S'mores Cake

Okay, so it's Friday. Actually it's Thursday at 11:05 PM, but you'll be reading this tomorrow... Friday. I'm trying to get this blog post written before midnight. I've written fourteen posts every month for a while. It's a thing now... I have to get at least fourteen blogs written every month. Or... I will feel like a failure.

So here's the thing: I got bangs yesterday. I don't think I've changed my hair style in two and a half years. You'll probably see some pictures eventually. But not now because I don't have makeup on and my hair is in a knot on top of my head. A garlic knot. Mmm those are good.

It's a big change. I don't recongnize myself anymore. I can't decide if I like the bangs or not. Sometimes I like them, sometimes I feel like Lloyd Christmas.

Here's another thing: I have to wake up early tomorrow, drive to my parents' house and bake Hannah's (my sister) birthday cake for tomorrow night's celebration, because our oven is still broken. Then we're going shopping. We is myself, mom and my sisters. I think I need some more maxidresses in my life. Ohh they're just so comfortable. They float around you and don't make you feel self conscious about your love handles.

Anyway, I should go to bed. That's what I was getting at.



I made this S'mores Cake for Memorial Day, I think. So it's been a month since I made it, but I remember it pretty well. It was delicious! I especially loved the cake part. It was flavorful for cake. You know what I mean? This cake was more about the cake than the frosting. The cake has browned butter (of course), brown sugar, ground up graham crackers, oil, eggs, sour cream and milk in it. And... pudding mix. I've never used pudding mix in a cake before, but I bit the bullet and used vanilla pudding mix in this cake. Maybe that's why it was so flavorful and moist? I probably won't make it a habit, but I might use pudding mixes in cakes every now and then.





The frosting is a marshmallow-y seven minute icing, basically. It's made with egg whites, sugar, corn syrup, vanilla and salt. You cook the egg whites and sugar over the stove until the sugar is dissolved, and then you beat the mixture until whipped and fluffy.



The frosting gets spread over the cake, and then the cake is placed in the oven and broiled until golden brown. I wish I had broiled this cake a little more to get more of that toasty-marshmallow flavor. I drizzled the s'mores cake with chocolate ganache. I used dark chocolate because that's what I had on hand, but I should have used milk chocolate, I think.

Let me know if you make this! I think it would be perfect for the Fourth of July or a summer barbecue. Have a great weekend!



S'mores Cake
Printable Recipe

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup oil
1 box instant vanilla pudding mix
4 large egg yolks (save 2 whites for frosting)
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 package graham crackers, finely ground
1 cup all purpose flour

Toasted Marshmallow Frosting
2 large egg whites
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Chocolate Ganache
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 ounces coarsely chopped dark chocolate (you could use milk or semi-sweet)

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat 2 (9-inch) cake pans with cooking spray.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook 1-2 minutes, whisking frequently, until butter foams and starts to turn golden brown. Remove pan from heat. Pour butter into a large mixing bowl.

Add brown sugar, oil and pudding mix to bowl; mix together, using a mixer on medium speed, for 1 minute or until well combined. Beat in egg yolks until well combined. Beat in baking powder, baking soda, salt, sour cream and milk until well combined. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in graham cracker crumbs and flour until just combined.

Divide cake batter into pans. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and middle of cakes springs back when lightly touched. Cool 12 minutes on wire racks. Run a knife around outer edges and invert cakes onto wire racks or platters to cool completely.

To make the toasted marshmallow frosting, whisk together egg whites, sugar and corn syrup in a heat-proof bowl placed over a saucepan with barely simmering water. Keep whisking for 5-10 minutes, or until egg mixture is warm and sugar is dissolved.

Add egg mixture to a large mixing bowl and add vanilla and salt. Mix, using a mixer on high speed, for about 10 minutes or until egg mixture is whipped, fluffy, and stiff.

To make the chocolate ganache, bring cream and butter to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Turn heat off and whisk in chocolate until well combined and smooth.

To assemble cake: heat oven broiler on a low setting. Place one cake on a piece of foil on a cookie sheet; spread a generous amount of marshmallow frosting on top. Broil cake for a couple of seconds until golden brown. Generously drizzle the top with chocolate ganache. Place other cake on top. Pipe marshmallow frosting on top of cake. Broil for a couple of seconds or until golden brown. Drizzle cake with remaining chocolate ganache.

Makes 10 servings

Banana, Milk Chocolate-Hazelnut Granola Cookies

Mmm cookies. I can never seem to get enough cookies. I think they sound good all of the time. I love how easy they are to whip up, and how creative you can be with them.

Even though our oven is broken, last night I made up some peanut butter cookie dough balls and froze them in a plastic bag. Now, when our oven gets fixed (Friday?), and I get a serious cookie craving, I have dough ready to bake. I tried microwaving a dough ball, and it didn't turn out well. Only microwave cookie dough if you're desperate. (Which I was.)

Or, I could eat the dough balls as they are. I love cookie dough. Anyone else? I love it so much, I don't care about salmonella.



Of course the dough to these Banana, Milk Chocolate-Hazelnut Cookies was delicious.

I really liked these cookies. The dough is made from browned butter, ripe banana, toasted hazelnuts, granola, flour, sugar, egg and chopped milk chocolate.



The granola gave these cookies a great texture... slightly crisp, yet still soft from the banana. I liked the banana-milk chocolate-hazelnut flavors; I thought they all went together well. I used some milk chocolate with hazelnuts in it, and oh boy... so good. Did it come from Aldi? Of course it came from Aldi.

One last thing: I want to wish my sister, Hannah, a very happy 20th birthday! She's so sweet, smart, creative and funny. You would all love her if you knew her. I want her to write a guest post on here, but she's taking her time getting back to me on that.




Happy birthday, Hannah! I love you! I hope you have a great day.




Banana, Milk Chocolate-Hazelnut Granola Cookies
Printable Recipe

1/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large ripe banana, mashed
1/2 cup finely ground toasted hazelnuts
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups granola
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3 ounces coarsely chopped milk chocolate

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat cookie sheets with cooking spray.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook 1-2 minutes, whisking frequently, until butter foams and turns light golden brown. Whisk in sugar and banana until combined; cook an additional 1 minute.

Add banana-butter mixture into a large mixing mixing bowl. Add hazelnut, egg vanilla, baking soda and salt. Mix together for 1 minute, using a mixer on medium speed, until well combined. Beat in flour and granola until combined. Stir in chocolate until combined.

Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto cookie sheets. Bake 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 2 minutes before transferring cookies to wire racks to cool.

Makes about 20 cookies

Pretty in Pink Cupcakes

Hi there! Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you all had a good weekend.

I'm getting pretty excited because our Chicago trip is drawing closer, and because my birthday is in one week! I'll be twenty-six. I'm definitely getting up there. Oh well, what can you do. Embrace your age, that's what you do.

I'm mostly excited for the fried chicken and honey-biscuits.



Also, I want some sort of epic ice cream cake, but I haven't figured it out in my head yet... I used to love Dairy Queen ice cream cakes. Anyone else? The cookie crumbles in the center was the best part.

I think I'm probably going to make my own cake, unless I can get Eric to do it. Although, I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it, because our oven is broken AGAIN. I can't get it to heat up at all. Cross your fingers that they'll replace our stove with a new one! Preferably one with a window where you can look in.



Aren't these cupcakes pretty? No, I wasn't inspired by the movie. I never liked that one very much. I did like Sixteen Candles though. My sister and I have been wondering what happened to Jake Ryan for the past few months. It's one of the great mysteries of life.

One day I was just craving some white wedding cake with pink buttercream, so I made these cupcakes on the spot.

I used cake flour and egg whites in the batter to make it light and airy, and a little vanilla and almond extract for flavoring.

The buttercream is the real star; it's real buttercream frosting made from whipped egg whites, granulated sugar, and lots and lots of butter.

I piped the pink buttercream on top of the cupcakes and decorated them with pearl sprinkles and pink sea salt. Yum! These were delicious! The cake was moist and light, and the buttercream was amaaazing. I think these cupcakes would be perfect for birthdays, baby showers and wedding showers.


Pretty In Pink Cupcakes
Printable Recipe

1/3 cup oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 3/4 cups cake flour
2/3 cup milk
2 large egg whites

Pink Buttercream
2 large egg whites
3/4 cup granulated sugar
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 drop red food coloring
-Pearl sprinkles
-Pink sea salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a (12 cup) muffin pan with liners.

In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together oil, sugar, baking powder, salt, vanilla and almond extract until well combined. Beat in cake flour and milk until just combined. In a separate large bowl, using a mixer on high speed (with clean beaters) beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into cake batter.

Divide batter into muffin cups. Bake 18 minutes or until very light golden brown, and middle of cupcakes springs back when lightly touched. Cool cupcakes 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

To make the buttercream frosting, place bowl with egg whites over a pot of simmering water; whisk in sugar. Cook, whisking frequently, until the mixture reaches 160° F and the sugar has dissolved. It will look thick and marshmallow-y.
Beat mixture using a mixer on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture has cooled to room temperature, about 8 minutes.

Reduce speed to medium and add butter, a tablespoons at a time, until well incorporated and fluffy. If the frosting looks curdled, continue to beat on medium-high speed until thick and smooth again, about 3-5 minutes more. Beat in vanilla and food coloring until combined.

Pipe buttercream on top of cupcakes. Top with sprinkles and a tiny sprinkle of sea salt.

Makes 12 cupcakes

Summer Dessert Recipes

To see what I've been making with...

Blueberries


Strawberries



and cherries...



Head on over to What's Cookin for some summer dessert recipes I created for them!

Vanilla Biscoff Frozen Custard

So I made vanilla frozen custard the other day to go with my blueberry pie. It tasted almost like Andy's Frozen Custard, and you know how much I love that.

I made a custard on top of the stove, using heavy cream, half-h-half, eggs, sugar and cornstarch. That's the first time I've ever used cornstarch in ice cream before. It made the custard super creamy and thick.



When I make ice cream, I always freeze the freezer bowl at least a day in advance, and chill the custard overnight. Then, twenty minutes before I place the custard in the ice cream maker, I place it in the freezer to get really cold.

Those are my little secrets for you. It works every time. The ice cream always comes out thick, creamy, and perfect. I've had great results with ice cream making lately. I even made a healthy ice cream tonight! (Recipe coming soon...)



At the last minute, when the ice cream was almost done, I decided to add Biscoff to it. I couldn't help myself! Biscoff is so delicious, and I thought it would go well in the frozen custard.



I made whipped cream, added the Biscoff to the whipped cream, and folded it into the frozen custard. The Biscoff whipped cream gave a lighter texture to the frozen custard, and a little extra flavor.

Yum. It was delicious. Pretty heavy and rich though, unfortunately (or fortunately!). This stuff will stick to your ribs. I suggest sharing with friends. I also suggest making a root beer float with it.


Vanilla Biscoff Frozen Custard
Printable Recipe

4 cups heavy whipping cream, divided use
1 cup half-n-half
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Biscoff

Whisk together cream, half-n-half, sugar and cornstarch in a large saucepan over medium heat, until hot.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together yolks until well combined; gradually whisk hot cream into egg mixture until well combined. Whisk mixture back into saucepan. Cook, whisking constantly, until custard reaches 170 degrees F, or coats the back of a spoon.

Strain custard into a large mixing bowl; whisk in vanilla and salt. Cover and chill overnight.

Freeze cream in an ice cream maker according to manufacturers' instructions.

While ice cream is freezing, whip remaining 1 cup cream in a large mixing bowl using a mixer on high speed, until stiff peaks form. Beat in Biscoff until combined.

Place ice cream in a freezer-safe container. Swirl in Biscoff whipped cream.

Freeze for 4 hours or until ready to serve.

Makes 8-10 servings

Blueberry Pie

Gooooood morning, Sugar Plum readers! I'm glad you're here. Thank you for your helpful Chicago advice in my last post. I made a list of things to do, and took a few things off my list. Haha. Apparently Navy Pier is a bad idea. I didn't know that, but I do now, thanks to you.

Did everyone have a good Father's Day? I showed up at my parents' house yesterday, toting a gift in one hand, and a pie and frozen custard in the other. Luckily for me, they were grilling homemade pizza for dinner. Mmm homemade pizza is the best.

My dad is the best, too. He's a good person, he's smart, honest (sometimes brutally honest... "DON'T MAKE FUN OF MY COAT, DAD! I DO NOT LOOK LIKE A RANCHER.")... funny, interesting and caring. He always puts everyone else first. He's a pretty great guy!

I can credit my father with:

- My dry sense of humor.
- My love for The Pretenders and Elvis Costello.
- My lack of patience in crowded events such as concerts, fairs and amusement parks.
- Setting the example that drinking six cups of coffee every day is okay.
- How I look. I think I look more like my dad than my mom.
- My interest in nutrition and health. (I started reading his Nutrition Action Healthletters at a young age.)
- My talent for finding four leaf clovers.

My love for cooking definitely comes from my dad (Mom, too!). Thanks, Dad. Thank you for my love for eggplant, asparagus, olives, mushrooms, garlic, homemade pasta, and...

Blueberry Pie.



Blueberry pie is one of my Dad's favorite desserts. When my sister and I were younger, we'd visit the farmers' market during the summer, on Saturday morning with mom and dad and buy blueberries. We'd always get there early because blueberries were a hot item.

Then we'd go drink six cups of coffee and have breakfast at a coffee shop. No, really. Maybe even more coffee than that. And my sister was just a youngin'! Maybe nine years old? You have to start those young ones on coffee pretty early on. That's what happened to Eric. He doesn't drink coffee now, and it's because he didn't have it as a child.

Anyway, so then mom would take the blueberries and make blueberry pie or blueberry buckle for dessert. It was always amazing; I remember all of us usually having to get seconds on blueberry pie.



This recipe is simple enough; I didn't add any crazy ingredients or spices to it. It's just good old, classic blueberry pie. I made an all-butter double crust pie dough, rolled it out, and filled it with fresh blueberries, fresh lemon juice, sugar and cornstarch.

I baked it for an hour, and when I pulled the pie out of the oven it smelled incredible. I brought it over to my family's and we had a slice for dessert. I received good reviews from everyone. Success! Make this pie! It's blueberry season.


I served it with this amaaazing frozen custard that I'll share with you on Wednesday. I know!! Look at it ^ It's ridiculous.


Blueberry Pie
Printable Recipe

Double Crust Pie Dough
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
6 tablespoons ice water

2 pints blueberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

To make the crust, in a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar and salt. Work the butter in, using a pastry blender or your fingers, until pea-sized lumps form. Sprinkle in the water, 1 tbsp. at a time, stirring gently with a fork after each addition and adding only enough of the water to form a rough mass.

Using floured hands, pat the dough into two smooth, flattened discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for 20 minutes before rolling out.

Meanwhile, stir together blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch until well combined.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Roll one dough disc out thinly on a floured surface, using a rolling pin, and fit into a 9-inch pie plate, place on a cookie sheet; fill pie shell with blueberry mixture. Roll out additional dough disc and top blueberry mixture; trim and flute edges. Brush the pie with a little bit of cream or milk, if desired. Sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired.

Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degree and bake an additional 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Makes 9 servings

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Hey hey, I hope you all are having a great day! I can't believe we're already halfway through June! Father's Day is this Sunday, too. Yikes, I need to buy something for my dad. He's a tricky one to buy for. I already know what I'm making for his dessert, though. That was an easy decision. You'll have to wait and see what it is... it's one of my favorite desserts, too.

So here's a little update for you: Eric and I will be visiting Chicago next month on a mini vacation. We're driving to St. Louis and taking the train to Chicago. Wheee! This trip was our birthday presents to each other.



It should be a good time. I'm very excited. The purpose of this trip is to tour The French Pastry School. I'm interested in their pastry program and want to find out more, and check out the facility.

Have you heard good things about the school?

Other purposes of this trip:
- Eating deep dish pizza
- Stocking up at Trader Joes :D
- Going to the beach!
- Going to Navy Pier
- Going on a boat ride!
- Going to museums
- Visiting the Skydeck!
- Magnificent Mile shopping (like I could afford anything)

We're only there for three days, so it's unlikely we'll get to do all of that. What activities would you recommend in Chicago? What about places to eat? I know we're definitely going to Gino's East.

Of course I'll be blogging all about the trip, including the tour of the school.



Chocolate Chip Muffins... not a very exciting recipe after all that Chicago talk. These muffins should excite you because they're great! They're the most perfect chocolate chip muffins I've ever made. I can't believe something so simple could be this delicious.



Eric usually will just eat whatever crazy creations I've baked. Rarely will he request something he really wants. When he requested simple chocolate chip muffins, I baked them for him immediately.

They rose perfectly, were nicely sweetened, and moist.

He loved them. I loved them. You'll love them.


Chocolate Chip Muffins
Printable Recipe

2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream and oil until really well combined. Whisk in sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and vanilla until well combined. Stir in flour and chocolate chips until just combined.

Divide batter into muffin cups using a cookie scoop. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and well risen.

Makes 12 big muffins

June Top Five Foodie Finds

I love trying new food products and ingredients, so I'm going to start posting a few things I'm loving each month (without compensation, in case you were wondering).

#1 - Biscoff Spread! It tastes just like the Biscoff cookies you get on flights. Don't you love those biscuit cookies? I do. It's the consistency of peanut butter, but it tastes like graham crackers, caramel, with a hint of spice. It's delicious! You better believe I'm already creating recipes with this stuff.



#2 - Moser Roth Chocolate. This is the chocolate I buy from Aldi that I've been telling you guys about. My family and Eric have been buying their chocolate now, too. Maybe you'll be next? Bahaha. No, it's not the best chocolate you've ever eaten (or maybe it will be?) but, it's very good, very cheap, and it's imported from Germany. I've tried the milk chocolate with hazelnut, dark chocolate, dark chocolate-almond-orange, mint, and toffee-milk chocolate. Each package has five little individually wrapped bars.



#3 - Jarritos Mexican Cola. It's just like Coke, but better. It comes in a cool glass bottle and tastes.... like cola. And kind of like Bottle Cap candy. It's also made with sugar only - no corn syrup.



#4 - Spätzle. I recently tried this for the first time and adored it. I know you can make spätzle from scratch pretty easily, although I've never attempted it. I cooked the pasta and added it to a dish of browned butter, sweet potato, pecans and sage, and it was pretty amazing. The noodles have so much flavor... very eggy and buttery. They remind me of my dad's homemade pasta.



#5 - Ore Ida Sweet Potato Fries. Try smelling the inside of the bag. It smells like a fair.
(Taken from Eric's iphone)
I used a coupon to buy these that Foodbuzz sent me. I brought them over to my parents' house and we ate them with burgers. I really liked them! They're the best frozen sweet potato fries I've ever had. I think they're even better than ones I've eaten in restaurants. They have a bright orange color and a ton of flavor.

And really... try sticking your head in the bag for some sniffs. You'll feel like you're at a carnival.



So there's June's Top Five Foodie Finds! I tried a lot of foods from across the pond (and across the border) this month. If you try any new food products you love, and you'd think I'd like them too, let me know. I'd like to hear about them.