Challah

Busy, busy, busy. That is my life in a nutshell and I like it that way. It does however get in the way of my baking time, but this weekend I had no choice. The snowy weather dictated my activities and I decided to try and bake one of my absolute favourite breads...Challah!


I wanted a soft, chewy and sweet bread. I have never attempted this kind of bread before but have definitely eaten my fair share. I found many a recipe online but the pictures showed a crumbly texture, which is exactly what I wanted to stay away from. Then I came across the recipe below and decided to go for it.


In my excitement, I learned a VERY important lesson...always read the ingredient list before you begin and double check your supply levels. I barely had the 3 cups of flour to begin with and so supplemented with whole wheat flour while cringing. Then I realised, I still needed 7 more cups! So, as the mixture rose, I had to make an impromptu trip to the grocery store in the messy winter weather! 


Nonetheless.... the loaves turned out pretty spectacular! I coated them in sugar for a sweet crunch.

Sweet Challah Bread

adapted from Divine Baking

Ingredients

10 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups warm water

1/4 cup fresh yeast

350g or 1 cup honey

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 eggs, beaten

1 egg, beaten

sugar for sprinkling

**Makes 2-3 loaves

Combine the yeast and honey in a bowl and slowly add the warm water and 3 cups of flour. Mix until combined and set aside for 30 - 45 minutes. This is where I ran to the grocery store!

Combine sugar, salt and olive oil to your mixture, and mix well. Then add the 3 eggs, the rest of the flour, 1- 2 cups at a time, until your dough is formed. I started this in my kitchen aid mixer, but the dough was just too heavy. I took it out and worked it with my hands instead. Once combined, place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap.  Let the dough rise for at least 2 hours and then punch it down. I repeated this twice.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Grab your dough and break it in half. Separate each half into three pieces and shape into three long rolls which you can braid. I attempted a six-roll braid above, but a three-roll would work just as great. Place braid onto your baking pan, brush it with egg mixture and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 10 minutes at 350 and then for about 20-30 min at 300. Let cool and then ENJOY!

Chocolate Cake ... In a CROCK-POT!

I have somehow transitioned into a lazy baker these past few months, however my love of baked goods has not slowed down, just my ability to focus on their creation. 


This is where my Crock-Pot, the epitome of easy and quick, comes in! You can toss in a few ingredients, work your little heart out and then come home to a warm cooked meal. Nothing better than that on those cold wintery days. Today being one of those days and with my tired self not wanting to bake something but still wanting to eat something baked, I decided to introduce my Crock-Pot to cake!


Not just any cake mind you, but a deep, rich and melty chocolate cake... full fat of course! I was beyond skeptical that this would work, but ever hopeful that it would. The end result was out of this world good!

Chocolate Cake ... In a Crock-Pot!

adapted from twoboysonegirlandacrazymom

Ingredients

1 package chocolate cake mix (I KNOW... I KNOW... ready-made = LAZY!!)

1 packet (3.9oz) Jello instant chocolate pudding mix

500ml sour cream

4 eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup water

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Coat inside of Crock - Pot with a little bit of oil so it helps with cutting of the cake. Place mixture in Crock-Pot and "bake" on low for 3-4 hours or until it looks done. EASY!

Heaven.... I may or may not have had more than 1 slice....

And there you have it... lazy baking at its best! 

PIZZA!

Who doesn't love doughy, gooey, cheesy pizza? Nobody in this house thats for sure and we decided to experiment tonight for dinner.


I was weary about making the dough because I heard how time consuming it would be, but I played around with a basic recipe and created a no-rise dough that literally took maybe 12 mins to make. Once that was perfected, I split it into two equal pieces; one for me and one for my husband. Why you ask? Well... just scroll down to find out....

MY pizza - Sweet Basil, Organic Tomato and Fresh Mozzarella with a sprinkling of Ground Pepper, EVOO and Sea Salt

Straight from the oven... heaven!

The crust was absolutely incredible! Crispy on the outside, but soft and chewy on the inside. The combination of basil, tomatoes and stretchy mozzarella was perfection. 

Now, the explanation as to why we needed to separate the dough:

Hubby's pizza - Cheese, Pepperoni and oh yeah... more CHEESE!

I would have had a heart attack consuming that, but he throughly enjoyed his creation! 

So, no matter how you enjoy your pizza, if you want a quick and yummy dough, you need to try this:

Basic No-Rise Pizza Dough

adapted from Everybody Likes Sandwiches

Ingredients

                              1 packet of quick rise yeast

1 c warm water

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

Cornmeal

Directions

Preheat your oven to 400. Combine the yeast and warm water in a medium bowl and stir until the yeast is dissolved. Then add the flour, salt, honey and olive oil.  Mix very well and knead as necessary to make sure everything is combined. Let the dough rest for 10 mins or so. During this time, I prepared the pan and my toppings.

When ready, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and drizzle some olive oil where you will place your dough. Sprinkle the cornmeal evenly on the oiled paper and spread the dough. I hand tossed the dough and spread it unevenly for a more rustic pizza, my hubby wanted his pizza to be round so he used a rolling pin.

Add your toppings and bake for anywhere from 20-25 mins or until the cheese is melty and the crust is golden brown.

Home Is Where You Make It

Happy Thanksgiving to all of those celebrating this weekend and what a beautiful weekend it was! The sun was shining and the crisp fall breeze blew the fallen leaves around. It made for a perfect setting to our Thanksgiving meal this year.

There are many things I am thankful for, but most important is the love of my family and friends. My life has been a journey across the globe and through that I have met so many amazing, inspiring and truly beautiful people who have become my family away from home. To you, my friends turned family, I am grateful and thankful!


Our Thanksgiving gathering this year truly put it all into focus : Home Is Where You Make It. I have lived by this saying and have so many incredible experiences because of it. I can't wait for my next journey and new family members that I will meet.


Thanksgiving dinner this year was hosted by us, which meant I had to put my actual cooking skills to work. I'm sure no one would have minded if it was a dinner full of desserts only, but I thought it might be best to go that traditional route. Once the turkey, salads, stuffing, green beans, corn, candied yams ( these could have qualified as dessert actually), mashed potatoes, gravy and cranberry sauce were served and eaten... it was time for the good stuff... dessert!


I found so many varying versions of this recipe yet none that quite fit what I was looking for, so I adapted a few, re-worked some of the ingredients and created my own version.

Caramel Biscoff Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients

The Crust:

64 Biscoff Cookies

1 cup of melted Butter

4 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

The Filling:

4 packages Cream Cheese

1-1/2 cup Sugar

1-1/2 cup pure Pumpkin Puree 

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1 teaspoon Allspice

1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon Ginger

4 large Eggs

2 tablespoons Heavy Cream

Directions

I absolutely love the caramel Biscoff cookies. There is just something about them that invokes in me a feeling of home. It just could very well be that they were and still are served on most European international flights and that happens to be where I spent many a summer growing up. These cookies also make a fantastic cheesecake crust!

Crushing the cookie crumbs!

If you have a food processor, combine and crush the cookies to form even crumbs. I don't have one, so I did things a little old school. I like the rustic crust look.


Melt the butter and combine along with the cookie crumbs and brown sugar until just blended. Butter the bottom and sides of a 10 inch spring-form pan and place cookie crumb mixture in. Form the crust of the cheesecake by pressing gently allowing the crust to be uniform throughout and make sure to build your crust all the way up the sides of the pan. Once complete, place in fridge for 30 mins or freezer for 15 mins to set.

Not quite finished...work the crust to the top of pan.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and you can now get started on the super easy filling. Place 4 packages of room temperature cream cheese in   mixer on medium low until fluffy. Blend in the sugar until the mixture is well-combined. Then add the pumkin puree, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and ginger. Blend until combined and then add one egg at a time. Once all ingredients are mixed well, add 2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream and mix one final time.


Grab your crust from the fridge or freezer and slowly pour the mixture until it reaches the top of your crust. Its very important to make sure that your crust was formed high enough to hold your filling, otherwise your filling will be higher when baked. 


Baking a cheesecake can be a difficult process as you don't want to ove-rbake it - hello dryness and cracks and you don't want to under-bake it and have it become a mushy mess. 

Cheesecake water bath

I always use a water bath for my cheesecakes to help it bake more evenly and I let it rest after its done so to avoid the centre from collapsing. You can tell when its done when the sides are firm, but the centre is still jiggly.

All done and no cracks!

Bake in the oven for approximately an hour and 20 mins. Once its done, let it cool for about 30 mins and then take a warmed knife and slowly run it along the outer edges of the crust to help separate from the pan. Then allow it to cool completely and then place in fridge overnight. The longer it is in the fridge, the better it will be. Serve with caramel sauce and whipped cream if so desired! 

Just needs some whipped cream!

I hope you and yours had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year surrounded by the love of family and friends... and lots and lots of cheesecake!

Cinnamon & Nutmeg Pumpkin Pull-Apart

PUMPKIN! PUMPKIN! PUMPKIN! I love saying that word and I love everything that its associated with. Fall has officially arrived and with that comes wonderful spiced goodies.

This morning practically begged for a warm fresh-baked loaf of bread. The wind outside was battering the windows and the sun was nowhere in sight. The neighbouring farmer's fields have almost all been tilled and harvested for the season and our home needed some warming up.

I had made my weekly grocery rounds yesterday and grabbed some pureed pumpkin, not knowing where I would use it but that using it was a must. With that in mind, I stumbled across a Pumpkin ( yay... there it is again!) Cinnamon Loaf that I needed to have, yes it was an absolute need!

Cinnamon & Nutmeg Spiced Pumpkin Bread

adapted from WillowBirdBaking

Ingredients

2 Tbs unsalted Butter

1/2 cup Milk - warm or room temp

2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry Yeast

3/4 cup Pure Pumpkin Puree

1/4 cup White Sugar

1 tsp Salt

2 1/2 cups ap Flour

1 cup Brown Sugar

2 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp fresh Nutmeg

3-4 Tbsp unsalted Butter

Directions

In a small saucepan brown 2 tablespoons of butter, letting it bubble up and turn a dark golden brown... Oh how I love browned butter!

Once browned, remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the milk (there will be a little bit of sizzle so be sure you are away from heat)  return to stove and mix until thoroughly combined.

Pour the milk and butter mixture into your stand mixer fitted with dough hook and allow to cool until warm.  Once it has reached a warm temp add the yeast and 1/4 cup of sugar and allow to proof.

Then add the the pumpkin, salt, and 1 cup of flour. Knead until combined then add the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time and knead for 6 minutes, until the dough is smooth and stretchy.

Right before it was covered

Move dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean towel. Allow to rise in a warm place for 60-90 minutes or until it doubles in size.

While waiting for the dough, grease a 9x5 loaf pan and set aside. You can also mix the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl and set aside.

When the dough is ready, place it on a clean and floured surface. Roll dough into a 20x12 inch rectangle. Let the dough rest.

While its resting, melt 3-4 tbs of butter in your small saucepan and set aside.

Head back to your resting rectangular piece of dough and cut it into 6 long strips. Grab the melted butter and bowl of sugar and spices, brush each strip with the melted butter and then heavily sprinkle with sugar spice combination. Flip each strip over and repeat with melted butter and sugar spice combination. It seems like a lot of sugar and butter, but who's complaining really? 

Smothered in butter, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg

Once coated, cut each strip into 6 even squares and stack them strips horizontally into the loaf pan. **oops...I tend to not read recipes correctly sometimes and apparently I was supposed to cover the pan with a clean towel and let rise again for 30-45 minutes... but I didn't and they still turned out beautifully. I also didn't want any of the sugar spice combination to go to waste and I still had some extra melted butter left over, so I combined them and re-brushed the loaf while in the pan.

Layered and ready to go

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30-35 mins or until top is a very deep golden brown.

I can't even begin to describe how wonderfully warm our kitchen was with the cinnamon-nutmeg combination wafting through the air from the oven. 

The loaf is now almost gone between hubby and I. The pull-apart pieces are just too easy and good to resist. 


Next week is Canadian Thanksgiving and I definitely foresee more pumpkin goodies to come.

Fudgey Browned Butter Brownies

I have a "thing" for browned butter. Actually, I have a "thing" for all things butter, but butter when browned is my favourite. It adds a nutty, rich depth to anything its added to, especially chocolate.

Healthy eating has been one of my goals in life, but clearly I have a need for pure indulgence when it comes to baking and nothing is more satisfying than a browned butter pure cocoa brownie.

The one thing you will always (and I truly mean always) find in our cupboard is Fry's Premium Cocoa. Its an absolute staple for most of my chocolatey wants from these brownies to a whipped cream topped cup of hot cocoa in the winter. Its perfect.

Fudgey Browned Butter Brownies

Adapted from Fry's Cocoa

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups all-purpose Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1 cup butter- browned

1 cup Fry's Cocoa

2 cups Sugar

4 large Eggs

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla

Directions

Mix all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt and Fry's Cocoa in a bowl.

Cocoa makes me happy.

Now its time for the browned butter. In our house, we don't own a microwave by personal choice, so I've had to become creative in the melting butter department. I suppose I could have used a small pot, but where is the fun in that? I melt and brown my butter directly on the stove in the measuring cup! 

Exactly one cup once it melts.

Remove from heat and blend in sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Then combine all with the dry ingredients. Pour the batter into buttered pan and bake at 350F for about 30 to 35 minutes. 

Just about to enter the oven.

I have vowed not to eat the entire pan, but resistance is futile...they are just that good!

Cakey Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've been so busy painting and learning about transforming furniture for our office that I stopped searching for new things to bake... *gasp*... Its true though that my time has been spent focused on a new hobby, however tonight I just couldn't live with a cookie-free home any longer.


I was torn as to what kind of cookie to bake. My love for trying new recipes was pushing for something new, but I wasn't feeling all that adventurous. I decided that the best thing to do was to fall back on a classic: The Chocolate Chip Cookie.

First Batch

My usual recipe always gives me a chewy, soft and flat cookie but I decided to try something just a bit new tonight. I found an incredible article about these cakey, dense and huge chocolate chip cookies from Levain Bakery in New York and well... I'm just a bit too far away to try them out myself.


I found a test recipe from Cookie Madness  and decided to go for it! The result was this amazingly cakey, chewy, gooey monster of a cookie! Its not an every day cookie...but its perfect for a wishy-washy day like today!

Ingredients

1 cup of unsalted Butter, cold

3/4 cup Sugar 

3/4 cup packed Brown Sugar 

2 large Eggs 

1 tsp Vanilla 

3 cups all purpose Flour 

3/4 tsp Salt 

1 tsp Baking Powder 

1/2 tsp Baking Soda 

2 cups Semisweet Chocolate Chips 

Directions

In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and both sugars just until creamy. Don’t over beat. Add the egg and vanilla and beat just until incorporated.

Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. When thoroughly mixed, add to batter and stir just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips (Note: You can also try adding the dry ingredients directly to the butter mixture)

Divide dough into 12 big lumps. Bake on ungreased cookies sheets (one sheet at a time). 

** I like to slowly bake my  cookies so that the outsides are crispy but the insides are soft so I tend to ignore baking times and go by look. I start at 325F for at least 15- 20 mins.

So good that they required a glass of milk.

Whoopie....It's Canada Day!

I love Canada Day! For me, its all about the parades, family BBQ's and of course the fireworks! However this year, I get one out of the three...the fireworks. The town is set to let them go at 11pm and directly in our backyard. How cool is that? I will literally have front row seating...just wishing the hubby wasn't working to watch with me.

I have also been wanting to bake some Whoopie Pies and decided today was the perfect opportunity. To honour Canada's Birthday, I went with Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Frosting....Red & White and Oh.So.Yum.

Ingredients

Whoopie Cakes - Tracey's Culinary Adventures

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

red food coloring

Cream Cheese Frosting- Tracey's Culinary Adventures

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the egg and vanilla, beating to combine. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, beating just until incorporated. Add the food coloring a little at a time until you achieve your desired color for the whoopie pies.

Spoon batter in 1-inch rounds, about 1/2-inch high on prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch of space between each round.  Bake 10 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies are set. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for a few minutes then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

To make the cream cheese frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. When all of the sugar has been incorporated, increase the speed of the mixer and beat briefly until smooth.

Match the cookies by size as best you can to make pairs. Pipe the frosting on the flat side of one of the cookies in each pair. Sandwich the cookies together and press gently until the filling reaches the edges.

So its 7pm currently and I'm eating my Whoopie Pies, listening to classic Canadian music and setting up my deck for firework watching! Hope you and yours had a wonderful Canada Day!

Peanut Butter Pretzel Time

IT'S HERE....SUMMER!!! The time of BBQ's, sundresses and sunshine is finally here and I couldn't be more excited.


I have been so extremely busy these past few weeks that my baking was placed on hold, however I had the opportunity to experiment with a new ( and SUPER EASY) recipe this past week for a work BBQ. Everyone loved these....myself included and I will definitely need to make them again! 


So if you are looking for something quick, fun and so delicious for an upcoming gathering, these are for you!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Pretzel Sandwiches

Ingredients

1 cup of peanut butter

2 tablespoons melted butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar to start

3/4 cup brown sugar

Bakers chocolate squares

Small Pretzels (the large ones are seriously too much for these)

Directions

Line a baking sheet with wax paper or tin foil paper and set aside.

Using a stand mixer, mix peanut butter and butter until combined. Once mixed, add sugars and mix until combined. You should be able to roll the mixture into balls without sticking to your hands. If the mixture is still sticky, keep adding powdered sugar until the consistency is thicker.

Roll the peanut butter/sugar mixture into small balls, and sandwich each ball inbetween two mini pretzels. Lay each sandwich on the baking sheet and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler... or in my case a glass bowl overtop a pot of boiling water. Once the chocolate is perfectly tempered meaning shiny and smooth, dip each pretzel sandwich halfway in and place back on the baking sheet. 

Chill in refrigerator until chocolate is set.

My next baking challenge....strawberry shortbread mini-tarts possibly for Canada Day tomorrow!