Tag Archives: Food

Chocolate Cake + Raspberry Cream Frosting

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I made you a cake.

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I know. It’s the least I could do after disappearing off of this little blog for an entire week.

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I feel bad, I feel terrible for leaving for a week without a word. But, I am now a college graduate and resident of Philadelphia!

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My mom and I had a long week of moving out of a tiny apartment that seemed to accumulate a lot of stuff in just three years.

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But, that work is now over and I am back to making things to show all of you. 🙂

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This cake is special. It’s a celebration cake.

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It was made in my new stand mixer that I showed you a couple of weeks ago.

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It was such a wonderful surprise to get a mixer. I was with Greg, his mom and his stepdad. We walked into a store, and to my great surprise I went home with a brand new beautiful KitchenAid!

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It was and is so wonderful, sweet, thoughtful, kind and exciting. I got to make this delicious cake in my tiny apartment. I have made cake there before, but this time was better, it was easier.

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I love my mixer, and I know that I will put it to good use in my new tiny apartment. 🙂

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I used this recipe for chocolate cake, from my trusted baking source Sally’s Baking Addiction. The frosting recipe is below. This cake is amazing. It’s the the perfect cake to satisfy a chocolate craving. And an excellent summer dessert. Chocolate + raspberry in every single bite is just too good.

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Ingredients
1 stick of butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese (1/2 of a block), softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/8 cup raspberry schnapps

Using a stand or handheld mixer, beat together softened butter and cream cheese. Mix well, until they are completely combined and soft and whipped in texture. Slowly add powdered sugar and continue to mix until completely incorporated. Add in the raspberry schnapps and mix until just combined.

I used this recipe for chocolate cake. It made two 8-inch round cakes. I baked the cakes and let them cool completely. Once cool, I placed one cake on a dish, topped it with half of the frosting and then a layer of fresh raspberries. I placed the second cake on top of the first and then finished by spreading the rest of the frosting on top and adding more fresh raspberries.

Asparagus + Mushroom + Spring Onion Quiche

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I can’t believe that this is only the second quiche that I am sharing with you.

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I am in love with quiche. It has always been a favorite dish of mine.

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I got a call from my mom on Saturday morning and she asked me if I was hungry.

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She told me that she made the best quiche ever, did I want any? I had just finished breakfast but figured that by the time I got ready and drove home, I would be ready to try this quiche.

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I pulled in, walked through the door and my mom sliced me a huge slice of quiche. It took one bite for me to agree. This was the best quiche ever!

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I don’t know what it is.  It may be the combination of fresh, spring veggies. Or maybe my mom found the perfect egg to cream ratio. Whatever it is, this quiche is just right.

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Ingredients
*This makes two 9-inch quiches
1 bunch of asparagus
4 green spring onions
8 oz. mushrooms
2 – 9 inch round pie crusts
8 eggs, divided
1 cup half and half, divided
Olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
Salt, pepper and garlic salt
1 cup cheese, divided (I used mixed Italian and freshly grated parmesan)

Preheat oven to 350*. Roll out the dough and lightly grease two 9-inch pie pans. Push the dough into the pie pans.

Prep your veggies. Chop the asparagus, onions and mushrooms so that they are all about the same size. Drizzle some olive oil into a pan over medium heat and once hot, add asparagus first. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until asparagus begins to get soft. Then add the onions, cooking another 2 minutes to get them soft. Next, add the mushrooms, salt, pepper, garlic salt (to taste) and butter and cook all veggies together for about 5 minutes. Veggies should be soft and slightly browned when done.

For each quiche, crack 4 eggs into a bowl. Whisk well with 1/2 cup of cream.

To assemble each quiche, first put the veggies onto the bottom of each crust. Then add 1/2 cup of cheese to each, on top of the veggies. Next, pour the egg mixture over the veggies and cheese.

Place the quiche in the oven. Set the time for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, stir the quiche filling around. It should be slightly set already, but that is okay. Cook for an additional 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Blackberry Slump

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Who has heard of a slump?

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Not a senior slump, like the one I am now experiencing. No, I mean a fruity dessert slump.

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I had not heard of a slump until yesterday, when I decided I wanted to make a fruity, cobblery dessert with my cast iron skillet and found this recipe.

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The word slump goes back to colonial times, I read. We now generally call this a cobbler, but it is referring to the same delicious, beloved summertime dessert.

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This is the best dessert I’ve had in awhile And that is saying something, because I have had a lot of dessert lately.

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So sweet, so good, especially served with a healthy scoop of vanilla ice cream. This is delicious when it has cooled for a bit, but still has a touch of warmth to it. The berries become thick and creamy when mixed with the melted ice cream.

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This slump has made my senior slump seem more manageable.

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For this fabulous recipe, click here. I used blackberries instead of blueberries. Enjoy your Monday everyone!

S’mores Pie

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My mom loves s’mores. And anything chocolate + marshmallow in general. Chocolate marshmallow ice cream, an ice cream sundae with marshmallow topping. Anytime we are in a situation to have a s’more with the marshmallow cooked over a fire, I know my mom will want one, marshmallow slightly charred. I am pretty sure I remember a time when we would eat a s’more almost nightly, without a bonfire, just using our microwave.

So, today, something special. I love you momma!

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I used this recipe. Thank you, B. On a Whim blog, for helping to make Mother’s Day special for my mom.

Sweet Potato + Sage Hand Pies

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Is it okay to share with you three hand pie recipes in one week?

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I was going to wait until next week to show you this one, but I just couldn’t wait!

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These sweet potato hand pies are just so good!

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To start, they are simple. I used store-bought dough. Homemade would be lovely, but if you’re in a time crunch, store-bought is the way to go. Roast some sweet potatoes. Mash them with goat cheese and sage. Stuff into hand pies. Brush with egg wash. Bake. Four ingredients. It’s that simple.

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Second, they are delicious. Kind of remind me of Thanksgiving. I said the same thing about these. Yes, I love Thanksgiving meal so much that I could be happy eating food that reminds me of it all year long. Or the actual meal itself. I would have no problem at all eating a Thanksgiving meal right now. Anyone else?

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Back on the topic of how delicious these are: the sweet potato + sage combination is one of my favorites. It will never get old. It’s a classic. Just add goat cheese and that classic combination just got even better. Add flaky pie dough? Divine.

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Yes, a mini savory sweet potato pie for your Friday. 🙂

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Ingredients:
*This will make 14 hand pies
2 9-inch round pie crust dough
2 medium sweet potatoes
2 oz. goat cheese
1/4 cup fresh sage, chopped
Egg wash — you can either use egg white mixed with water or egg yolk mixed with milk, I tried and liked both
Coarse sea salt, for topping

Start by roasting the sweet potatoes. Preheat the oven to 400*. Peel the skin off and then dice the sweet potatoes. Add the sweet potatoes to a bowl and drizzle them with olive oil and toss well so that they are coated. Place on a baking sheet and roast them in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until they are very soft. Turn the oven heat down to 350*.

Add the roasted sweet potatoes to a bowl with the goat cheese and chopped fresh sage. Using a potato masher or fork, mash everything together well. The texture should be like mashed potatoes.

Prepare your work surface. Lightly flour a flat counter top and get your rolling pin ready. Roll out the two 9-inch pie crusts. Then, cut the circles for the hand pies. I used a 4-1/2 inch round container and it made five rounds. I then rolled the excess dough back out to get two more rounds. I got seven rounds each time from one 9-inch pie crust. You can use a cookie cutter, cup or container to cut the rounds and the size is up to you. I was very happy with 4-1/2 inches. I wouldn’t want to go to much smaller but bigger would be fine.

Once you have the rounds cut out, spoon about 1 tablespoon of the sweet potato mixture onto each. Using a pastry brush, brush egg wash along one side of each round. Fold the round in half, making a half circle, or moon shape. Using your fingers, pinch and fold the edges of the half circle. Then use a fork to push down the edges to really seal the hand pie closed. Make two small slits in the top of each hand pie with a knife and then brush the top with egg wash. I then sprinkled the top with coarse sea salt.

Place the hand pies on the baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the hand pies are just slightly browned on top.

Enjoy!

*Notes:
*I had a little bit of the sweet potato filling left over, so the next day I mixed it with some noodles, reserved pasta water and parmesan cheese. Delicious!