White Chocolate Triple Berry Swirl Cheesecake

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve posted! I’ve made quite a lot, but I haven’t posted any of it. Anyway, I figured I’d try to get a couple things up. This is not my first time making this cheesecake, and that’s because I absolutely love it. I made this for Father’s Day, and I’ll tell you my dad loves it even more than I do, somehow.

So here goes:

Ingredients:

• 1.5-2 cups Oreo cookie crumbs (just makes sure you have enough to cover the bottom of the pan)
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 12 oz frozen mixed berries (Blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries)
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups white chocolate (I used baking squares)
• 1/2 cup half-and-half cream
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened (I used 2 regular and one fat free)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a medium bowl, mix together cookie crumbs, 1 tbsp sugar, and melted butter. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.
2. In a saucepan, combine berries, 2 tablespoons sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to boil, and continue boiling 5 minutes, or until sauce is thick. Strain sauce through a mesh strainer to remove seeds. This takes a bit of time and effort, but don’t get too frustrated, it’ll work out!
   
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). In a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water (a double boiler if you have one. I do, and it’s so handy), melt chopped white chocolate with half-and-half, stirring occasionally until smooth.
4. In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in vanilla and melted white chocolate. Pour half of batter over crust. Spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over batter. Pour remaining cheesecake batter into pan, and again spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over the top. Swirl batter with the tip of a knife to create a marbled effect.
5. Wrap bottom of pan in foil and set spring form pan in a baking pan full of about 1 inch of water to prevent cracking. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until filling is set. Turn off oven and open door, let sit for one hour. Remove from oven, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 8 hours before removing from pan. Serve with remaining berry sauce.

Chicken and Black Bean Green Enchilada Rice Bake

I made this for dinner last night and it was super delicious. I adapted the recipe a bit from Picky Palate

Ingredients:

2 cups white long grain rice

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken breast (I cooked mine on the stove in olive oil)

One 15-ounce can mild green enchilada sauce

One 2.5 oz. can diced jalapenos

One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup sour cream  (fat free)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon Ground Cumin

3/4 cups chopped green peppers

One 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar or a Mexican blend)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Cook rice according to package directions.

3. Place chicken, enchilada sauce, jalapenos, tomatoes, sour cream, salt, pepper, green peppers, and cumin into a large bowl, mixing to combine. Pour cooked rice into prepared baking dish and layer beans on top of rice. Pour chicken mixture over rice and top evenly with cheddar cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes, until cheese is melted and rice is hot. (You can really just tell by looking at the top—if the cheese is thoroughly melted you’ll be good to go).

Of course, if there’s something in here you don’t like, you can leave it out or substitute something else. And feel free to add new things too! I added a few the recipe didn’t include.

MAPLE MOUSSE SERVED IN AN EDIBLE CONTAINER

The April 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Evelyne of the blog Cheap Ethnic Eatz. Evelyne chose to challenge everyone to make a maple mousse in an edible container. Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 27th to May 27th at http://thedaringkitchen.com!

I’m not actually planning on entering the contest. In fact, if I’m being honest, I really hated this recipe. It’s definitely not something I ever would have made myself (although I know that’s sort of the point, except my reasoning was that it didn’t look appetizing not that it was challenging).

Anyway, I did make it though. My dad thought it was good. He ate the whole thing! I took a bite…not too impressed to be honest. But uh, I have to post it anyway, so if you’re interested—here it is! Also the edible container I chose was bacon, which was the one listed in the recipe. So those directions and pictures are the ones that are given by the host.

Bacon Cups:

Ingredients:
• 24 thin slices good quality bacon

Directions:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F/200 degrees C.
2. Take a muffin pan or 6 small ½ cup capacity heat-proof bowls, turn upside down and carefully form aluminum foil covers on the back of 6 muffin cups or the bowls.
3. Taking 2 strips of bacon at a time crisscross the strips over the backs of the muffin cups and cut to size a tad longer then the bottom part of the cup. Now use 1 to 2 more strips to cover the sides of the muffin cups in a weaving fashion. You want a full tight weave because bacon shrinks a lot. For smaller cups I used a shot glass with a square of bacon for the bottom and I wrapped 1 strip around the side.
4. Tuck the ends of the bacon strips inside otherwise they will curl while cooking. A good idea is to insert 4 toothpicks where the crisscrossed bacon meets in the weave.
5. Place muffin pan in a cookie tray to catch drippings. Bake in oven for about 25 to 40 minutes, or until the bacon is golden and crisp but not burned.
6. Cool completely, a good hour, before removing your cups delicately from the foil.

Maple Mousse:

Ingredients:
• 1 cup (240 ml/ 8 fluid oz.) pure maple syrup (not maple-flavoured syrup)
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 package (7g/1 tbsp.) unflavoured gelatine
• 1 1/2 cups (360 ml. g/12 fluid oz) whipping cream (35% fat content—that’s regular whipping cream)

Directions:
1. Bring maple syrup to a boil then remove from heat.
2. In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks and pour a little bit of the maple syrup in while whisking (this is to temper your egg yolks so they don’t curdle).
3. Add warmed egg yolks to hot maple syrup until well mixed.
4. Measure 1/4 cup of whipping cream in a bowl and sprinkle it with the gelatine. Let it rest for 5 minutes. Place the bowl in a microwave for 45 seconds (microwave for 10 seconds at a time and check it in between) or place the bowl in a pan of barely simmering water, stir to ensure the gelatine has completely dissolved.
5. Whisk the gelatine/whipping cream mixture into the maple syrup mixture and set aside.
6. Whisk occasionally for approximately an hour or until the mixture has the consistency of an unbeaten raw egg white.
7. Whip the remaining cream. Stir 1/4 of the whipped cream into the maple syrup mixture. Fold in the remaining cream and refrigerate for at least an hour.
8. Remove from the fridge and divide equally among your edible containers.

Vegan Maple Mousse:

Ingredients:
• 1 package (12 oz.) soft silken tofu
• ¾ cup (14 fluid oz.) pure maple syrup
• 2 tsp agar-agar

Directions:
1. Let tofu come to room temperature. Using a food processor, blender, or hand mixer, blend tofu until just smooth.
2. Sprinkle agar-agar on the maple syrup and let it rest for 10 minutes. Heat maple syrup on the stove to a boil and then let it simmer 5 minutes until the agar-agar has dissolved.
3. In a food processor, blender, or a large bowl, blend the tofu with the maple syrup until creamy.
4. Refrigerate for at least one hour. Remove from the fridge and divide among your edible containers.

Meringue (optional):

Ingredients:
• 3 large egg whites at room temperature
• ¾ cup (165 g./5.5 oz) sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F/150 degrees C.
2. Put the egg whites in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer beat for a few minutes until the whites become stiff. Now add the sugar, a little at a time, whisking until the mixture is stiff and glossy. You should be able to turn the bowl upside down and the mixture won’t fall out.
3. Place baking parchment on to a clean baking sheet. Using a spoon or a piping bag, dollop the meringue into circles that fit inside the rim of your edible cups. (See mine, I wanted height but they fell a bit…which is OK…freeform art)
4. Put the tray in the oven, then immediately turn the oven down to 250 degrees F/130 degrees C. and bake for 45 minutes.
5. Turn off the oven and allow the meringues to cool in the oven for a few hours.
6. Place meringues as decoration on your maple mousse which has already be spooned into your edible containers.

Whole Wheat Cheese Bread

Bread is my favorite food. Hands down. I love it.

That being said, I just need to hug myself for this. This is delicious, amazing, wonderful, incredible, fantastic, awe-inspiring bread.

Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. I am seriously in love.

Okay enough gushing. Seriously….I apologize.

It takes a long time, but it’s well worth it.

Recipe (thank you for your help Two Hippos)

1 pkg active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp yeast)
1 cup lukewarm milk [I use skim]
2 tbsp butter
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 c. white flour
2 tsp salt
1 c. (or more!) grated sharp cheddar

1. Combine yeast and milk. Stir and let sit for about 15 minutes.
2. Melt butter. Let cool, and add to yeast mixture.
3. Mix flour and salt in large bowl. Make a well in the middle.
4. Pour yeast mixture into well.
5. With a wooden spoon, stir until you have a rough dough (you can add a few drops of water if the dough seems dry — it will depend on the weather).
6. Transfer to a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic.
7. Return to bowl, cover with a damp towel, and leave to rise in a warm place until it doubles in size (about 2-3 hours).
8. Punch down the dough. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a large oval.
9. Spread cheese on the oval.
10. Roll the dough up into a jelly roll/loaf and place in a greased loaf pan. [You can use water to “seal” the roll.]
11. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until the dough rises above the rim of the pan (~ 1-2 hours).
12. Preheat the oven to 400. Bake for 15 minutes at 400. Lower the temperature to 375, and bake for about 25 minutes more.

13. Eat it all before anyone realizes what magnificent baked goods you’ve produced.

Homemade Oreos

Not quite as exciting as my last post, but I made these like 2 weeks ago for my roommate’s birthday. She was having a very stressful week so I whipped these up at 2 in the morning and left them wrapped on a plate outside her door so she had a not-so-healthy birthday breakfast :) She loves them, but they’re way too sweet for me!

Anyway, I thought I’d share.

Recipe:
(makes about 25-30 oreos)

For the chocolate wafers:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa (I used Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar [see recipe note]
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg

For the filling:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.

2. In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.

3. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper (or foil)-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.

4. To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.

6. To assemble the cookies, use a pastry bag to pipe about a teaspoon of cream on one cookie (or just spread with a knife, which is what I did). Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream.

Like I said, I think these are way too sugary. But my roommate LOVES them. We found this out last year when I tried making them and almost threw them out. She was very excited.

Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Thanks to Beantown Baker,  I have discovered my new favorite “cupcakes.” They’re not really cupcakes so much, except that they’re made in a cupcake pan. It’s really just 24 miniature, fantastic cinnamon rolls.

Ingredients:

Rolls:

2 1/4 tsp. or 1 packet (1/4 oz./7 g) dry active yeast
1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 cup warm milk (approximately 110 degrees Fahrenheit)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. salt
4 1/2 cups bread flour

1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened

Dissolve the yeast and 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar in the warm milk in a large bowl and let stand for about 10 minutes until foamy. (Your yeast will still be visible, and that’s okay).

 Stir in the eggs, butter, salt, and other 1/4 cup of granulated sugar. Add flour and mix until well blended and the dough forms a ball. This might get a little difficult, but just knead it until it’s pretty smooth. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about one hour).

After the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners (I like to double them up because these cinnamon rolls are so moist), and lightly spray over the top of them with cooking spray.

Roll dough into a 12x22 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter (according to the recipe…but I used about half that.) and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 24 rolls. (Roll long ways, so that you end up with a 22 inch long tube).

Place each roll in a cupcake liner. (It will probably be a tight fit). Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. Let rolls cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

4 oz cream cheese at room temp
1/2 stick butter at room temp
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
powdered sugar

Cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy.
Add vanilla extract.
Slowly add powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.

I didn’t make my frosting yet, because I’m taking them to my boyfriend this weekend and want it to be fresh. I did mix up a tiny bit of cream cheese and powdered sugar, though, just enough to put a little on one roll for me to eat. It really didn’t matter, it was still delicious.

Go. Run. Make these immediately.

I guarantee you that if you take these to your friends, you will be cherished forever.

Banana-Applesauce Spice Muffins

I really, really love these. And they’re healthy! I didn’t take any picture of the process, but it was a pretty boring looking process, so you’re not missing anything.

So here’s the recipe!

1 egg
3 mashed ripe bananas
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup applesauce (the regular, unsweetened kind)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
A couple dashes of ground cloves and ginger (optional)
1/3 of an apple, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease/flour or line 12 baking cups.

In a large bowl, stir together egg, bananas, brown sugar, applesauce and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix both flous, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Stir in the chopped apple into liquid ingredients. Gradually stir dry ingredients into the liquid mixture.  Pour batter into the muffin cups.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Not only do these taste delicious, they’re also really healthy, and they make the whole house smell so good. I can’t emphasis enough how wonderful my apartment smelled all day.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

Alright, these were just incredible. I found the recipe at Making Life Delicious, but I changed a few things here and there. Anyway here we go!

First—the brownie layer. Now the batter is especially tasty, so I recommend not having a taste until AFTER you’ve filled your pans so that you actually get some in the pan.

However, after coming out of the oven, they probably won’t look like your typical brownie. In fact, I was a bit worried. They were much lighter than I expected and the top seemed a little crispy while the insides were still quite soft, but that’s okay.

^They’ll look like that. Next, let those cool and make your peanut butter layer. Again, very tasty. WAY good enough to just eat straight out of the bowl. Resist. You’ll probably have some extra. Spread this on your cooled brownies. 

Now on to the chocolate layer. I used Hershey’s Dark Cocoa Powder in my frosting, and to be honest, I didn’t like it that much when I tasted it. But I was relieved to find it was much better combined with the other layers.

Finally, after about 2 and a half sticks of butter or so….the Reeses! I cut them up into halves or quarters or…whatever happened when I tried to cut a miniature Reeses. And just throw them all over the place.

And by this time you’ve put a lot of work into these brownies, so by all means, enjoy one yourself. They’re extremely messy but even more delicious. Have milk nearby.

Brownie Layer

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate (I used chocolate chips)
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup all purpose flour

Peanut Butter Layer

• 1 cup peanut butter (not natural or old-fashioned)
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Frosting

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons whole milk

Topping

• As many peanut butter cups as you want, I probably used about 25 mini Reeses cut up

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8x8 inch square pans. Melt butter and chocolate in a double-boiler (a pan suspended above (not touching) another pan which contains boiling water).

Stir until chocolate is melted. Then pour into bowl and beat in the sugar followed by the eggs, vanilla extract and kosher salt. Gradually add the flour and stir until combined. Spread the batter in the prepared pans. Bake about 22-25 minutes, but be sure not to overbake!

Next layer! Beat together the peanut butter and 1/4 cup softened unsalted butter in medium bowl. Then, beat in the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. The mixture should be very spreadable. If, for some reason, it isn’t, incorporate a little more milk. Spread over your brownies.

To make the chocolate frosting, beat together all of the ingredients in a bowl. When the frosting looks like frosting, spread it over the peanut butter layer. Finally, sprinkle with Reeses and enjoy!