Tiramisu

One hot afternoon, the same afternoon God gave the beer pong table, I was looking for something to make because I was in a baking mood. Stacey was the only one home and since she does not like fruit, lemon, cinnamon, or nuts in her baked goods, I was limited. I found a recipe in my Food and Wine Magazine Cookbook for Tiramisu, she wanted some!

I've made it twice now, once in a 8 x 11 pan, single layer and again in a 8 x 8 pan double layer. This first batch came out a lot better with more flavoring and it was less runny.

In the microwave (I put all in a 2 cup pyrex measuring cup) boil 1 cup of water. Add 3 Tablespoons of instant coffee. Stir in 1 Tablespoon of rum. Allow to cool while you mix up the remainder of ingredients.

In a large bowl beat 5 large egg whites with a pinch of salt with a hand mixer until they have stiff peaks.

In another large bowl, beat 4 large egg yolks with 1/3 cup white sugar with a hand mixer until it is light yellow and fluffy. Mix in one container of mascarpone (8 oz) in with the egg yolks, When incorporated, mix a second 8 oz container of mascarpone cheese into the egg yolks. Gently fold together the egg whites with the cheese mixture until well incorporated.

Take 1/2 the cheese mixture (a 1/3 if doing 2 layers) and spread on the bottom an 8 x 11 pan (9x9 for double). Pour some of the coffee mixture is a shallow bowl and dunk 2 lady fingers at a time in the liquid, flipping them to absorb plenty of the coffee mixture. Place the lady fingers in the pan so they are touching with a little cheese oozing through. Continue until the bottom of the pan is covered. Spread the remaining 1/2 (or another 1/3 and then repeat with the lady fingers) of the cheese mixture over top. Lightly dust about 1/4-1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder over the top.

Place covered in the fridge overnight. Before serving, grate dark chocolate (I like Lindt's 80%) over the top. Cut and serve up the deliciousness!

Best brownies ever!!

These are seriously the best brownies I've ever made or eaten, they're phenomenal! I forgot to take a picture and by the time I remembered we'd eaten them all. I don't mean to toot my own horn, but beep, beep!

Original recipe, my adaptation:

In a medium saucepan boil together
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee

Remove from heat and stir in 3/4 of a 12 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks.

Beat 2 eggs, add some chocolate mix into the eggs to temper them, add warmed eggs to chocolate mixture and mix well. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Gently stir in 2/3 cup flour, 1/4 tea baking soda, and 1/4 tea salt. Mix to combine, do NOT over stir.

Pour into a greased and cocoa-ed 8 x 8 pan. Bake at 325 for 25 minutes, checking last 10 minutes for done-ness. Let cool on the counter in pan for a couple of hours before cutting.

These brownies are very rich and fudgey! I was able to get 20 small pieces.

Strawberry Chocolate Mousse Cake

This dessert looks awesome and very impressive, BUT it was almost impossible to get out of the pan. For next time, I will use wax paper in the bottom to make it easier to get out as well as crush the Oreo a lot more!

2 cups crushed Oreos and 6 tablespoon melted butter mixed together and spread across the bottom of a 9 inch tart pan.

Cut up 1 1/4 pint of fresh strawberries into quarters after de-steaming and arrange with tips point up on Oreo crust.

Boil a 1/2 cup of water with 2 tablespoons of light corn syrup. Place entire 12 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips in a blender, pour the water/corn syrup mixture over top and let set for a minute. Blend until smooth and let cool to room temperature.

Beat 3/4 of a pint of heavy whipping cream into stiff peaks. Fold in chocolate mixtures and spread over strawberries. It's alright if tips of strawberries are poking through. Refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight.

Before serving, whip remaining cream with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Pipe flowers or blobs on top of mouse and place remaining 1/4 of pint of quartered strawberries neatly on top. Cut and serve carefully!

Banana Muffins

I'm always on a quest for a great banana muffin/bread recipe, this is my latest attempt. It could and hopefully will be replaced by something better and more delicious later! Whenever we have extra bananas that are about to go bad, we throw the in the freezer for a rainy day, these are perfect for banana bread!! Take 3 or 4 out of the freezer and let thaw, and you don't even need to mash b/c they are already at the perfect consistency.

Mix together dry ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together:
1 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 tea baking powder
1/4 tea baking soda
1/8 tea salt
1/2 tea cinnamon
1/2 quick cooking oats

Mix together wet ingredients:
2 egg whites
1 1/2 c mashed bananas (I use 3 large bananas)
3/4 c sugar
3 tablespoon canola oil
1 tea lemon zest
1 tea vanilla

Mix together dry ingredients into the wet without over stirring. Makes 16 muffins and don't forget to spray the muffin papers with a little Pam to prevent sticking. I mix together cinnamon and sugar to sprinkle on top. Because Stacey doesn't like nuts, I did not put walnuts in the mix, I placed some pieces on top. Walnuts inside would be an excellent addition!!!

Bake at 325° for 20 minutes, checking for done-ness. These muffins are quite pale and taste pretty light because they are not made with any egg yolks. You could easily make this as a loaf too. Here is the original recipe, I made several changes.