Chocolate Strawberry Nutella Cake

I turned 30 on Thursday.  When people found out it was my birthday and asked “Is it a big one?” I did the polite thing and said “Yes! 30!” even though, in my opinion, every birthday of mine is a big one.   After all, it is a celebration of the moment when I graced the earth but I did not want to sound more self-conceited than I already looked with my tiara and birthday sash on.   

In all seriousness though, 30 is a bit of a mind-bender for me.  Here I am, no longer living an age that begins with a 2 which, when I entered that period (now a full decade ago), I was in college and felt like I didn’t have much to worry about until post-education.  Now, having lived those 20-something years, I’m not in the middle of anything really except . . . living.  There isn’t any graduation or other indicator to tell me that this is the moment I should have my act together.  Apparently, I already should have that.

If you had asked my 20-year-old self what I expected my 30-year-old self to have accomplished by the time she enters a new decade, I shudder at the things she would have said because, in all likelihood, I have not done/bought/born any of them.   

But this is no time for regrets.  Because I can guarantee that my 20-year-old homebody-self would never have seen her 30-year-old self successfully living in a city that she has found intimidating-ly awesome since she first visited at the age of 11.  Or that she would have found a relatively normal existence in such an abnormal living arrangement that all folks living in New York seem to understand.  Or that she would have managed to keep a diabetic cat alive for 8 years (Just barely though, we did have to go to the vet on my birthday – he is his mother’s child, always trying to steal the spotlight). 

So, I must say, my 20-year-old self might be surprised but I’m confident she would be proud.   And probably a little in awe of her 30-something-self.  And I can’t blame her, I’m often in awe of these things too.  We all should feel this way because, in all honesty, what do our 20-something-selves really know?  Not nearly as much as I do now and I can’t wait to see what my 40-year-old self knows (just kidding, I can wait for that). 

Even so, I imagine all these women representing these stages in my life will have the same fundamental Mary Jordan-ness.  We’ll have the same self-deprecating humor, an extreme sense of protectiveness to those whom she loves, a dedication to all things Duke, the tendency to over-analyze things (see previous six paragraphs) and an utter adoration for anything with sugar in it. 

Chocolate Strawberry Nutella Cake

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Note: The original recipe linked above is for a two-layer cake, but I halved everything and just made a one-layer cake.  I am anticipating my metabolism slowing down now that I'm 30.

For the Cake

1 stick butter

2 heaping tablespoons cocoa powder

½ cup boiling water

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

¼ cup buttermilk

1 egg

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon vanilla

¾ cup Nutella (or more, depending upon if you want a good smearing or a thin layer on top)

For the Strawberries

1 pint of strawberries

1/8 cup of sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

For the Whipped Cream:

1 cup heavy cream

¼ cup powdered sugar

Slice and hull your strawberries.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line one round baking pan with some parchment paper and spray with baking spray.  Melt the butter in the microwave.  Add the cocoa, stirring until smooth.  Add the boiling water and let sit while you prepare the other ingredients.  Mix buttermilk, baking soda, eggs and vanilla together in a bowl.  Set this aside as well.  In a large mixing bowl, mix together the sugar, flour and salt.  Add the hot chocolate mixture, stirring very gently until it is halfway combined.  Pour in the buttermilk mixture and stir very gently until the batter is completely combined.  Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan and bake for 17-20 minutes until just set.  Let the cake cool completely in the pan before doing anything with it  (I was impatient and that’s why my cake has a ‘rustic-edged’ look to it). 

Prepare the strawberries by stirring them with the sugar and the vanilla, letting them sit for 15 minutes.

Using a mixer, whip the cream with the powdered sugar. 

Assemble the cake by turning out your cake from its pan once it has cooled.  Spread the Nutella on top of the cake’s surface.  Spread the whipped cream on top of the Nutella and garnish with your strawberries.  (The juice left over from the macerated strawberries is delicious.  I recommend just drinking it straight from the bowl with a straw.)  Keep chilled until serving.  My cake lasted a few hours before we served it and it held up quite nicely. 

Pecan Tassies

It’s the end of the year already!  I hope everyone’s Christmas was wonderful. My holiday went by so quickly that I only got to reenact Elf scenes twice instead of the preferred half-a-dozen times. 

2013 is hours away and I am inundated with “Best of 2012” lists.  I adore compilations and montages of any sort so the week between Christmas and New Year’s is a thrill for me as I relive the year in pictures, the year in books, the moments that restored our faith in humanity, and basically anything else on this website.

If you will indulge me, I would like to give you two of my Top 5 lists of 2012.  (Items listed are in no particular order.)

Top 5 Meals

·           Momofuku Ko, NYC – I treated Robbie on his 30^th birthday to dinner at David Chang’s fine-dining establishment.  With only 12-seats in the restaurant, and no menu, it was an intimate dinner full of surprises.  And shaved fois gras.  Who knew you could shave fois gras. 

·           Parm, NYC – We ate here several times this year as it is one of our more frequently visited restaurants.  The food is delicious and affordable and the atmosphere makes me feel like I’m cooler than I really am (mainly because they play a lot of Tribe Called Quest and Rick Ross songs that I am able to recognize).

·           Daniel, NYC – Our two-year wedding anniversary was destined to be a special one when we snagged reservations here.  Even though we were on the outskirts of the dining room, the fact that Chef Daniel Boulud made an appearance outside of the kitchen was thrilling and the extra dessert in celebration of our anniversary shows they know how to make someone feel special.   Or just me.

·           Tosaka’s, Newton, NC – After a year in NYC, I have yet to find a restaurant like Tosaka’s.   I ate here every time I came home.  Someone needs to tell me where I can find teriyaki chicken, rice, sweet carrots and unlimited shrimp sauce in the 212 (I’ll even take the 718). 

·           Fatty Cue, NYC – Soon after Hurricane Sandy, and after my second straight week of working from home, I was getting a tad stir crazy.  We decided to join in the #DineOutNYC movement one Saturday night and ventured downtown to Fatty Cue, a BBQ joint with an Asian flare.  It was great to get out and support restaurants that were closed for over a week post-hurricane and my tweet about that meal was one of the three retweets I got this year – proving Joey’s theory that there is no selfless good deed (Friends reference – The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS).

Top 5 Moments  

·           Duke/UNC Basketball - In March, we went to watch the Duke vs. Carolina basketball game in Brooklyn with our UNC friends, Kate and Tom.  After an intense 39 minutes of basketball, the game winning shot by Austin Rivers was one of the most emotional and euphoric endings to a basketball game that I had ever seen.   Robbie showed more emotion that night than I think I had ever seen as he ran screaming up and down the barroom floor causing some hipster to come up to him and say “I don’t even know you but I want to give you a hug in congratulations.”  I think his pure, ecstatic response converted a few Brooklyn-ites into Duke fans. 

·           Adrienne’s birthday - I spoke of that day here, but it must be included since it was such an exciting moment when I learned that there was another female Mullinax in the world.

·           Jazz Club Night – One random Tuesday evening Robbie and I ventured to Dizzy’s Jazz Club, a part of the Lincoln Center Jazz Center.  We spent a lovely two and a half hours listening to Morgan James (from Godspell!) sing Nina Simone.  Although we may have been the youngest people there, it was pretty awesome and, if you buy this cd, you may be able to hear my ‘Amen!’ in the background when she sings ‘Save Me.’

·           Visit to Seattle – My job had their annual meeting in Seattle this year and I was able to finally visit my west coast relatives in their hometown.  My mom accompanied me and we had a wonderful few days seeing the sites with my aunt and uncle and cousin.  They were patient with us as we constantly mispronounced Mount Ranier and while I wrecked havoc on the monorail.

·           Life Events of Friends – 2012 welcomed multiple weddings and babies into the lives of some of my closest friends (one needs only to look at 1/10^th of my Facebook News Feed at any given moment to see what I’m talking about).  Many of them I got to celebrate with in person but others I relied on social media and emails to see the good news.  Seeing all of them so happy was a wonderful moment indeed. 

Here’s to a wonderful 2013!  Let's all shine bright like a diamond for the new year!

Pecan Tassies

From Pampered Chef All the Best

These are perfect to take along with you to your New Year’s party.   They are incredibly easy to make and are enjoyed by pretty much anyone with tastebuds.  Most people can’t resist small versions of anything, much less mini-pecan pies with the word ‘tassie’ in their name.   

½ cup butter, softened

3 ounces cream cheese

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons butter

¾ cup brown sugar (packed)

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup pecan halves (chopped)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Beat butter and cream cheese in a standing mixer until well blended.  Add flour.  Mix until a soft dough forms.  Form a tablespoon of the mix into 1-inch balls and place them into the cups of a mini-muffin pan.   Using your fingers, press the dough into each cup until it covers the bottom and slightly up onto the sides of the wells.  In a separate bowl, melt the butter in the microwave and stir in brown sugar, egg and vanilla.  Add pecans.  Fill each shell with filling just until full (do not overfill). Bake 20 or 25 minutes or until the tassies are a light golden brown color.   Let cool in pan for several minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.  

Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes

Two weeks ago, we were bracing ourselves for a hurricane.  One week ago, we were following the route of a Nor’easter that would bring us a few inches of snow and now, I can legitimately walk around in short sleeves with this 65+ degree weather. 

Congratulations fall 2012, you are officially the most dramatic season ever. 

In all three weather scenarios, these little packages should be welcomed in all of their creamy, deliciousness with pockets of crunch and a surprise crust of a single Oreo cookie.  Cheesecakes aren’t my usual go-to dessert (they are similar to pies in my book) but these hit the spot.  Not to mention that the recipe calls for a specific number of Oreos that I insisted upon because, let’s be honest, even though I know I’ll only use 5 from the extra package, you can never have too many Oreos. 

They make a perfect side dish to these cupcakes themselves.  And the requisite glass of milk.   Which I may or may not have dipped an entire mini-cheesecake into. 

Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes

Adapted from my home girl Martha

42 Oreos

2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temperature and lightly beaten

1 cup sour cream

Pinch of Salt

Preheat over to 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Line up your baking sheets and place muffin liners in 30 wells.  Place an Oreo in the bottom of the 30 lined cups.  If you are working in batches because you have a Lilliputian oven and can only fit one muffin tin in it at a time, go ahead and do this step so you are ready to move one tray in the oven when another tray comes out.  Coarsely chop the remaining 12 Oreos.  Set the crushed Oreos aside.  Slice the cream cheese into large pieces to make it easier to mix and put into a bowl.  With a mixer on medium-high speed, beat the cream cheese until it is smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.  Gradually add sugar and beat until combined.  Beat in vanilla.   Drizzle in the eggs, a little at a time and beat after each addition.  Beat in sour cream and salt.  Stir in the chopped cookies by hand.  Divide the batter among your Oreo-based muffin liners.  Bake about 22 minutes or until filling is set, rotating halfway through.  Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely.   Place in a fairly tight container so that they support each other (but aren’t smashed) and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.  If you have enough muffin tins and/or room in your refrigerator, chill them in the tins.  

Nutella Cupcakes

As we enter September, I am very aware of the cyclical nature of New York City.  I am now entering my second year as a NYC resident and I am seeing the same festivals, events, and trends that came around last September.  The New York Film Festival is only a few weeks away.  The San Gennaro Festival is at the end of the month.  New York Fashion Week was this week.  As I did last year, I will be attending all but one of these.  I sit Fashion Week out because a) the other two involve movies and food which I can afford and b) let’s be honest, fashion week?  Only if I could sit next to Suri and we could trade sarcastic quips.

I’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to post about these cupcakes.  I made them earlier in the year for a friend’s baby shower and I should apologize now for keeping them to myself for so long.  I figure celebrating my one-year in NYC (albeit a month late) will be a good enough reason. 

Similar to my Rolo Cupcakes, these have the following characteristics:  they are guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser; they will create a sugar coma that will make you want to steal the insulin of the nearest diabetic cat; and they will make you feel like you are an equal to those bakeries that charge $5 a cupcake.  But don’t do that.  These should be shared and doled out with some love and a smile.  Otherwise, that sugar coma would become a serious health hazard.

 

What are the odds that a Nutella commercial would come on as I take pictures of Nutella cupcakes?  This is the one where the mom is giving her kids a 'healthy breakfast' of bread and Nutella.  Or, as I like to call it, introducing the concept of denial to her children.

Nutella Cupcakes

Adapted from My Baking Addiction

For the Cake

1 18.25 ounce package Devil's Food Cake mix

1 5.9 ounce package instant chocolate pudding mix

1 cup sour cream

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup warm water

1 tsp vanilla

1 13-ounce jar of Nutella

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners. Using the paddle attachment of a mixer, beat together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, eggs, water and vanilla until smooth. Evenly divide the batter amongst the tins. Bake for 18-22 minutes until top is springy to the touch. Cool the cupcakes thoroughly on the wire rack.  Cut a small hole in the middle of each cupcake, being sure not to go all the way through to the bottom.  I used a strawberry corer for this part.  Spoon a little bit of Nutella into each hole and smooth it down so it is even across the top.

For the Nutella Buttercream Frosting

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 13-ounce jar of Nutella

pinch of fine grain salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1.5 pounds confectioners’ sugar, sifted

6-8 tablespoons heavy cream or milk

Using a stand mixer, cream butter and Nutella until combined, about 5 minutes.  Slowly add the confectioner’s sugar and continue mixing until blended.  Add salt, vanilla and 3 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk.  Mix on low speed until moistened.  Add another tablespoon as you mix until you reach the desired consistency.  Beat at high speed until frosting is smooth and fluffy, about three minutes.  Pipe buttercream frosting onto cooled cakes and top with a hazelnut candy bar or cookie.  

Browned Butter Peanut Butter Crispy Rice Treats

We are in our fourth heat wave of the summer according to New York City weathermen.  They define a heat wave as a sequence of days with highs over 90 degrees.  I define heat wave as any sequence of days where the high is over 82.  I have been in a perpetual heat wave since May.   I have been told that I need to ‘embrace summer’ and that I am ‘from the South where it is even hotter!’ which are valid arguments except I have never experienced as suffocating a heat as when you are waiting on the D train at Broadway/Lafayette subway station with no air circulation and the only breeze that could possibly exist comes when the train I do NOT need pulls in but is then stifled due to the heat that the multi-ton metal machine exudes in your face before pulling out.  Try to embrace that, I say.

Nevertheless, I am trucking away with our window air conditioning units (thank God for those) and seeking relief by plotting my walks to the subway via routes that include doormen-operated apartment buildings and clothing stores that keep their doors open.  This allows me to stand idly in front of them for three-minute stretches before moving to the next one and eventually heading down into the inferno of the subway platform. 

 

You can imagine how the last thing I want to do then is turn on an oven.   My daily pension for a baked treat is taking a severe beating.  However, I have found these little goodies satisfy me – they are just as basic and warm-fuzzy inducing as a cupcake and have a fancy twist thanks to the browned butter.  And they come from one of my favorite blogger's first cookbook!  

Browned Butter Peanut Butter Crispy Rice Treats

Adapted (moderately) from the Joy the Baker Cookbook

1 stick butter

1 bag mini-marshmallows (10 ounce)

½ cup smooth, natural peanut butter (I used JIF naturals)

¼ teaspoon salt

6 cups of crispy rice cereal

Butter an 8 or 9-inch square pan.  In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt butter until browned over medium heat.  Butter will become foamy and frothy before you notice browned bits on the bottom.  As the browned bits form, stir in the marshmallows, peanut butter and salt.  Stir until the marshmallows have melted and the mixture is smooth and creamy. Turn off heat, remove pan from the heat and add rice cereal.  Stir fast so that the cereal is coated evenly.  Turn mixture into your buttered square pan and, using your fingers, press mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan.  Let cool before slicing. 

Big Pink Rhubarb Cake

The past year has been an exciting one for me what with all the new city, job and moving distractions but nothing compares to the thrill that I've gotten to witness through many of my friends becoming mothers.  As Mother's Day approaches this Sunday, I think about those friends who will celebrate their day for the first time.  Seeing their perseverance through sleepless nights, worried trips to the doctor and the transition into a family of three sets a standard that I hope to follow someday when my brood includes something other than a 22-pound-cat.  

A few examples -- there is my supervisor turned best friend in Charlotte who conveniently had her first child the day after I left for New York City - giving us both something to keep our minds off the fact that we wouldn't be seeing each other nearly every day.  There are our friends only a few blocks from us in New York who we thought were going to be our 'double-date' couple but instead, on our first double date in NYC, gave us news that they were on their way to starting their family.   This news helped make this move to the Big Apple one with purpose as I got to be included in baby showers and preparations prior to the baby's arrival.  And then there is my sister-in-law who has confirmed that I will be an aunt again in November (although I'm sure she hopes it is more like October) and will give me something else with which I will share my heart alongside Robbie, John and Newt.

It wouldn't be any Mother's Day without paying homage to my own mother.  I have talked about her here and I can't say it enough but she holds the award for the 'perfect mom' role model.  You've set quite a high standard I must say.

To all you mothers out there -- I hope your Mother's Day is one filled with comforting, spring-like, and pink surprises - just like this cake.

Big Pink Rhubarb Cake

Adapted from TheKitchn

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

Yolks of 4 large eggs, beaten

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2-3 cups rhubarb, sliced into small-ish slices

1/4 cup of sugar

1 package fat free strawberry Jello

3 cups mini marshmallows

Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cream the sugar and butter together, then add yolks, milk and vanilla.  Mix.  Add flour, baking powder and salt to the bowl and mix until combined.  Scatter the rhubarb evenly across your pan and sprinkle the 1/4 cup of sugar across the rhubarb.  Scatter the packet of jello on top of the sugared rhubarb.  Next, layer the marshmallows even over the sugared rhubarb.  Bake for about 35 minutes or until the cake is set.  Allow to cool completely before topping with powdered sugar, if you so desire.

New York Cheesecake with Cherry Topping

Oh, President’s Day. A weekend when you get one more Monday off before the long stretch to Memorial Day and a weekend when you can buy any mattress for 50% off.

I’m not sure there are many President’s Day weekend traditions (except for the aforementioned mattress day sale at your local department store) but every President’s Day Weekend for as long as I can remember my mom has made a Cherry Pie. It wasn’t until recently that I put two and two together and realized she probably does this because of that George-Washington-and-the-Cherry-Tree story and not because she is a few days late celebrating Valentine’s Day.

I’m not usually a pie person. I think it is because a pie is so portion controlled. With ice cream, you can easily scoop an extra spoonful out. And with cake, it is quite easy (and rational) to trim the edges of your cake from where you just made a slice so it is even and then, subsequently eat the trimmings you just removed. With pie – if you even attempt to even anything out, it involves a knife and a spoon and by the time you are trying to keep the filling from continuously oozing out by scooping it onto your plate, someone has discovered you hovering over the pie plate with cherry filling smeared across your face. And then someone gets the next slice which has a third of the amount of filling as you have in your slice. And, as we learned from George Washington, you have to fess up because one cannot tell a lie.

Now that I have you all ready for a pie recipe -- I’m actually going to give you a Cheesecake Recipe but with a delicious, homemade cherry topping! How many of you just use cherry pie filling to top your cheesecakes? I am not going to lie (George Washington!), I have done it before too. Although the cheesecake may seem slightly labor-intensive, the cherry topping is about as easy as it gets. Happy President’s Day!

PS - This week two years ago I devoted my blog ramblings towards the more focused topic of cooking and baking. For two years I have enjoyed sharing my musings and food explorations with family and friends. I appreciate every click and comment and Facebook Like I can get. Knowing that folks enjoy my writing and my cooking is what keeps me posting.

New York Cheesecake with Cherry Topping
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

For the Crust
8 ounces finely ground graham crackers (Smitten Kitchen literally gives you the number of sheets you need and I just smashed them with my rolling pin because I didn’t want to haul my food processor down from overhead storage)
1 stick butter, melted
½ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt

Stir together crust ingredients and press into the bottom and sides of a buttered springform pan until you have about one inch left open at the top of the pan. Pop it in the freezer while you assemble the filling.

For the Cheesecake
5 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened (I knew when I saw five packages that this cheesecake was no joke)
1 ¾ cups sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon orange zest
5 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 550 degrees (as someone who is terrified of my gas oven, it took me ten minutes to work up the courage to even turn the oven up this high). Beat the cream cheese, sugar, flour and zests together with an electric mixer until smooth. Add vanilla, then eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated. Make sure you periodically scrape down the sides of the bowl so all the ingredients are well-incorporated.

Place the springform pan in a shallow baking pan. Pour filling into crust and bake it in the middle of the oven for 12 minutes or until puffed. (I think I should’ve turned mine down a little once the cake started turning brown on the top. Apparently, this is perfectly ok to do so will do that next time.) Reduce the temperature to 200 degrees and continue baking about one hour more or until cake is mostly firm but the center still jiggles slightly.

Run a knife around the top edge of the cake to loosen it and cool it completely in springform pan on a rack. Loosely cover it, and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours. Once chilled, remove the sides of pan before serving (obvi.).

For the cherry topping
10 ounces sweet or sour cherries (frozen is fine)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon corn starch
½ cup water

Place all ingredients together in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling, cook it for an additional one to two minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely before serving (even though it will be tempting to just throw it on a slice immediately).

Rolo Cupcakes

It's that time of year when everywhere you turn there are pumpkin pies, apple desserts, turkey dinners and other fall staples. Williams-Sonoma has added autumn touches to all of their merchandise (this was under the category baking essentials -- explain to me how this is essential?), grocery stores are running 'specials' on canned pumpkin even though we are probably paying double what they charge in April (can you even get canned pumpkin in April? Note to self, make something pumpkiny this spring to find out.), and in my neighborhood, everyone is pumped about a little parade that is held on Thanksgiving where they blow up the balloons just a few blocks south of us.

Now that I have you all harvest-focused, I am going to break the reverie for a moment to present these cupcakes that are so sweet and so chocolaty and so delicious (and so beautiful!) that you won't miss the warm colors or the smell of cinnamon. Instead, think more along the lines of so-much-sugar-you-feel-your-heartbeat-increase and the-fun-doesn't-stop-on-the-outside since each of these has a surprise center that gets you every time. Hello Rolo Cupcakes, where have you been all my life?

I made these a few weeks ago to share with a few of our friends as well as to try to woo Robbie's coworkers into offering him a full-time position instead of the freelancing position he held. He is now a full-benefit employee as of last month and I have established my baking cred amongst our group of friends here in the city. I attribute both of these accomplishments to these cupcakes.

Rolo Cupcakes

Adapted from My Baking Addiction

For the Cakes

1 18.25 ounce package Devil's Food Cake mix

1 5.9 ounce package instant chocolate pudding mix

1 cup sour cream

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup warm water

1 tsp vanilla

24 frozen Rolos (I let mine freeze overnight)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners. Using the paddle attachment of a mixer, beat together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, eggs, water and vanilla until smooth. Evenly divide the batter amongst the tins. Push a frozen Rolo in the center of the batter, being sure to smooth the batter over the candy. Bake for 18-22 minutes until top is springy to the touch. Cool the cupcakes thoroughly on the wire rack.

For the Frosting

4 sticks unsalted butter; room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/3 cup caramel syrup

1 1/2 pounds confectioners' sugar

Cream the butter in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add the extract, salt and caramel syrup and combine well. Begin adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add more caramel syrup if you want more of a caramel taste. I ended up adding another 1/3 of a cup.

For the Ganache

4 ounces bitter sweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla (I have a confession, I accidently left the vanilla out of the ganache. To my knowledge, no one noticed.)

24 Rolos for garnish

In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the heavy cream until very hot but not boiling. Place the chocolate pieces in a heat safe bowl (I used a Pyrex measuring cup). Place chocolate pieces in a heat safe bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and allow to sit for about 5 minutes. I used this time to begin frosting the cupcakes. Whisk the cream and chocolate until smooth and thoroghly combined. Whisk in the honey, corn syrup and vanilla (if you can remember the vanilla). Allow to cool for about 15 minutes. I used this time to finish frosting the cupcakes. You do not want it to harden so that you can't spoon it over the frosting so you may want to check back on it. Once cakes are frosted with the caramel buttercream, spoon the glaze over the tops of the cupcakes. Top each cupcake with a Rolo and stand back for the stampede.

Grilled Peaches

I couldn’t believe it when I swiped my subway card one morning last week and the words “insufficient fare” flashed up leading to me awkwardly backing out of the stall much to the irritation of the ten people practically running me over Pamplona-bull style as they tried to get to the train before the train operator – who sees you running at breakneck speed –inevitably shuts the door in your face. I digress. Those two words “insufficient fare” meant that I had been in NYC for thirty days. I had used up my first metro card. I took a moment to savor this instant before being pushed aside by the next rush of people.

In these past thirty days I have celebrated a birthday, experienced an earthquake on the 18th floor of a high rise, scared my mother to death by calling her and exclaiming “Mom, you aren’t going to believe this! We just had an earthquake!” and educated my co-workers on the proper Hurricane preparation techniques North Carolinians get used to (fill the tub with water, buy bottled water and stock up on non-perishables like apples, boxed milk, Fig Newton’s and M & M’s.) I have explored several neighborhoods in Brooklyn, checked out a local comedy club on a Saturday night and had my fair share of New York style cheese pizza.

And now the summer is winding down. The day after tomorrow is September 1st and you can already feel that crispness in the air. The breeze off of the river is much chillier than it was two weeks ago and the leaves that Irene left on our trees will inevitably start showing a tinge of Autumn soon. But what a summer it has been. To celebrate the winding down of the past few months, I decided to send Summer off with one more peachy-keen dish. Literally. This dish was a simple, light and delicious dessert that I will plan on having again – only for breakfast. Because I like to pretend I’m adult enough to have a fruit dessert but in reality I just want a giant hot fudge sundae with sprinkles and will save my sophisticated fruit concoctions for a time more appropriate for those ingredients – like breakfast.
Grilled Peaches
Adapted from Weight Watchers

cooking spray
1/4 cups low fat cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons reduced fat sour cream
1 tablespoon honey (I would increase this -- or at least add an extra drizzle once the dish is plated. You can never have too much honey.)
3 peaches, pitted and halved

Heat a grill pan (or a regular grill if you live in more than a ten by ten foot space and have the luxury of an outdoor space) and spray with cooking spray. Place peaches cut-side down until marked. (Mine never got marked and I kept them on there a couple of minutes. But they were still sweet and delicious.) While peaches are grilling, mix cream cheese, sour cream and honey in a bowl until smooth. Place cooked peaches on a platter, cut side up. Garnish with a spoonful of the cheese mixture and drizzle with extra honey.

Peanut Butter Pound Cake with Chocolate Chips

We’re already 9 days into April and I am just now posting something. My apologies, dear readers. I got through April Fool’s Day with minimal occurrences (in fact, most of my exposure to tomfoolery was informing Robbie of the many times he was tricked without knowing it . . . bless his heart . . . really Robbie? You thought Wake Forest was bringing Martin Scorsese to campus to speak to the Law School?). Nevertheless, I must have jinxed myself because, oh my, what a week I had. You see, I tend to surround myself with routine for the simple reason that I appreciate boringness. I like the humdrum, daily pattern of life. I do not like when that is messed up. And this week it was.

But you know what wasn’t messed up? This pound cake. I love it when you read a recipe and you realize that you have every ingredient on the list. That is such a good feeling because you know that you will be enjoying the benefits of your labor sooner than if you had to make a list, go to the store on a Saturday, return home, unload your groceries, recover from the exertion required to take a trip to the store on a Saturday, and then, finally, gather the energy to make the recipe. (I realize there are only six ingredients listed with this recipe but still, work with me here, don’t make me add you to my irritations-in-life this week.)

This recipe comes from Flo Braker. (With a name like that she was destined to be a baker. It screams homemade, domestic, and awesome mom all at the same time. ) She has been the baking columnist (that’s what I want to be when I grow up too) for the San Francisco Chronicle since the late 1980s and her books are inspiring. Flavor combinations that you have never thought of suddenly seem so obvious and complex desserts become utterly attainable. I highly recommend baking one of her recipes. Especially after a week like mine. It will make you remember that even if things go awry during the week, you can spend a couple of hours measuring ingredients and following directions and things will turn out just delicious.

Peanut Butter Pound Cake with Chocolate Chips
Adapted From Baking for All Occasions with chocolate chip input from Piece of Cake

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup creamy peanut butter
5 large eggs, lightly beaten, at room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ - 1 cup chocolate chips of the semi-sweet variety

Butter and flour a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan. In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium-low peed until smooth (about 1 minute). Scrape down the sides of the bowl. On medium speed, add the sugar in a steady stream and beat until the mixture is light, continuing to occasionally scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the peanut butter and beat until fluffy and well incorporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Maintaining the same speed, add the eggs, bit by bit, beating each addition until incorporated. With the mixer on the lowest speed, add the flour in two additions, mixing after each addition until combined. Using a wooden spoon, fold the chocolate chips into the batter. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and spread evenly.

Bake the cake until golden brown and a round wooden toothpick or skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. I baked mine for 65 minutes and the outside was definitely done (almost burnt at the ends) but still slightly sad (at least that’s what my family calls uncooked middles in a cake). Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan. Remove from pan and cool completely on the wire rack.

Southern Coconut Cake

As every Southern belle knows, one way to impress your friends and family is to bake something for them for their birthday or drop off some cookies ‘just because’ or happen to have a beautiful three-layered cake at the center of one’s table when a visitor drops by that you ‘had just felt like whipping up.’ I come from a long line of strong, Southern women and my paternal grandmother was quite the chef. I can honestly say that up until a few months before she died, I would walk into her house and smell something baking or cooking. I guess I get the kitchen bug from her.

I’m not sure Mimi ever made a coconut cake, as my father (her son) is quite adamant about his dislike for the fruit (Or nut? We had this debate as we ate it.) but had she chosen to make one despite her family’s distaste, I would like to think she would have used this recipe. Granted the cookbook from which this recipe originates is rather new, I am sure she would have appreciated the beauty and gracefulness of the cake and the instant fancy-factor it adds to any place it sits – even on my ottoman in a drab apartment. I at least gussied it up with a broach of my grandmother’s that I wear.

I made this cake for a member of my new family. My brother-in-law’s birthday was last week and I offered to make him a homemade cake. His request was a coconut cake. I, of course, had to go all out – not two layers but three, not just cream cheese icing but buttercream cream cheese icing, and not just any coconut cake, but one called “Southern” coconut cake.

I think Mimi would be proud.

Southern Coconut Cake
Adapted from
Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes

Equipment – Three 8 or 9 inch cake pans, a couple mixers (or a lot of clean bowls and mixer attachments), a candy thermometer, a bag of sweetened coconut.

The Cake

5 egg whites
½ cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups cake flour
2 1/3 cups sugar
4 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter at warm temperature
1 cup unsweetened coconut cake (I went back and forth on whether this meant the kind in the can in the baking aisle or the kind in the milk section. I went with the former.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray the bottoms of three 8-inch round cake pans with vegetable cooking spray and line the bottom of each pan with a round of waxed paper and spray that with vegetable cooking spray. It is helpful if each pan is the same brand and type of pan – I had to borrow a pan from my mom and the third layer came out a little different as far as rise and cooking time. Not too much that it was a disaster, but enough that it was a nuisance.

Put the egg whites in a mixing bowl and whisk slightly. Add the ½ cup milk and the vanilla and mix thoroughly and set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. With the mixer on low, beat to mix well and break up any lumps. Add the butter and coconut milk and, with the mixer still on low, beat to combine. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Add the egg white mixture in 2 or 3 additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl and mixing just long enough to incorporate between additions. Divide the batter evenly among the three pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in their pans for 10 minutes then turn them out onto cooling racks to cool completely.

For the Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

12 ounces cream cheese, slightly chilled
1 stick plus 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup water
3 egg whites

Place the cream cheese in a mixer bowl and beat on medium speed until slightly fluffy and smooth. Add the butter 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, mixing until smooth. Set this aside at room temperature while the buttercream is prepared. To prepare the buttercream, combine the granulated sugar and water in a small, heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Continue to cook, without stirring, until the syrup reaches the soft-ball stage (about 238 degrees Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer.

Meanwhile put the egg whites in a mixer bowl and have the mixer set up and ready to go. When the syrup is ready, turn the mixer to medium-low and begin mixing the egg whites. Slowly add the hot syrup to the whites, taking care not to pour it directly onto the beaters or it may splash. When all of the syrup is incorporated, raise the speed to medium-high and beat until the egg white mixture has cooled to body temperature and a stiff meringue forms (this will take awhile – I didn’t do it long enough).

With the mixer on low speed, begin adding the cream cheese mixture by the spoonful. When all is incorporated, raise the speed to medium and whip until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.

To Assemble the Cake

Lay the first layer, flat side up, on a plate. Put about a cup of the icing onto the top of the cake and spread to the edges. Sprinkle about ½ a cup of coconut on top of the icing. Place the second layer, flat side up, on top of the first. Repeat the icing and coconuting on this layer. Finish with the third layer then ice the sides of the cake. Supposedly you can press coconut onto the sides without too much difficulty but since I didn’t whip my icing enough, I needed to pretty quickly put my cake in the refrigerator once I had frosted the sides. If I had tried to coconut the sides, I would have ended up with a lot of coconut-mixed-with-frosting around the rim of my cake and fairly lightly frosted sides of the cake.

Sandy's Cherry Cobbler

I’ve got twelve days before the farmer’s market near my office opens. That’s twelve days I have to continue the routine of buying only-in-your-grocery-store produce that I am sure has been shipped in from at least five states away. In fact, I believe the last apples I purchased came from Chile. They couldn’t find a Granny Smith apple closer to Charlotte?

As I continue to explore cooking and baking, I realize the best inspiration is drawn from what foods are in season and freshest to one’s locale. I’m not to the point where I only ‘buy local’ or ‘eat organic’ because, frankly, those are sometimes more expensive (especially the organic options) but as spring approaches, I am excited to head to the Farmer’s Market during my lunch and see what my menu will consist of that week. And, let’s be honest, how many of us make a special stop at McLeod's Farms on the way to or from the beach to pick up a peck of peaches because we know no peaches in a grocery store will ever taste that good?

This recipe from Food Network is a compromise. I tried it because it seemed simple enough to make for a quick evening dessert but also to see how I felt fresh fruit would hold up in its directions. I feel like, not only would fresh berries, cherries, pears, etc. hold up quite well, but it would make it infinitely better. No offense to Sandra Lee but sometimes semi-homemade is still better with whatever produce is waiting for you just around the corner. And when I do make those substitutions – I’m calling this “MJ’s Fruit Cobbler.”

Sandy’s Cherry Cobbler
Adapted from Food Network, Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee

One of the things I liked about this recipe is that you use a cast iron skillet. That seemed like it would up my street cred in the baking world so I tried it out. And, I learned all about seasoning your skillet once you are done using it. Thanks, Joy.

1 1/2 cups baking mix (I used Hungry Jack)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon almond extract (next time I make this I would up it a bit because I really like almond extract)
¾ a stick of butter (the original recipe says an entire stick but I think that was too much)
1 (21 ounces) can cherry pie filling
1 cup frozen cherries, thawed
These last two ingredients are where I would add some fresh fruit next time and try to find the proper amount and type of liquid to make up for the lost juice in the pie filling.
Vanilla Ice Cream for topping

Heat a 10-inch cast iron skillet (this is important – I think mine was bigger and it was a bit too low on the topping to fruit ratio) over medium heat and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, combine baking mix, sugar, evaporated milk, and almond extract. Whisk until smooth. Set aside. Add the butter to the skillet and melt. Stir in the pie filling and thawed cherries. Pour batter over top. Bake until golden and toothpick inserted into batter comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes. Mine was done right at 35 minutes and may have been a bit overdone but this also could’ve been due to the wider skillet as well. Remove from oven and let cool 1 hour before serving. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.