Red. Velvet. Oreo. Brownies. What?

I mean I know I said no more squares, and red velvet should be reserved for Valentines Day.... but OMG.

When my coworker showed me this recipe I basically had a foodgasm.

As I write this they are chillin' in the fridge (haha).  I could not be more excited to pull them out and try one.  I am hanging on the edge of my seat! (Ok I realize this could just be due to all the icing I polished off the spatula earlier, but STILL)

I varied the method for the brownie bit slightly based on good experience with a different brownie recipe.  Instead of just melting the butter and combining it with the other ingredients, I melted it in a saucepan on low heat, dissolved the sugar, and then successively added the rest of the ingredients with the heat still on.  We'll see how it turns out.

A few hours later...

My brain: THE GANACHE. Is. So. Perfect. I am thoroughly impressed with myself.

But - weirdly - the brownie base is crunchy? What is up with that? I mean, it tastes good, but that is sooooooooo not what I was expecting from something with 'red velvet' in the title.  'Crunchy' and 'velvet' just don't mix in my mind.

I have a suspicion that these so-called brownies are actually just nanaimo bars in disguise.  Three-tiered cream, crunch, and chocolate?  Yep.  Definitely a distant relative.

I was a little worried that these would be too sweet, but actually they're pretty tolerable.  Much more than tolerable, in fact.  Rich and creamy and ohhh-myyy-tastebuds.  The crunchy brownie layer was a happy accident.

Oh yeah, and to add to my general satisfaction, I DIDN'T USE REAL OREOS!  The metro brand was half the price.  Scoreeeeeee.

Work friends, if you are reading this: you better bring your sweet tooth to work tomorrow because these are a reaaaaal treat.

That is allll from me this evening folks, I think I'd better get my running shoes out...before I turn into a ganache myself!

Until next week,

Nicola ♡

Eat Me, Alice • Crumbling Raspberry Jelly Roll

This weekend I went on a Martha Stewart baking bender.  Unintentionally, of course.
















The first thing I made were some breakfast muffins, which caught my eye on Pintrest, but didn't seem like enough of a challenge for my Sunday bake.

Last week I said I wanted to try something different - get away from my seeming obsession with squares.  So I made a roll (recipe here).  Because circles are soooo different than squares.

A jelly roll is supposed to be an object of finesse.  Served on a three-tiered platter at afternoon tea.  But this one fell apart on the re-roll.  If Alice saw this, I don't think she'd give it a second look, even if it had an "eat me" label sitting beside it.



Maybe it would look better in Wonderland.

Everything about this recipe was simple and straightforward until it came to unrolling it.  It didn't specify on the recipe, but I think it would have been better if the cloth was damp.  Although it may have been entirely the batter's fault.  The only way to know for sure would be to try again (what a shame!).

Either way, it was so stuck I practically had to scrape it off with a knife.  And as a result, I ended up with a squashed log, rather than a roll.

But even though it doesn't look like much, you still get to eat a plate of sponge cake, raspberry jelly, and cream.  Which is heavenly on the taste buds.  So really, who's complaining??

Another thing I noticed about Martha Stewart, is that she really likes her parchment paper.  I was using a non-stick pan, and the cake just fell right out, so I'm pretty sure it was TOTALLY unnecessary.  And I mean it fell apart anyway!  I'll save my pennies next time.

The breakfast muffins, on the other hand, were quick and painless.  AND they're packed with fruit and fiber.  Uber healthy.  I'm going to try freezing them so I can bring them to work as snacks.

Maybe it was karma when I decided to bake twice in a row that one thing wouldn't work out.  Pitty it was the fancy roll.

The countdown is on until baby Prince George's birthday.  Perhaps I will have a sponge perfected by then.  Although something tells me that could lead to a sponge cake obsession...

Toodles,

Nicola  ♡

Coconut Lime Bars with White Chocolate Chips

You really don't want to squeeze the juice of five limes if you have a paper cut.  I can still feel it tingle.


























Today was the perfect day for a little bit of sunbathing on the pier with a good book.

Which is exactly how I spent my lazy Sunday hours, in between baking and grocery shopping of course.

I can't BELIEVE I have never visited the pier before.  If you haven't then you must must must!!  I could have been on a beach in the Bahamas today (minus the white sand and turquoise water...but hey, close enough - and a few hundred dollars cheaper).  It was so damn tropical that my baking just had to be vacation-inspired.

Hence the creation of these babies.

I was a bit concerned that they had too much going on, what with the lime, coconut, AND chocolate.  But ohhh baby.  There is nothing wrong with them at all.  Perfetto.

I have to say it seems like I keep baking squares and brownies...but it was totally worth it this week.

Next week maybe I'll change things up.

Until then,

Nicola ♡

PS. I can't leave without posting a picture of my french toast this morning. Mmmmmmmmmm why isn't breakfast all day??

Also, in case you haven't guessed, my camera lives on my kitchen table.

Ta-ta-for-now

~

The Tale of the Chocolate Mousse Brownie

Why does chocolate have a way of getting absolutely EVERYWHERE when I bake with it?  Is this just me?  Its like it wants to get me in trouble.  Leaving crumbs on my face and arms.  Letting the whole world know that I have just licked the bowl clean.  And the beaters.  Maybe the spatula too.

Which is why I will not leave the house for the rest of the evening.  Also because, unsurprisingly, I'm not feeling too hot.

Ohhh chocolate, you are my weakness.

It's been a long time since I baked anything with chocolate.  The 'chocolate only' section of my Pintrest has been taunting me for a while.  This is something I felt I had to remedy.

One particular recipe was calling my name.  A layer of brownies covered with a layer of chocolate mousse?  I am so in.

I made a couple of notes today mid-bake:

2:23 PM.  The first layer of chocolate is in the oven. I took a taste off the spatula and OH-MY-GOD. I might have died and gone to heaven.  I don't know if I will be able to give these away.

2:25 PM.  The smell.  My kitchen smells like a chocolaterie.  AH.  My mouth is watering.  I wish there was some way I could share this over the internet.

3:00 PM.  What do you mean refrigerate for 24 hours?!?  That is pure madness.  I don't know how I will contain myself.

Which brings me to 3:30 PM.  My kitchen is spotless, but so is the mixing bowl - and my body hates me for it.  I don't think I will go near chocolate for a while.

So good news: it looks like my brownies will leave the house after all.

If you are in Kingston expect a delivery in the next few days!  If you are out of town I am so sorry.  I really am.  Really really.

À la prochaine,

Vianne Rocher

~

Lemon Cupcakes with Coconut Glaze Frosting • Happy Victoria Day

'Afternoon!

This week, as requested, I have made cupcakes.  Or "muffins with icing".

I chose these lemon coconut cupcakes as they go well with the sunny weather and a cup of tea.

I slaved over them for houurrs.  They took a lot longer than I anticipated.  Mostly this was because I do not own an electric hand mixer.  Please can somebody let me know when they go on sale at Canadian Tire??

You cannot truly appreciate our ancestors' cooking hardships unless you have tried to whip cream by hand.  Cooks must have had MASSIVE arm muscles back then.  And probably carpal tunnel as well.

I am going to be sore tomorrow.

In the end I actually gave up on the recipe's instructions and invented my own because, well, let's face it, I do NOT have strong arm muscles.

This is roughly what I ended up with for the icing:
1 cup icing sugar
1/3 cup coconut cream

No whipping required.

The final product reminds me vaguely of a Mr. Kipling lemon sponge cake.  I have no complaints.

And speaking of Mr. Kipling...I brought some bakewell tarts back with me from my trip to England, and just about peed my pants when I broke into them on Thursday. Such a treat.

Ta-ta-for-now!

Nicola ♡

~

Miraculously Delicious Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Today is the first Sunday of my summer in Kingston!  I've just returned from a week's holiday in the UK and Ireland, and am full of inspiration for breakfasts and tea biscuits, among other things.

I had big plans for today to test out a rhubarb coffee cake (recipe here).  I picked out a nice bunch of rhubarb at Loblaws this morning so I would be prepared for an afternoon bake.

Or so I thought.

When I got home I soon realized what I had bought was NOT rhubarb but SWISS CHARD.  Taking a test bite off the end I was shocked by the overwhelming lack of flavor.  Not at all how I had remembered it from my childhood.  Apparently rhubarb is only in season for a short time of the year (and not today).  According to Google I am not the only one who has been fooled by the sneaky doppelganger.

Stumped, I almost decided to forget the blog today and focus on other house chores.  But at this point I had already laid out all of the other ingredients, so I took a chance and let my creativity loose, and rhubarb coffee cake turned into a beautifully spongy and moist cinnamon coffee cake.  If its not obvious, I was suitably impressed with myself (even though I only made a few small deviations from the rhubarb recipe...but shhhh).

This recipe is SO worth keeping.  It turned out reaaaally well.  The only problem is, I don't know what to do with it all as my housemates are not home...Anyone in Kingston want a piece of coffee cake? Or three??

Here is the recipe I used (adapted from the one above):

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp table salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups light brown sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, room temp
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract (artificial, 'cause I'm a poor student)
2 cups buttermilk*

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

*I used a substitute for this, since they didn't have it at the grocery store (I had rotten luck with that today didn't I?).  Adding 2 tbsp of lemon juice to 2 cups of milk did the trick.

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease 9x13 inch baking pan.  Combine first four ingredients in small bowl and set aside.  Cream butter and sugar in large bowl.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Stir in vanilla and buttermilk.  Gradually fold in flour mixture.  Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly with back of spoon or spatula.

Lightly mix brown sugar and cinnamon together for topping, leaving a few larger crumbs for texture.  Sprinkle evenly over batter.

Bake in center of oven for 50 mins, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Before I go, I would also like to add I made a suuuper scrumptious dinner tonight.  Spicy pepper crusted pork chops with a spinach garden salad.  YUMyumyum.  Also by chance the Rosé I had in my fridge was the perfect compliment to the spiciness.

I think I'm getting good at this.  When's the next meal time????

Until next Sunday,

Nicola ♡

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