting when I made and iced the cake, I didn’t taste any of it until I got home around midnight. Oh my. I licked the offset spatula, mixing bowl, paddle from the mixer and the plate on which I set the paddle. Too much information? Sorry. So much for losing weight during Ramadan.

This cake is The One. My new go-to chocolate cake recipe. As in go to this website and get the recipe. Make it tonight or this weekend. Just don’t deprive yourself (or the chocolate lover in your life) of it any longer than the weekend. I told M. I was making it for his birthday (which was last month, but he was on a business trip), and then I ate more of it than he did.

If you’d like to check out what the other Barefoot Bloggers did, you can find them all here.

BBA – Cinnamon Rolls

When there are just the two of you and you want to make a recipe for cinnamon rolls, do you:

a). Make the recipe as written, figuring it’s never hard to give away cinnamon rolls;

b). Do many calculations and halve, third, quarter or cut the recipe so it yields two rolls; or

c). Double the recipe.

You’re rational, so you probably do a. or b. I’m not rational, so I do c.

There is a method to my madness. Taking six leftover cinnamon rolls into work could cause a riot in an office of 60+ people. So I often double to reduce the number of injuries from people running to the break room.

The less hydrated batch

This time, I was glad I did because doubling presented an opportunity to see how two batches of dough behaved with different levels of hydration. My KitchenAid can’t handle a double batch of bread dough so I made two separate batches, and in hindsight the first one wasn’t adequately hydrated. I added too much milk to the second batch and it was stickier until I mixed in a little extra flour when switching to the dough hook. It was a beautiful dough and doubled more quickly, with a silkier feel and headier aroma. The less hydrated batch did double, and they both rolled out fine, but the silkier texture of the hydrated batch made that one a breeze.

After mangling the rolled up dough with various knives while trying to slice off the rolls, I stuck the whole thing in the fridge to firm up some and that made it a snap to slice the rolls.

Since I started on these rolls at 8 PM on a Sunday night, I retarded both batches, one in the freezer and one in the fridge. The next day, I had a furlough day, so I thought I would celebrate by making cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Now I love being furloughed!

The few that I made for us (M. actually took a vacation day so we could spend my furlough day together…isn’t he sweet?) I didn’t make with fondant, and I liked them the best (not that I tasted one that I iced the next day, but I think they might be too sweet with the fondant). I was pinching myself, I just couldn’t believe that I, the yeast phobe, had made cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Strangely, when I baked up the rest to take to work the next day, they were well received but not as well as Ina Garten’s sticky buns. Those suckers cause a stampede. But these, these, with their notes of lemon and smokiness from the cinnamon, are perfectly balanced. Not too sweet, not too buttery, but heady with the yeasty dough and spicy cinnamon. Perfect.

******PLEASE NOTE: Lethally Delicious is on hiatus for the month of Ramadan. While I have a couple of posts that I completed in advance (like this one), I will be taking a break from active blogging. If you leave me a comment, I will try to stop by and visit you. I’ll be back around Sept. 20th, reenergized and ready to make bigger and better messes in the kitchen. Peace.

Barefoot Bloggers – Peach Berry Crumble

This recipe is the best part of a food fantasy. It seems healthy, but it’s not.

It starts with a goodly volume of fruit, kissed with sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice. It’s topped with the simplest crumb mixture scented with cinnamon. I doubled the crumb topping, and increased the fruit (I used peaches, cherries, blueberries and blackberries) by about half. The crumb topping melts into the fruit somewhat, so your crumb topping ends up being thinner than you thought it would be. Don’t let this worry you at all. The merging of the fruit with the topping, particularly around the edges, creates an unctuous buttery fruit experience… Excuse me. I need a moment to collect myself.

Where was I? Oh yes. I served this crumble as a breakfast treat, and it was a hit. It would have been far better served warm with vanilla ice cream, but ice cream for breakfast seemed a little over the top, especially when you’re already eating buttery fruit.

I love Barefoot Bloggers. We make recipes from Ina Garten, and they are consistently some of the best things I cook and bake. They’re almost always calorie laden, which is why I resisted her recipes for so long. But they’re always good great. This week’s recipe was selected by Aggie of Aggie’s Kitchen. I love her blog and I encourage you to spend some time there. You can find the recipe here or here. And if you’d like to join us as we cook through Ina’s truly delicious recipes, we’d love to have you! You can find out how to join us here.

TWD – Cappuccino Cinnamon Squares

Tuesdays with Dorie is an incredible group of bakers from all over the world. We’re baking through Dorie Greenspan’s book Baking from My Home to Yours. A different member chooses the recipe each week and we make it and blog about it. Sound like fun? We’re accepting new members again and we’d love to have you.

This week’s pick was chosen by Tracey of Tracey’s Culinary Adventures. After my less than successful result last week, I was geared up for this one. Timing, however, is not one of my talents. I decided that I would put it in the oven at 8:30 even though the oven repair guy was coming between 9:00 and 12:00 to replace the panel (for the second time–and the oven is just 6 months old, grrr). It took 5 minutes the last time they replaced the panel, and I figured that wouldn’t hurt my cake. Nonetheless, I took no process photos in my rush to get this done before he arrived.

This recipe was so easy to put together and is made without a mixer! The batter was delicious (good thing I didn’t taste it until the cake went into the oven). I was a little concerned because it seemed like a very skimpy amount of batter. I didn’t use a whisk, electing to use a spatula for the whole prep, which worried me a little. Maybe I was supposed to beat some volume into the batter with the whisk?

There seems to be an unwritten rule that the repair person doesn’t come until 15 minutes before the end of the time window, especially when it’s Saturday morning. But I discovered this rule doesn’t apply when you put something in the oven before he’s due. He showed up at 8:35, 25 minutes early and 10 minutes into baking. Naturally, the power to the oven had to be turned off. He may not have replaced one of these panels before because it took about 15 minutes for him to swap it out. 

A quick peek in the middle of my bizarre baking cycle confirmed that all was well. The cake was rising nicely, didn’t have any fallen doming and smelled fantastic. I have no idea how long it baked, but it tested done at some point and I pulled it out of the oven to cool.

Note my new Fat Daddio pan. Evidence of why I am the master rationalizer:

1.  Just took vacation in Paris, but used airline miles and hotel points so vacation cost = $0

2.  Ooo…shiny new pan…want…just went on vacation…but it was free…

3.  Buy pan

See what I mean? The vacation wasn’t totally free. We did eat, and that wasn’t free. We bought a lot of chocolate (much to the amusement of US Customs), also not free. But this is how my brain works.

Back to the cake (I seem to have trouble concentrating today, yes?)

After it cooled, I made the frosting (only two ingredients), spread it on the top, stepped back and admired the cake that almost was a do over….

But to me it’s not the look that matters, it’s the taste. And this one? Phenomenal. Amazing. Difficult to pass by without shaving some off the side to savor. The cappuccino flavor of the cake and the frosting were fantastic together. This is easily doable as a weeknight dessert, and would be tasty even without the frosting.

This one is easily on my top five list of the desserts I’ve made from this book. If you’re interested in the recipe, stop by Tracey’s blog as she’ll be posting it. 

TWD – Cappuccino Cinnamon Squares

Tuesdays with Dorie is an incredible group of bakers from all over the world. We’re baking through Dorie Greenspan’s book Baking from My Home to Yours. A different member chooses the recipe each week and we make it and blog about it. Sound like fun? We’re accepting new members again and we’d love to have you.

This week’s pick was chosen by Tracey of Tracey’s Culinary Adventures. After my less than successful result last week, I was geared up for this one. Timing, however, is not one of my talents. I decided that I would put it in the oven at 8:30 even though the oven repair guy was coming between 9:00 and 12:00 to replace the panel (for the second time–and the oven is just 6 months old, grrr). It took 5 minutes the last time they replaced the panel, and I figured that wouldn’t hurt my cake. Nonetheless, I took no process photos in my rush to get this done before he arrived.

This recipe was so easy to put together and is made without a mixer! The batter was delicious (good thing I didn’t taste it until the cake went into the oven). I was a little concerned because it seemed like a very skimpy amount of batter. I didn’t use a whisk, electing to use a spatula for the whole prep, which worried me a little. Maybe I was supposed to beat some volume into the batter with the whisk?

There seems to be an unwritten rule that the repair person doesn’t come until 15 minutes before the end of the time window, especially when it’s Saturday morning. But I discovered this rule doesn’t apply when you put something in the oven before he’s due. He showed up at 8:35, 25 minutes early and 10 minutes into baking. Naturally, the power to the oven had to be turned off. He may not have replaced one of these panels before because it took about 15 minutes for him to swap it out. 

A quick peek in the middle of my bizarre baking cycle confirmed that all was well. The cake was rising nicely, didn’t have any fallen doming and smelled fantastic. I have no idea how long it baked, but it tested done at some point and I pulled it out of the oven to cool.

Note my new Fat Daddio pan. Evidence of why I am the master rationalizer:

1.  Just took vacation in Paris, but used airline miles and hotel points so vacation cost = $0

2.  Ooo…shiny new pan…want…just went on vacation…but it was free…

3.  Buy pan

See what I mean? The vacation wasn’t totally free. We did eat, and that wasn’t free. We bought a lot of chocolate (much to the amusement of US Customs), also not free. But this is how my brain works.

Back to the cake (I seem to have trouble concentrating today, yes?)

After it cooled, I made the frosting (only two ingredients), spread it on the top, stepped back and admired the cake that almost was a do over….

But to me it’s not the look that matters, it’s the taste. And this one? Phenomenal. Amazing. Difficult to pass by without shaving some off the side to savor. The cappuccino flavor of the cake and the frosting were fantastic together. This is easily doable as a weeknight dessert, and would be tasty even without the frosting.

This one is easily on my top five list of the desserts I’ve made from this book. If you’re interested in the recipe, stop by Tracey’s blog as she’ll be posting it. 

CEiMB – Nutty Granola aka Hide the Milk

This week’s recipe for Craving Ellie in My Belly is Nutty Granola. Amazingly, I had everything I needed in my pantry for this one. This is all you need…

I chopped the nuts and dried cherries (which I subbed for the raisins). I dumped everything in a glass bowl (I like to be able to peek at the bottom to see if I thoroughly mixed everything together). Then I poured on the maple syrup…

Stir, stir, stir.

Ellie says to spray a baking sheet with cooking spray before spreading the granola evenly on the baking sheet. This had me very conflicted. I still have some post traumatic stress from spending two days cleaning my broiler pan after the sesame-teriyaki chicken thighs. I pondered using a silicone mat to ease clean up, but I was worried that the granola wouldn’t brown properly. I ended up using cooking spray, which worked fine.

The granola baked for 30 minutes, filling the house with a wonderful aroma. When it came out of the oven it looked amazing…

I waited (impatiently) for it to cool enough to have it for breakfast. Finally, I spooned some in a bowl and anointed it with milk. Mmm…delicious! It’s not overly sweet like most commercial granolas, nor is it so hard my jaw hurt after eating it. The maple and cinnamon are subtle and don’t overpower the nuts. Yum. This is so good…have another small bowl. I mean, I do plan to work out today. No, really.

This week was my turn to pick the recipe. I found it to be a humbling experience. I wanted to pick something that didn’t have expensive ingredients, wouldn’t take a lot of time or be overly complicated, and was family friendly. I enjoyed making this, and I hope you will, too! Here’s the recipe:

Nutty Granola – Serves 9

You can’t buy granola this good, and it couldn’t be simpler to make. All the flavors come through crisp and clear: crunchy toasted nuts, chewy oats, and caramelized raisins perfectly sweetened with the unmistakable flavor of real maple syrup and humming with cinnamon.

Cooking spreay

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup chopped almonds

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins (optional, I used dried cherries instead)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients, mixing well to coat everything with the maple syrup. Spread on the baking sheet and bake until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Transfer the sheet to the wire rack and let cool completely. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for about 2 weeks.

I will definitely make this one again. I would like to try it with some pumpkin seeds, dried apple, orange zest, vanilla caviar, but not all at the same time. Check out what the other CEiMB cooks did here. If you like this recipe, I urge you to check out the book The Foods You Crave, by Ellie Krieger.

CEiMB – Nutty Granola aka Hide the Milk

This week’s recipe for Craving Ellie in My Belly is Nutty Granola. Amazingly, I had everything I needed in my pantry for this one. This is all you need…

I chopped the nuts and dried cherries (which I subbed for the raisins). I dumped everything in a glass bowl (I like to be able to peek at the bottom to see if I thoroughly mixed everything together). Then I poured on the maple syrup…

Stir, stir, stir.

Ellie says to spray a baking sheet with cooking spray before spreading the granola evenly on the baking sheet. This had me very conflicted. I still have some post traumatic stress from spending two days cleaning my broiler pan after the sesame-teriyaki chicken thighs. I pondered using a silicone mat to ease clean up, but I was worried that the granola wouldn’t brown properly. I ended up using cooking spray, which worked fine.

The granola baked for 30 minutes, filling the house with a wonderful aroma. When it came out of the oven it looked amazing…

I waited (impatiently) for it to cool enough to have it for breakfast. Finally, I spooned some in a bowl and anointed it with milk. Mmm…delicious! It’s not overly sweet like most commercial granolas, nor is it so hard my jaw hurt after eating it. The maple and cinnamon are subtle and don’t overpower the nuts. Yum. This is so good…have another small bowl. I mean, I do plan to work out today. No, really.

This week was my turn to pick the recipe. I found it to be a humbling experience. I wanted to pick something that didn’t have expensive ingredients, wouldn’t take a lot of time or be overly complicated, and was family friendly. I enjoyed making this, and I hope you will, too! Here’s the recipe:

Nutty Granola – Serves 9

You can’t buy granola this good, and it couldn’t be simpler to make. All the flavors come through crisp and clear: crunchy toasted nuts, chewy oats, and caramelized raisins perfectly sweetened with the unmistakable flavor of real maple syrup and humming with cinnamon.

Cooking spray

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup chopped almonds

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins (optional, I used dried cherries instead)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients, mixing well to coat everything with the maple syrup. Spread on the baking sheet and bake until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Transfer the sheet to the wire rack and let cool completely. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for about 2 weeks.

I will definitely make this one again. I would like to try it with some pumpkin seeds, dried apple, orange zest, vanilla caviar, but not all at the same time. Check out what the other CEiMB cooks did here. If you like this recipe, I urge you to check out the book The Foods You Crave, by Ellie Krieger.

Killer coffee cake

Hello, gorgeous!

I can’t believe I haven’t shared this with you yet! This is my go-to recipe if I’m having a few friends over for breakfast, and I think it would be perfect to share with your sweetie this weekend. It’s a basic sour cream coffee cake, and it’s so easy to make for those of us who suffer from the heartbreak of FOY.

I’m speaking of Fear of Yeast. Yeast breads are the one thing I haven’t mastered. They scare me. Yeast is such a fair weather friend. If it’s too warm or too cold, it gets an attitude, and that intimidates me. There, I said it. I’ve been meaning to try AnneStrawberry’s dinner rolls. Anne says they’re easy and I believe her, but still.

This coffee cake, however, is your friend. It’s perfection warm out of the oven with its toastly layer of melted cinnamon sugar. I like to add about a cup of roughly chopped pecans, but you could do almonds or walnuts, or go nut-free. The original recipe appeared in Gourmet in 1990 (I think). I’ve made hundreds since and it has never failed me.

Before you start, make sure your butter is well softened. Mix the baking soda into the sour cream (allowing it to do its foaming over thing adds lift to the cake.) 

I mix the topping in a bowl with a cover and shake it like mad. Then I cream the butter with the sugar, add the eggs one at a time, then alternately add the dry ingredients and the sour cream, ending with the dry ingredients. 

Spread it in a buttered pan… 

…and sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar topping (and nuts, if using) and swirl it in with a knife.

Bake at 350 for about 45-50 minutes (I made three to take to a luncheon)…

Let it cool on a wire rack. Serve while still warm. It’s harder to slice, but oh so worth it. You can thank me later.

You can find the recipe here.

Killer coffee cake

Hello, gorgeous!

I can’t believe I haven’t shared this with you yet! This is my go-to recipe if I’m having a few friends over for breakfast, and I think it would be perfect to share with your sweetie this weekend. It’s a basic sour cream coffee cake, and it’s so easy to make for those of us who suffer from the heartbreak of FOY.

I’m speaking of Fear of Yeast. Yeast breads are the one thing I haven’t mastered. They scare me. Yeast is such a fair weather friend. If it’s too warm or too cold, it gets an attitude, and that intimidates me. There, I said it. I’ve been meaning to try AnneStrawberry’s dinner rolls. Anne says they’re easy and I believe her, but still.

This coffee cake, however, is your friend. It’s perfection warm out of the oven with its toastly layer of melted cinnamon sugar. I like to add about a cup of roughly chopped pecans, but you could do almonds or walnuts, or go nut-free. The original recipe appeared in Gourmet in 1990 (I think). I’ve made hundreds since and it has never failed me.

Before you start, make sure your butter is well softened. Mix the baking soda into the sour cream (allowing it to do its foaming over thing adds lift to the cake.) 

I mix the topping in a bowl with a cover and shake it like mad. Then I cream the butter with the sugar, add the eggs one at a time, then alternately add the dry ingredients and the sour cream, ending with the dry ingredients. 

Spread it in a buttered pan… 

…and sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar topping (and nuts, if using) and swirl it in with a knife.

Bake at 350 for about 45-50 minutes (I made three to take to a luncheon)…

Let it cool on a wire rack. Serve while still warm. It’s harder to slice, but oh so worth it. You can thank me later.

You can find the recipe here.

Barefoot Bloggers – Easy Sticky Buns

I’m in! And what a great recipe to start cooking along with the other Barefoot Bloggers! This talented group is cooking through the recipes of Ina Garten of Barefoot Contessa fame.

These cinnamon rolls looked so ridiculously easy that I made them this morning before work. Yes, truly. If you want to induce rapture in your coworkers, bring in these cinnamon rolls. You start with frozen puff pastry and end with rolls that aren’t soft and pillowy but delightfully crisp and chewy. I wish I had captured their stunning beauty when they came out of the oven, but I was trying really hard not to be more than a half hour late for work. I did get a quick photo with my phone before everyone devoured them.

My deepest thanks to Melissa at Made By Melissa for this wonderful pick! (Yes, that is the top of my Tupperware cereal bowl, I know, my styling is pathetic!) If you’d like the recipe, stop by and visit Melissa.