Popovers!

One of the items on my “Baking To Do” list this year is popovers.  A popover-loving friend came over this past weekend to help me make them.  I had recently ordered this popover pan and was excited to use it! 

I don’t know if you’ve been to Flour in the South End, but if you haven’t then you need to go.  Their entire menu is great, and I’ve yet to try something I don’t like!  So when I found this recipe for Joanne Chang’s brown sugar popovers, I knew I had to try it!

I was a bit nervous about these, as I once tried making a soufflé and it was a deflated disaster.  So, I was a bit touchy about trying something else that involved me being patient and not opening the oven door to check on progress!

The recipe itself is fairly straightforward.  I got out all my ingredients – the butter needs to be melted and cooled to room temperature, and the milk needs to be at room temperature as well.

I didn’t take many pictures as we were concentrating on not messing up the recipe!  In a small bowl we whisked together flour, salt, cinnamon and brown sugar and set aside.  In a separate, larger bowl we whisked together the milk, eggs and butter.

We then gradually added the flour mixture to the milk mixture until just combined.  My arm was tired!

We poured the batter into the popover pan (you can also use a large muffin pan), put into the oven and waited.  Halfway through, I turned the temperature down to 350.

I took these out after 40 minutes and they were puffy!  And even better, they didn’t deflate!

They were nice and airy inside as well.  We tried one with salted butter, and another brushed with melted  butter and dipped in brown sugar.  I preferred them with the extra sugar, of course!

Overall, I was pleased with my first attempt at popovers.  Next time I think I’d bake them for another 8-10 minutes as they were slightly doughy on the bottom.  I look forward to experimenting with more types of popovers in the future!

Brown Sugar Popovers (directly from Boston Magazine) 

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

½ tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ c. plus 2 tbsp. packed light brown sugar

2 c. milk, at room temperature

4 eggs

¼ c. (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

·         Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 425 degrees. Butter a popover pan or standard muffin tin, and place it in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until it is hot.

·         In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, and 2 tablespoons brown sugar.

·         In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk (make sure it is at room temperature, or the butter will form lumps), eggs, and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter.

·         Gradually whisk the flour mixture into the milk-egg mixture until thoroughly combined. The batter will be loose and liquidy and not completely smooth.

·         Remove the pan from the oven and pour the batter into the cups, filling the cups to the rim.

·         Bake for 20 minutes, then turn down the temperature to 325 degrees and continue to bake for another 40 minutes, or until the popovers are completely browned and pouffy. Don’t open the oven door to look at the popovers until at least 40 minutes into baking. You want them to be golden brown all over and tall; if you open the oven door too soon, they will deflate once they are out of the oven.

·         Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, or until cool enough to handle.

·         Place the cup brown sugar in a small bowl. Brush the remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter on the tops of the popovers, and then remove the popovers from the pan. One at a time, toss them in the brown sugar, coating each popover completely. Serve immediately if possible (they are best when eaten warm) or within 2 to 3 hours.

Going Bananas

I love bananas.  However, last week was very busy and I didn’t have a chance to eat most of the bananas I had purchased at the store; they were too ripe for me to eat plain (I’m picky about bananas!) so I decided to salvage them in the form of banana bread!

This is adapted from a recipe I found on allrecipes.com.  It was fairly easy to make.  I had purchased some miniature loaf pans at the grocery store and decided to use those – this recipe makes 4 mini loaves.

First, I got out all my ingredients.

Then I mashed up four bananas.

It gets more appetizing, I promise!

In one bowl, I combined flour, baking soda and salt. 

In a separate bowl, I creamed butter and brown sugar, then added 2 eggs.

I mixed that together and added the bananas, then added the banana mixture to the dry ingredients.

I poured into the loaf pans and popped into the oven.

45 minutes later – voila!  Banana bread!

Next time, I would stir this by hand instead of using a mixer – the batter was a little too liquid and as a result the bread was very dense (at least, I think this is why it was so dense!).  I wrapped the loaves tightly in plastic wrap and froze three of them for later ;)

Banana Bread

2C all-purpose flour

1TSP baking soda

¼ TSP kosher salt

½C unsalted butter, softened

¾C light brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

3 overripe bananas

·         Preheat oven to 350

·         Grease 4 mini loaf pans

·         Mash up four bananas and set aside

·         In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.

·         In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar.  Stir in eggs and bananas.

·         Stir banana mixture into dry mixture; stir until just moistened

·         Pour batter into loaf pans

·         Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack.

Lemon Cupcakes with Blueberry Vanilla Frosting

I decided to make cupcakes this weekend.  I decided I’d been baking too much with chocolate (and peanut butter!) lately.  The weather was beautiful and I had some fresh blueberries on hand, so I decided to try lemon cupcakes with blueberry frosting.  It sounded nice and light and spring-like!  This recipe is adapted from my grandmother’s old vanilla cupcake recipe.

First I got together my ingredients, preheated the oven and lined a cupcake pan.

I creamed softened butter with white sugar, then added eggs and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, I whisked together bread flour, baking powder and salt, then slowly added to the butter mixture, alternating it with buttermilk.  After that I zested (is that a word?) the outer skin of 1 large lemon and added that to the mixture then made sure it was all mixed together!

 I should add that I had never used a zester before and didn't realize how sharp it was!  My poor fingers are all scraped up after using it.

I poured into the cupcake pan and put into the oven to bake.

I baked these for 19 minutes; they probably could have come out a minute earlier.  But boy did the lemon smell delicious!

While the cupcakes were cooling, I got to work on the frosting.  I chopped up ½ c blueberries, 1tsp sugar and 1 tbsp water in a food processor and set aside. 

In a large bowl, I creamed butter and vanilla then slowly added confectioners sugar, 1 cup at a time.  I then added ¼ c milk and the blueberries.

I decorated the cupcakes with my Wilton Dessert Decorator Pro. 

These are a great treat for spring/summer, and the sweetness of the blueberry was a great complement to the lemon cake. 

I also had to show off this fun new gadget.  My mom picked this up for me - its an individual cupcake carrier - for when you get that lunchtime craving!  Isn't it cute?  I wish I knew where she picked it up because this would be a great gift item.

Vanilla Lemon Cupcakes

1/2c unsalted butter, softened

2/3 c sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

Zest of 1 lemon

1 ½ c bread flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

¼ c buttermilk

·         Preheat oven to 350 and line a cupcake pan

·         In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. 

·         Add eggs, one at a time, and mix well

·         Add vanilla and mix well

·         In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt

·         Slowly add dry ingredients and buttermilk to the butter mixture

·         Zest the outer layer of one large lemon and add to batter

·         Mix well and pour into cupcake liners

·         Bake for 17-19 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean

Blueberry Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

1c unsalted butter, softened

5-6c confectioners sugar

¼ c milk

2 tsp vanilla

½ c blueberries

1 tsp granulated sugar

1 tbsp water

·         In a food processor, combine blueberries, granulated sugar and water and set aside

·         In a large bowl, cream butter and slowly add confectioners sugar, 1 cup at a time

·         Slowly add vanilla, milk and blueberries

·         Mix until fluffy

Decorate as you wish and enjoy!

Baking for a Cure!

Next week I’ll be participating in Bake for Hope.  I found out about this event at Cupcake Camp, at Jen from Beantown Baker’s  booth. 

Per the website, Bloggers Bake for Hope is a virtual bake sale. Bloggers will donate their time, ingredients, and shipping costs so there are no expenses associated with this virtual bake sale. All proceeds from the bake sale will be sent to the Massachusetts Komen for the Cure. The virtual bake sale will take place on May 4-6, 2011.  Buyers will make virtual pledges on the Bloggers Bake for Hope site, and at the close of the bake sale the highest bidders will be awarded the donated baked goods. They will make their donations via PayPal, and the bakers will then bake and ship their goods. Because the bakers are donating their ingredients, time, and shipping costs, there are no expenses associated with the virtual bake sale. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the Massachusetts Komen for the Cure.  

I’m going to be making my M&M Cookies with Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chips  for this event.  You can view these and all the other items available for auction here.  I hope that on May 4^th you’ll head over to the site and bid on some baked goods (there are some awesome looking treats on there)!!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Bark

Martha Stewart Living is one of my favorite magazines.  While some of her projects can be a little over-the-top for the average human, there are a lot of great ideas and recipes in it.  I had a page saved from the 2010 holiday issue on several different types of ‘bark’ to make, and since I had some leftover candy from Easter, I decided to make the Chocolate Peanut Butter version – you can view the original recipe here.

This was really easy.  You just need some chocolate bars (bittersweet and milk chocolate) and peanut butter! 

The first step is to line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Next, melt the bittersweet chocolate. 

I don’t have a double boiler, so I just placed a small glass mixing bowl over a pot of simmering water.   I also didn’t get to take a ton of pictures – it was too hard to do that while constantly stirring the chocolate and holding the bowl steady!

Melt the bittersweet chocolate and then pour onto the baking sheet.  Spread evenly.

Melt the milk chocolate and peanut butter together. 

Mine wasn’t quite as pretty as Martha’s...

Then pop into the refrigerator for 1-2 hours to get firm, and break up the bark into little pieces!  I had to refrigerate mine closer to 2 hours, since I used all natural peanut butter and it didn’t firm up as quickly as I’d imagine ‘regular’ peanut butter would.

Told you it was easy.  I’d also suggest doing all the ‘prep’ work first – break up the bittersweet and milk chocolate in 2 separate piles, measure out the peanut butter and set out the baking sheet and bamboo skewer.  This is definitely not the type of recipe where you want to measure as you go!

This is super easy, and the active time is only about 15 minutes.  The cleanup is really quick too!  This would be a great treat to make to hand out over the holidays or set out at a party.  You can also press different types of candy or sprinkles into it to make it look more seasonal or add a little something extra – I foresee myself experimenting with this a lot more in the future, now that I know how simple it is!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Bark

12 oz bittersweet chocolate (I used 3 Ghirardelli 60% cacao bars)

4.4 oz milk chocolate (I used a Hershey’s milk chocolate bar)

¼ c creamy all-natural peanut butter

1 bamboo skewer - don’t eat this! ;)

·         Spray a baking sheet with vegetable oil and line with parchment paper.  Set aside.

·         Melt the bittersweet chocolate in a double boiler or a glass or metal mixing bowl set over a pot 1/3 full of simmering water

·         Once bittersweet chocolate is completely melted, pour onto baking sheet and spread evenly

·         Melt the milk chocolate and peanut butter together until completely melted

·         Pour milk chocolate peanut butter mixture over the bittersweet chocolate

·         Use the bamboo skewer to create a swirled effect

·         Refrigerate until firm (at least 1 hour)

·         Remove from refrigerator and break apart