Cinnamon Log

A cross between a loaf of bread and a cinnamon roll, this breakfast item is sweet without being sugary, thick without being dense, and the perfect accompaniment to a Sunday morning....

The key part of a cinnamon log is using yeast.

For those who haven't used it before, it can be tricky to get your bread to rise while using it. To activate the yeast, you need to add it to warm water, before adding it to you bread mixture.

For this recipe, I boiled butter, sugar, milk and salt, and added that to the yeast to create the liquid part of the bread mix. The heat from the initial yeast and water, followed by the butter mixture, causes the yeast to react the way we want it to!

After that, I mixed both whole wheat and white flour, and an egg to the liquid mixture. I also added golden raisins, which will compliment the cinnamon that will be added to the bread later. Then, its time to knead the dough! Kneading helps create the structure of the bread, and turns a lumpy mix like this.....

into this.....

Then its time to let the dough rise. This is where the yeast comes in, creating a reaction within the dough to make the dough double in size. Since yeast reacts to heat, letting the dough rise in a warm place, like a low-temperature oven, helps the reaction take place. I set my oven to 150 degrees, and let the dough rise in a covered, greased bowl for an hour.

Now its time to turn normal bread dough into a cinnamon log!

After rolling out the dough into a large rectangle, I sprinkled a mixture of white and brown sugar, with loads of cinnamon all over the dough.

Then, I rolled it up, starting at the narrow end, to create the log shape.

Now if you wanted to make this recipe more like a traditional bread, you could let it rise for another hour, letting it double once more in size. I wanted mine to be a bit denser than that, so I went right ahead and baked the cinnamon log in a 350 degree oven for about a half an hour.

When its done, just slice the cinnamon loaf into pieces, and try not to eat them all in one sitting :)

Cream Puffs and Pie, Oh My!

For most people, Valentine's day weekend means chocolate, flowers and cards. But for me, it also means baking! I made two recipes this weekend, Pies (mixed berry and key lime) and Cream Puffs!

I'll start with the pies. My friend Lanie and wanted to bake some pies for our guys (yes, i like to rhyme!). So i invited her over to show her how its done.

For pie crust, I use a recipe that my Godmother Peppy taught me years ago. I have been baking with Peppy since I was about five. I would stand in the kitchen with her as she would whip up cakes and tarts, and finally, she let me in on the secret to her amazing pie crust. Light, not too flaky or buttery, perfect for any type of pie. Now this recipe is a secret, so I can't share, but trust me its delicious! It starts with a roux of sorts, which starts in a mug, like the picture above! This is added to a flour mixture, then mixed with your hand to get the perfect consistency- yes, mixing with your hands is messy, but worth it!

After the crust is mixed, separate it into 2 balls and chill. Any pie recipe will work for these pies, so use your own!

Now time for the filling. For my pie, I went Mixed Berry: I used frozen berries (Blackberries, Strawberries, Blueberries and Raspberries), and to counteract the juices melting all over the pie (no one likes a runny pie!) I mixed the berries with sugar and cornstarch, which thickens up the mixture perfectly.

Lanie wanted to make a Key Lime Pie, which involves making a basic custard, and adding fresh limes.

Now that the filling is done, time to roll out the dough! The Key Lime Pie will have a meringue topping, so we only need to add a top crust to my pie. Check out how I transfer the delicate crust from the cutting board to the pie without breaking it in the video below.

Now the pies are ready to go into the oven! While they are baking, it is the perfect time to whip up the meringue for the Key Lime Pie (literally! haha).

In the KitchenAid, I mixed up egg whites, sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt.

This will become stiff, and you can

shape it into those distinctive peaks.

And then our pies are done!

Now onto Part Two: Cream Puffs!

I made these Cream Puffs adapted from 3 different recipes, but the basic structure is always the same: A choux pastry, filled with a vanilla creme center.

To make the choux, you boil a butter and water mixture (with sugar and salt), and then shift flour into the boiling liquid. This creates a light and flexible dough.

Then eggs are added, one by one, to make the mixture more pliable and hold its shape better.

Now its time to pipe the dough and bake it. Because you want your cream puff to be in a circular shape, the best way to bake them is by piping them with a pastry bad onto your baking sheet. This ensures a smooth, even puff and even size between the batch. If you don't have a pasty bag, spooning the dough into a large Ziploc bag and cutting off the tip.

When the puffs come out of the oven,

you have to preserve the shell of the puff by removing the soft, gooey inside of the puff.

The easiest way to do this is by cutting the puff in half with a serrated knife, then scooping out the inside.

Then pop the scooped-out shells in the oven to crisp them up just a bit more. While they are in the oven, you can start to make the pastry creme. I used instant vanilla pudding, with whipped cream and sugar to create a creme that was both light and rich.

After chilling the creme, and letting the puff shells cool, it is time to assemble the cream puffs!

Using the same piping technique I used for the pastry, I pipe about a one inch circle of creme onto each puff, then replace the top.

Repeat about 20 times, then dust with powdered sugar for a sweet- yes that was a pun :)- finish!

Black-Bottom Cupcakes

True Fact: Everybody loves a cupcake. Chocolate or vanilla, sprinkles or frosting.... no matter what, you will usually find that everyone is happier with a cupcake. So for my second recipe, I decided to go with a classic recipe that just couldn't lose: Black-Bottom Cupcakes.

The thing I love most about these cupcakes is the cream cheese filling. Its absolutely delicious, and adds a rich flavor and moist texture to an otherwise plain cupcake. This is only amplified by the chocolate chips that are added to the cupcakes- you can never have too much chocolate!

What makes a black-bottom cupcake special is the cream cheese filling, which is added separately to the cupcake batter. To make the filling, I mixed the cream cheese, sugar and a bit of salt in my mixer, then blended in an egg, followed by lots of chocolate chips- yum!

Now came time to mix the chocolate cupcake batter (which was made with a large amount of Hershey's cocoa powder), then I poured it into cupcake tins, 2/3 of the way full.

Then, I dropped the cream cheese mixture by (heaping) spoonful into the cupcake batter- this will cause the batter to rise, which is why you should be careful not to fill the tins more than 2/3 of the way full like I mentioned above! Otherwise, the cupcake batter will run over, or bake to high and you won't get it out of the pan without a struggle.

Now the cupcakes go into the oven!

I always make sure to check if my cupcakes are done with a toothpick before I take them out of the oven. Sorry about the blurry photo, I think someone should know how to take a photograph without glare as much as she knows how to bake... :)

And then you're done! Because of that delicious cream cheese frosting, you don't need decoration or frosting- it is already baked into the cupcakes! And make sure to eat one while it is still warm, because there is nothing like a warm cupcake, with a gooey cream cheese frosting punctuated by melting chocolate.... Mmmm, I might need to bake another batch right now.....

Tiramisu: Irish Style

Hello!

For my first blog post, I wanted to make something exciting, something classy, and most of all, something delicious. After scanning countless recipes, I decided on Bailey's and Vanilla Tiramisu, a spin on the classic italian dessert I knew my Irish Grandma would approve of.

So to christen my new blog site, I am dedicating this dessert to my Grandma, who has been baking with me since I was a little girl.

To make this dessert, I used Bailey's Irish Cream Liquor, cream, powdered sugar, mascarpone cheese, cocoa, and ladyfingers,

a sponge-like cookie which is nearly impossible to find in your

average grocery store- I went to

three before I found it!

I also used coffee, brewed in my french press coffee pot, which I am obsessed with (thanks Ally for the great Christmas present!). I find that using french press gets really strong, flavorful coffee, which is great to bake with.

Starting the recipe means mixing up the cream mixture in my trusty Kitchenaid mixer.

In went the heavy cream, mascarpone cheese, vanilla and powdered cheese, and out came the delicious white filling- which I snuck a few bites of! Yum!

To assemble the Tiramisu, you soak the ladyfingers in a mixture of coffee, and in this case, Bailey's. I brushed the ladyfingers with the coffee mixture, using a pastry brush, to ensure that they would get an even coating of coffee, without getting soggy. Then you layer the ladyfingers with the cream mixture, creating a multi-level dessert effect.

Alternate the levels of cream and ladyfingers, until you fill your plate. Make sure to evenly spread the ladyfingers, completely covering the Since I used a shallow glass pan, I stopped at two- but depending on your pan, you can make as many as you like! I then sprinkled the top with cocoa powder to finish, then chilled the Tiramisu for a few hours- you can chill it anywhere from 6 hours to overnight, its better the longer it sits. And the recipe is finished! Definitely one my Grandma would approve of :)