Double, double toil and trouble...

 

  This decadent recipe is a sublime combination of two of my favourite things; coffee and chocolate.  That said, it also happens to be the perfect recipe for Halloween ~ minus the eye of newt and the other disagreeable ingredients of course!

"Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,"
     ~William Shakespeare; Macbeth
   
     Double chocolate, double layers of cake and a cup of Tim Horton's double-double coffee; this recipe combines it all to make one delicious cake!  Not familiar with a double double? It's Canada's most popular Tim Horton's coffee with double the cream and double the sugar. Double your pleasure!

Double-Double Chocolate Cake

You will need:

2 oz  bittersweet Baker's chocolate
2 cups  all-purpose flour
1 ¼ cups  granulated sugar
½ cup  cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp  baking powder
1 tsp  salt
1 cup  buttermilk (*see recipe below)
½ cup  vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp  pure vanilla extract
1 cup  double-double coffee from Tim's

• Melt the chocolate in the microwave according to package directions.  Stir until the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool.
• Preheat the oven to 350°f (180°c). Butter and flour two 8-inch (20 cm) round cake pans.
• *To make  buttermilk ~ place a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup.  Add enough milk to bring the liquid up to the one-cup line.  Let stand for five minutes.
• Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Mix together the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl until well combined.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients with the mixer on low speed. Add the melted chocolate and the double-double coffee and mix just until combined.
•  Pour the batter into the pans, spreading evenly.
• Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a cake comes out clean. *Cool the cakes in the pans until they are easy to handle, then move them to a wire baking rack.

 For the chocolate icing:

2 oz  bittersweet Baker's chocolate
1 cup  unsalted butter, softened
2 cups  icing sugar
¼ cup  whipping cream

• Melt the chocolate in the microwave according to package directions. Stir until the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool.
• Whip the butter in the bowl with a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the melted and cooled chocolate and mix until combined.
• Slowly add the icing sugar to the chocolate mixture.
•  Add the whipping cream.
•  Continue mixing until the icing is smooth and thoroughly combined.
• Whisk on high for 1 minute more or until the icing is smooth and spreadable.

When cakes are cooled, invert one layer onto a cake platter. Spread the top with chocolate icing. Place the second cake on top of the icing. Spread the remaining icing evenly over the top and sides of the cake.

*Recipe from The Harrow Fair Cookbook: Prize-Winning Recipes Inspired by Canada’s Favourite Country Fair by Moira Sanders and Lori Elstone with Beth Goslin Maloney (Whitecap 2010).

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

Keep calm and have a cookie...

  

      Read, review, reflect, discuss, study... can't I just bake instead? Seriously, because sometimes all you can do is bake.  Life is too short to sweat the small stuff.  We all know this, yet we still allow stress to creep in and take over our lives.

     I've been really stressed lately ~ just ask my family!  Not only do I have my own classes to attend, homework to do, papers to write and assignments to complete; but as a wife and mom of three I also get to come home to making lunches, dinner, doing laundry, going to sporting events, extracurricular activities and helping the kids with their homework.  It's never ending!

     As stressed as I feel, a phone call earlier today allowed me to put things into perspective.  My stresses are just ordinary ~ they aren't life threatening.  I wish I could say the same thing for my brother's stresses.  He's battling cancer and he's giving it everything he's got.  I am amazed and in awe of his positive outlook.  He's not wallowing in all he has to deal with, instead, he wants to know how I'm doing.  Suddenly all of my complaints seem inconsequential.  

      After talking with him I felt foolish for letting my trivial worries consume me.  He inspired me to put aside my 'to do' list and spend some time doing what gives me pleasure and calms my soul ~ baking.

      This is my go to cookie recipe. It combines a profusion of delectable ingredients and bakes up wonderfully.

Enjoy!

Me And My Cookies Are Not Stressed Out

You will need:

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup toffee baking bits

1 cup almonds, chopped
*put almonds in a plastic freezer bag and gently smash with the back of a large spoon.
If you are really stressed you can use a hammer ~ this is a great way to work out your frustration!

• Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a large bowl combine sugars and butter and beat until light and fluffy.
• Add vanilla and eggs and blend well.
• Mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Stir in chocolate chips, almonds and toffee baking bits.
• Drop by rounded tablespoons on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes  until golden brown.
• Cool on wire baking racks.

 

 

Pinterest & Pumpkin Pie...

   

 

      Pinterest ~ that wonderful website where you can lose yourself for an hour in the blink of an eye and become inspired to be a craftier, more organized, stylish baker who drinks wine just so that she can make a wreath out of the corks.

     While perusing through the plethora of pins, I came across this fabulous recipe.  Pumpkin pie in a cupcake?  Yes please! Top them with decadent whipped cream frosting and you have one delectable dessert.  This is the perfect fall recipe. The ingredients come together beautifully and will fill your kitchen with the fabulous scents of fall. 

 

     Autumn just so happens to be my favourite season; cool, crisp air, warm, cozy sweaters and leaves in fiery bursts of colour.  Put the kettle on, grab a good book and curl up next to the fire with one of these cupcakes and you have my version of a perfect fall afternoon.

 

Enjoy!  

 

 

 

Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes With Whipped Cream Frosting

24 Golden Oreo Cookies
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup applesauce
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
15oz pumpkin puree
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Line muffin tin with paper liners (24)
• Split Oreos and drop them cream side up at the bottom of each liner.
• Gently combine eggs, oil, applesauce & vanilla.
• Stir in sugar and brown sugar and mix well for several minutes.
• Stir in pumpkin.
• In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, nutmeg & salt.
• Add dry ingredients to oil & sugar mixture and stir until just combined.
• Fill cupcake tins 3/4 full and bake for 17-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Whipped Cream Topping

500ml heavy whipping cream
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
cinnamon & pumpkin pie spice to decorate

• Using a whisk attachment, beat heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
• Add powdered sugar and vanilla and mix until combined.
• Frost cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.