Goodies By Anna

Fresh Strawberry Cake

It's strawberry season again and I will be looking for all kinds of recipes to use up as many of these ripe red berries as possible! This uncomplicated and delicious Fresh Strawberry Cake is a perfect ending to a sunny BBQ or picnic. It's easy to bring along and tastes great with a little dollop of whipped cream!

The cake flavor and texture is simple and lets the sweet taste of the strawberries really shine through. Think strawberry shortcakes but without the hassle, everything is in one cake! Get out your fresh berries, here is how you can make your own.

You can find the entire recipe here. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. This recipe calls for a 10" pie plate but I used a 10" spring form pan instead. Make sure to spray your pan with Pam for Baking. Set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream together 2 cups of the sugar and the butter until light and fluffy (3 minutes). Mix in the egg, milk and vanilla until combined. Slowly add the flour mixture until a batter comes together.

Transfer batter to pan and use an offset spatula to evenly smooth the batter. Top the batter with the halved strawberries being sure to cover and much of the batter as possible. Sprinkle the berries with the remaining 2 Tablespoons of sugar. Bake the cake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees then drop the temperature to 325 and continue to bake for approximately one hour or until the top is golden brown and firm to the touch.

Let cake cool in the pan on a wire rack before cutting into wedges. If you are using the spring form pan, lightly run an offset spatula around the edges of the cake to loosen from the pan and remove the outer ring to let the cake cool completely before cutting into wedges. Serve with whipped cream. 

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

These cookies are a delicious blend of sweet, spicy and a little hot! If you love chocolate and enjoy a little spicy kick then these cookies are for you. The cinnamon and chile powder add an unexpected twist to these crisp chocolatey cookies that makes them perfect for any afternoon coffee break. Here is how you can make your own.

 

You can find the entire recipe here. Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or Silpat and set aside.

Sugar & Spice Coating: In a small bowl whisk together 1/4 cup of the sugar with the cinnamon and chile powder. Set aside.

Cookie Dough: In a medium size bowl whisk together the sifted cocoa powder, flour, cream of tarter, baking soda and salt. I added 1/2 teaspoon of espresso powder to this mixture. Espresso powder helps to bring out the chocolate flavor. (It is important to sift the cocoa powder so that there are no little nuggets in the batter.) Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream together the butter and the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat until well combined. I added in 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract for a little extra flavor. Add the flour mixture and beat until combined and a dough forms.

The recipe calls for a Tablespoon of dough per cookie but I wanted larger cookies so I used a #24 cookie scoop. Scoop out the dough and form into a ball. Roll the ball in the Sugar & Spice Coating and place on the prepared cookie sheet leaving approximately 3" in between each ball. Bake the cookies for 7 to 8 minutes or until the center is set and cracks form around the edges. This will produce a crunchy edge with a softer center (check out my photo of the inside of the finished cookie). The recipe calls for baking a full 10 minutes but I felt the cookies were a little too crisp. However if you like a really, really crisp cookie by all means bake for the full 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to rack and cool completely before storing.

Brown Sugar Walnut Tarts

My sister loves the little Brown Sugar Walnut Tarts from Starbucks so I decided to try my own version and make some at home. The Starbucks tart uses a shortbread crust but I used a traditional pie crust to create a really flakey crisp buttery crust to house the sweet brown sugar, cinnamon, walnut filling. A little drizzle of a simple powdered sugar glaze and I think these pastries might be even better than Starbucks. Here is how you can make your own.

Dough: Start with the pie crust recipe found here. This is enough dough for six 3" x 3" tarts. Make the dough according to the recipe and roll out into a 1/8" thick rectangle shape. Using a ruler, lightly trace out the 3" x 3" squares and place dough in freezer until firm. When dough is firm, use a sharp knife or pastry wheel cutter to cut out the squares. Place squares in refrigerator or freezer to keep firm.

Brown Sugar Walnut Filling:

1 egg white at room temperature

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup toasted walnuts chopped fine

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process until well combined. Transfer filling to small bowl and set aside. This recipe makes plenty of filling (probably enough for 30 tarts!) but i'm not sure how to scale down the recipe. You can always freeze the leftover filling to use later.

Assembly: Preheat oven to 350 degrees with a rimmed baking sheet set on the lowest rack. Remove dough squares from fridge and pair the tops and bottoms. Brush the edges of the bottom square with water or egg wash. Put a scant 1 teaspoon of filling in the middle of square.

Place second square on top and gently press down the edges. Repeat with remaining squares. When all square are finished, use a fork to repress down the edges of each tart to make sure that each tart is sealed. Place sealed tarts into freezer for 30 minutes or until ready to bake.

When ready to bake, brush the tops of the tarts lightly with some egg wash (lightly beat one egg and brush onto dough) and place on heated baking sheet in oven. Bake tarts for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden brown and puffy. Let tarts cool completely before drizzling with glaze.

Glaze: While tarts are cooling make the glaze.

water

powdered sugar

small bowl

Mix some powdered sugar and a little water together to create a semi-thick icing. Drizzle over the tops of the cooled tarts and let set for 15 minutes before serving.

Mile High Lemon Meringue Pie

Lemon meringue pie: when it's good, it's very very good but if it's bad it's a soggy, soupy, slippery mess! Soupy filling, soggy crust and meringue that slips right off.

If you've ever attempted a lemon meringue pie you've probably encountered at least one of these problems but I am here to tell you that this recipe just could be the holy grail of lemon meringue pie recipes and the funny thing is that its made up of three different recipes to create one terrific pie that covers all the basis: firm silky filling, crisp flakey crust and a tender fluffy meringue that stays put. Here is how you can make your own.

Make the crust first so that it has a chance to cool a bit before filling. I love this pie crust recipe because it creates a flakey, crispy crust every time.

 

Pie Dough for 9" Pie (adapted from America's Test Kitchen):

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbls. sugar

6 Tbls. chilled butter sliced into 1/4 inch pieces

4 Tbls. chilled shortening cut into 2 pieces

2 Tbls. cold vodka

2 Tbls. cold water

Extra: some egg white to brush on crust

Keep butter, shortening, vodka and water in the fridge until just ready to use. Whisk together the flour, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. In the bowl of a food processor pulse 3/4 cup of the flour mixture for 1 or 2 pulses. Add the cold butter and shortening and process until the mixture looks like cottage cheese (around 10 seconds). Scrape down bowl and add remaining flour mixture. Pulse until a mass of dough starts to come together or around 4 to 6 pulses. Dump dough into a medium bowl and sprinkle with the cold vodka and water. Using a rubber spatula press and fold the liquid into the flour mixture until a slightly tacky dough comes together. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour before rolling. When dough is chilled roll out into a 12" circle approximately 1/8" thick. Transfer dough to 9" pie pan and press into the bottom and up the sides to fit. Leave overhang dough in place and put into the fridge for 30 minutes. Place a baking sheet into the oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees. After 30 minutes, remove dough from fridge and trim off overhang and fold the edges under to be flush with the edges of the pan. Flute the edges or use a fork to flatten the crust to the top edge of the pan. Chill dough again for 15 minutes.

When dough is chilled, lightly spray foil with Pam for Baking and line the pie crust, fill with pie weights or pennies. Bake the lined crust on the baking sheet in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and take out foil and pie weights. Lightly brush the bottom and sides of the crust with egg white and return to the oven for additional 9-15 minutes of baking or until crust is golden brown and crisp looking.

If the edges are getting too dark, cover them with strips of foil and continue baking until bottom is browned and crisp looking. Let crust cool while making filling.

Lemon Filling (adapted from Not So Humble Pie):

1 cup plus 1 Tbls. sugar

2/3 cup cold water

1/2 cup corn starch

3/4 cup lemon juice (around 4 lemons)

2 tsp. lemon zest

4 large egg yolks (save the 4 whites for the meringue!)

pinch of salt

1 1/4 cups boiling water

In a medium sauce pan combine 2/3 cup cold water, sugar, corn starch, lemon juice, lemon zest, egg yolks and salt. Whisk until the starch has dissolved and everything is combined. Place the pan over medium-high heat.

Whisk the 1 1/4 boiling water into the mixture and bring to a boil stirring with a rubber spatula. Reduce the heat (or remove from burner) and continue to stir for another minute. Quickly press hot mixture thru a sieve into a bowl and immediately pour strained filling into pie crust.

Place plastic wrap over surface of filling and place pie in refrigerator until chilled, around 1 hour.

Italian Meringue (adapted from America's Test Kitchen):

1/2 cup water

1 cup sugar

4 egg whites 

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp. cream of tarter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

When pie filling is chilled start the meringue. Combine water and sugar in small sauce pan. Bring to a vigorous boil over medium-high heat. Let mixture boil for 4-5 minutes then remove from heat and set aside. In the bowl of and electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment whisk the egg whites on medium low speed until frothy, around 1 minute. Add the cream of tarter and the salt. Continue beating on medium high speed until soft peaks form, around 2-3 minutes. With mixer running on medium low speed carefully pour the hot syrup into the whites. Add vanilla and beat on medium high speed until meringue has cooled and fairly stiff peaks form, around 9-12 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, mound the meringue over the filling and crust edges. Create peaks with spatula all over the meringue. Using a culinary torch (creme brulee torch), carefully brown the meringue. Pie is ready to serve and is best eaten on the day it is made.

Meyer Lemon Blueberry Streusel Cake

With all the Meyer Lemons available this time of year I like to incorporate them into my baking as much as possible. Meyer Lemons have a milder tartness compared to a standard lemon so you get a less intense tart lemon flavor that works well when combined with other flavors. I paired the Meyer Lemon with fresh blueberries to create this easy to make and delicious Meyer Lemon Blueberry Streusel Cake. The cake is a delicious cross between a coffee cake and a fruit crisp.

The lemon and blueberries are a natural pair and lend a lightness and sweetness to the cake that makes it a perfect Sunday morning brunch favorite! The topping is a simple streusel that gives a little crunch and texture. I used fresh berries but if you use frozen berries make sure that you thaw them and drain any excess liquid before incorporating into the batter. Here is how you can make your own.

Meyer Lemon Blueberry Streusel Cake (adapted from several recipes)

Streusel:

1/4 cup + 2 TBL. flour

1/4 cup + 2 TBL. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

4 TBL. cold butter cut into cubes

Cake:

1 3/4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups butter room temp.

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp lemon extract

Zest of 1 Meyer Lemon

2-3 TBL. Meyer Lemon Juice

3/4 cup non-fat greek yogurt (I used FAGE)

8 ounce fresh blueberries mixed with 1 TBL. flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9" round cake pan with Pam for Baking. Set aside.

Streusel: In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the chilled, cubed butter and work into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or your hands until it looks crumbly. Keep streusel in the fridge until ready to use.

Cake: In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time until incorporated.

Mix in the vanilla extract, lemon extract, lemon juice, lemon zest and yogurt. Add the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Remove bowl from mixer and slowly fold the blueberries into the batter. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top.

Cover batter with cold streusel mixture and bake for 55-65 minutes or until the top no long looks jiggly and is a golden brown. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes then run an offset spatula around the edges to loosen. Invert cake out of pan and then turn upright onto a plate to cool completely before serving.

Blueberry Cream Biscuits with Mixed Berry Sauce

The latest edition of Better Homes & Gardens has the most delicious and easy recipe perfect for a spring Sunday morning breakfast: Blueberry Cream Biscuits with Mixed Berry Sauce. This simple biscuit recipe is studded with fresh juicy blueberries and topped with a delicious berry sauce (I used a combination of blueberries, raspberries and blackberries) for even more flavor.

There is no butter or shortening in these biscuits and no need to roll the dough before baking. The recipe calls for shaping the dough into a 7" x 8" square then cut into 12 squares. I like my biscuits browned all over so I used a scoop to create 12 separate drop biscuits that I topped with colored sparkling sugar for a little color and sweet crunch. Here is how you can make your own.

You can find the entire recipe here. Start by preheating the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or Silpat and set aside. 

Biscuits: In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and freshly grated nutmeg.  Toss in 1 cup of fresh blueberries with flour mixture. Stir cream (I added 1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla Bean Paste to the cream for a little extra flavor) into flour/blueberry mixture until moistened and dough comes together. I used an ice cream scoop to portion out 12 portions of dough onto the prepared baking pan and topped with a little colored sparkling sugar.

Bake the biscuits for 17 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with Mixed Berry Sauce.

Mixed Berry Sauce: In a medium sauce pan combine 1 cup of berries (I used a raspberry, blueberry, blackberry mix) with 1/3 cup sugar and 2 Tbsp. water and bring to a simmer. Cook until sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and stir in 1 tsp. vanilla extract and another 1 cup of berries. Serve warm or room temperature with biscuits.

Easter Recap- Easter Goodie Buffet

I've posted a little recap of our Easter Goodie Buffet. The Bunny S'Mores are all bagged and tied with pretty ribbons as are the Pinwheel Cookies.

The Rockroad Fudge was made with leftover marshmallow scraps from the Bunny S'Mores. Lots of  spring colored candies and foil covered chocolates galore.... sugar overload!

 

Pinwheel Lollypop Sugar Cookies

These vibrantly colored cookies on a stick are another Easter treat that I made, but I really think these would be cute enough for any occasion! I love the Alice In Wonderland Ride at Disneyland and these cookies are my interpretation of the zany pops of color and bright wild accents seen throughout the ride.

Easter seemed like the perfect time to try them out and I think they look super festive and fun for adults and kids alike. The cookie is a basic slice and bake sugar cookie with the added twist of the different colored layers of dough to give the colorful spiral effect and then rolled in non-pariel sprinkles.

Once the dough is cut, a stick is inserted and then the cookies are baked. No need for icing, these cookies are fabulously fun looking already! Here is how you can make your own.

Make a double batch of your favorite sugar cookie recipe ( I used this recipe) and divide the dough into three equal pieces. Place one piece of dough back into the mixer and add desired food coloring. I used a bright green, fuchsia and orange. Mix dough and food coloring until completely incorporated. When the dough is the correct color, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes before rolling. Repeat with other two pieces of dough. When dough is chilled, remove one color from the fridge and roll out to an approximately 1/8" thick rectangle that is approximately 12" wide x 17" long. Place rolled rectangle aside and roll out next color of dough into the same size rectangle. Brush first rectangle with a little water and place second rectangle evenly over the first rectangle and press together. Roll out remaining color of dough into a rectangle, brush a little water on top the dough and place on the top pressing all three layers together. Starting on the 12" side, tightly roll up the rectangle into a fat roll. When you get to the end, pinch the seam of dough together to seal.

Fill a 9" x 13" baking pan with non-pariel sprinkles and carefully press the dough roll into the sprinkles covering all sides of the dough. Wrap sprinkle covered dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or until very firm.

Using a sharp serrated knife, slice the dough into approximately 1/2" thick rounds.  When all the dough rounds have been sliced, carefully slide a stick into each of the rounds and place in the freezer for at least 1 hour before baking. Half an hour before baking line a baking sheet with parchment or silpat and set aside. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

When the oven is preheated place the dough rounds with sticks evenly on prepared baking sheet and bake for 16-20 minutes. You want to cookies to bake up pretty firm so they don't fall off the stick! Let cookies cool completely on a wire rack before placing into a stand or wrapping for gift giving. I was lucky enough that some great friends (Hi Chris & Gayle!) gave me an extra piece of butcher block left over from their kitchen remodel and my super clever dad turned it into this handy-dandy cookie pop holder that you see in the pics. 

Bunny S'Mores

With Easter right around the corner I decided to make some sweet treats perfect for the holiday and one of these is the Bunny S'More. The Bunny S'Mores is just like a regular s'more only shaped like a bunny and made with delicious homemade buttery crunchy graham crackers and homemade pillowy soft Vanilla Bean marshmallows. The grahams are dunked in bittersweet chocolate and decorated with a bit of white chocolate and sparkling sanding sugar.

Each Bunny S'more is around 4" tall and around 1 1/2" thick but you could use any size bunny cutters to make these sweet treats. Mini Bunny S'Mores would be really cute too! Here is how you can make your own.

 

 

Graham Cracker Bunnies: Start by making the graham cracker bunnies. I made a double batch of this graham cracker recipe and I got 15 four-inch sandwiches. After rolling and cutting the bunny shapes, place cut bunnies in the freezer. Let the bunnies freeze for around 30 minutes then bake for 14- 16 minutes or until golden brown. Let bunnies cool completely.

Vanilla Bean Marshmallow Bunnies: To make the marshmallow bunny centers you will need a half sheet pan to create marshmallow that isn't too thick. You can find the entire marshmallow recipe here. Line the half sheet pan with aluminum foil and spray with Pam. Set pan aside. Make marshmallow according to the directions but to make these Vanilla Bean Marshmallows you will need to add a teaspoon or two of Vanilla Paste or scrape out the inside of a vanilla bean for the seeds. After spreading the marshmallow evenly in the prepared pan, top with sifted powdered sugar and let sit for a few hours or overnight. When marshmallow is set, carefully peel it away from the aluminum foil and cut out the bunny shapes using the bunny cookie cutter sprayed with Pam. Set bunny marshmallows aside.

Assembly: Line a baking sheet with parchment or Silpat and set aside. Separate the bunny grahams into "tops" and bottoms". Melt and temper bittersweet chocolate (you can use candy melts if you don't want to temper real chocolate). Carefully dunk the outside of the "tops" into the chocolate pressing down into the chocolate to cover the sides of the graham cracker. Flip over letting the excess chocolate drip back into the pan and place the graham cracker on the parchment lined baking sheet. Continue until all the "tops" are covered. Repeat with the "bottoms", the chocolate will cover the outside of the bottoms. Of course you can completely cover your graham crackers in chocolate too!! Set chocolate covered grahams aside to allow the chocolate to dry.

 Melt a little white chocolate in the microwave and place in a piping bag. Pipe a little white chocolate onto the inside of the bottom graham cracker and top with a marshmallow bunny. Pipe a little white chocolate on the inside of the top graham cracker and press onto the top of the marshmallow. Repeat with all bunnies.

When all the bunnies are assembled us the remaining white chocolate to pipe a small eye and a tail on each bunny covering the white chocolate with sanding sugar before it dries. Let sanding sugar sit for a few minutes then tap off extra and brush away any stray sugar crystals. Store the finished bunnies in an airtight container or package individually in clear bags tied with a ribbon for gift giving!

Update: I think it is important to coat both sides of the bunny graham crackers in chocolate. I found out the hard way that the exposed graham crackers soak all the moisture out of the marshmallows and leave them dried out and crumbly while the graham crackers get soggy....Still edible but not the taste I was going for.... However, if the graham crackers are completely coated in chocolate and the marshmallow are lightly toasted (like i did with the heart s'mores here).  The chocolate creates a barrier between the cracker and the marshmallow and toasting the marshmallow gives a more s'mores like flavor!

 

Hot Buttered Soft Pretzels

These homemade Hot Buttered Soft Pretzels are chewy, buttery and the perfect toasty snack for watching a movie on a rainy afternoon. The dough is super easy to put together and once you get the hang of rolling out the dough into long ropes things move pretty quickly! Because the dough is elastic it has a tendency to bounce back when you try to roll out a long rope. I suggest getting all of the eight logs of dough together then start rolling the first rope. When it starts to bounce back, set it aside and start on the next log until it bounces back, then go back to the first rope. Continue on with the third log and so on. This method also helps to make sure that all your ropes are the same length. After all the ropes are rolled its just a matter of twisting each one into a pretzel shape! These pretzels are really only good when served nice and warm. If you won't be eating them right away or have leftovers just pop the pretzel into the microwave for 12-15 seconds and your pretzel will come out piping hot and almost as good as when it was freshly baked! These pretzels are great on their own or served with your favorite dipping mustard. Here is how you can make your own.

 

You can find the entire recipe here & with details here.  Start by making the dough. I made mine in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Place the flour, salt, sugar, instant yeast (I use Fleishmann's RapidRise Yeast), and water in the bowl of the mixer. Mix for around 5 minutes or until a nice dough comes together. Place dough into a plastic bag to rest for 30 minutes.

After the dough has rested, divide into eight equal piece and shape into little logs. Let the logs rest for 5 minutes. Preheat oven to 475 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment or Silpat. Set aside. While the dough logs are resting make the topping.

 

Topping: Dissolve 2 Tablespoons baking soda into 1 cup boiling water. Pour mixture into a 9" square baking pan. Set aside to cool.

Roll each log of dough into a long thin rope, around 28" long. Start with the first log and when it becomes difficult to roll, move on to the next log. When that log gets difficult to roll go back to the first log and roll into a rope. Continue on with all 8 dough logs. When all the ropes are rolled, twist each rope into a pretzel shape. When all the ropes are twisted into pretzels, place two pretzels into the topping smooth side down.

Spoon the topping over the exposed tops of the pretzels until wet. Leave pretzels in the topping for 2 minutes then transfer, smooth side up, to prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with kosher salt. Allow pretzels to rest on baking sheet for 10 minutes before baking. (I was able to get 4 pretzels on a baking sheet.) After resting for 10 minutes bake pretzels for 7-9 minutes or until golden brown.

While pretzels are baking melt 3 Tablespoons butter in the microwave and set aside. Remove pretzels from oven and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Eat the pretzels warm or reheat in the microwave for 12 seconds.