Piñata Cake

I have a friend who LOVES boxed yellow cake. It is by far her favorite kind of cake. Last year I made a Burger cake at her bridal shower and the bar has been set. I couldn't just make a regular cake for her birthday this year. So after  I scourged around on pinterest, here's what I came up with...a Piñata Cake!!!










CAKE  
2x Yellow Cake box mix; follow box directions

CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
8oz Semisweet Chocolate
1/3c heavy cream
1/2c butter, room temperature

2-3c confectioners sugar

FILLING
M&M's Candy Cut
Reeses Pieces Candy

Half each box of cake mix and bake in 9" round pans; you will end up with 4 layers to the cake. Let cool completely.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, add cream and stir. Put the ganache in a stand mixer, with paddle attachment, and butter. Add powdered sugar then set aside.

Cut the center out of two of the cakes. These will be the middle layers. Frost and stack the cake with the center layers cut out to leave a hole. Fill the hole with Candy and continue Stacking and frosting the cake closed.

Fin!

Indian Spiced Tomato Chutney

Anyone who knows me knows how much I despise Indian Food. Mostly because of my travels to India where the taste association with being sick is all too real. Plus overcooked greasy stews, No Thank You! But I've started in introduce some of the spices back into the mix, more in a fusion style. Favorite breakfast lately is sauté spinach, roasted sweet potatoes, a fried egg topped with a little bit of this tomato chutney.

3 lbs ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped (firmer roma tomatoes hold their shape better)
1 c Granulated Sugar
2 tbs Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tbs Fresh Grated Ginger
1 tsp Cumin Seeds, toasted and ground
1 tsp Coriander Seeds, toasted and ground
1 tsp Brown Mustard Seeds, toasted
1/8 tsp Ground Cloves
1/2 Cinnamon Stick
1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
2 tsp Kosher Salt

In a heavy pot, add all the ingredients and cook over a medium-high heat. Stir regularly until the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to a medium heat and simmer, stirring often, until the mixture has developed a jam like consistency and flavors have developed, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and discard the cinnamon stick.

Ladle into canning jars, leaving 1/2 inch at the head. Wipe the rims and cover. Boil for 10 minutes.

Pumpernickel Bread

• 
  1 1/4 C warm water2 tbs Sugar3 tsp Active dry yeast1/4c Molassas2tbs Vegetable oil1/4c Corn meal1 tbs Caraway seeds3 tbs Cocoa Powder1 1/2c Bread flour1/2c Whole wheat flour1c Rye flour2 tbs Melted Butter
  Let warm water, sugar and yeast sit for 5 minutes to activate. Add molasses and oil. Then mix in dry ingredients with the dough hook attachment. Let it run for a few minutes, until dough pulls away from the sides. Cover bowl with a damp towel and let sit for 2 hours. Punch down and let rise for another hour. Shape and proof rolls (or loaf). Brush with melted butter.
  For rolls, Bake at 350º for about 10-12 minutes.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Gluten Free and Dairy Free!!! And tastes good?! What the what?! Yes, you can't go wrong with these ingredients.


1c  Peanut Butter
1c Brown sugar
1 Egg
1tsp Baking soda
1tbs Vanilla extract
1/2c Dutch processed cocoa powder

cream peanut butter with sugar, egg, baking soda, and vanilla. Add cocoa powder. Form into balls and press with a fork.

Bake at 350º for 7-8 minutes.

Grilled Peach, prosciutto, arugula salad

Summer Salads are the BEST. While in New Zealand earlier this year, I had this salad at the Depot on Federal in Auckland. Now that it's summer time here I've been re-creating this grilled peach salad. Instead of firing up the grill, alternatively I've also been browning them in a cast iron skilled with some coconut oil.

1 ripe Peach sliced
1 cup baby Arugula
1/4 lb sliced Parma Prosciutto
1 tbs toasted macadamia nuts
1 tbs crumbled Blue Cheese
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 c coconut Oil (optional for cooking the peach)

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon

Growing up, I HATED brussel sprouts. As an adult, I wasn't a fan either...until this. Seriously, Bacon makes everything better.

1lb Brussel Sprouts, cleaned and heads halved.
1/4 lb (about 5 strips) of thick bacon, cut in pieces
2 Tbs Soy Sauce
2 Tbs Brown Sugar

Fry Bacon drain grease and set aside. Reserve about 2 Tbs of the bacon grease to sauté the brussels sprouts, on a high heat, slightly browning the edges. Cover the pan and let them sweat. Once tenderized toss in soy sauce and brown sugar and reduce sauce in the pan. Add cooked bacon last before serving.

Sugar Cookies

In college, my best friend's mom would send her caramels and frosted sugar cookies in her care packages. I used this as the base for my Easter cookies this year. Gonna go eat some bunny's ass now...

Dough
3/4 c Powdered sugar
3/4 c Granulated sugar
1 c Butter
1 Egg
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1/2 tsp Almond extract
1/2 tsp Cream of tartar
1 tsp Baking powder
2 1/2 c All purpose flour

Frosting
1 tsp Melted butter
1 tbs Milk
1/2 tsp Almond extract
1 c Powdered sugar
2-3 drops food coloring

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in wet ingredients and stir in the dry ingredients. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Roll out to about 1/4" thick and cut out cookie shapes.

Bake @ 375˚ for 10-15 minutes

Let cookies cool. Frost.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Truffles

Chocolate Ganache
500g milk chocolate
150g Heavy Cream
2 Cinnamon Sticks
40g butter, room temperature
20g tequila
1 Habenero, chopped

Chocolate Shell
Tempered Chocolate
Cocoa Powder
Cinnamon Powder


Combine cream, cinnamon stick, and chopped habenero. Heat until just a boil. Remove from heat and let cinnamon and pepper steep. Bring back to a boil and strain warm cream over chocolate and butter.

Create an emulsion, add tequila and mix well. Let ganache set. 

Using a scooper, make small balls with the ganache and coat with tempered chocolate. Let the batch set. Add a second coating of chocolate and dredge truffle thru cocoa powder and cinnamon powder.

Kabocha Gnocchi

I bought a kabocha at the farmer's market. I wanted to make chips out of it. Then I changed my mind after scrolling around Pinterest. Instead, I found an incredibly simple way to make them into gnocchi.   I also happened to have some leftover Bolognese sauce, which paired nicely for a hearty lunch.

1 Kachoba Squash

2 Eggs

1 c All Purpose Flour

2 Tbs Olive Oil

1 Tsp Garlic Salt

Salt & Pepper to taste.

Cut Squash in half and drizzle olive oil on halves. Sprinkle with garlic salt and bake (face down) on a cookie sheet at 400 for about 45min-1hr. Let cool and scoop out the flesh into a large bowl. Add 2 eggs and mash using a potato masher. Season to taste with salt & pepper and work in flour to form a thick soft dough.

Working in portions, roll the dough out into long 'snakes'  and cut them into bite sized pieces. Press the tines of a fork into each one to give it that characteristic gnocchi shape. At this point, you can freeze it or refrigerate the gnocchi for future use. Or you can boil it or pan-fry it.