Page 122: Apple Pie

Blogger note: I apparently drafted this in November and never published it! My apologies! Better late than never I suppose...

My Thanksgiving baking continues!

I had been wanting to make this apple pie for a couple of weeks... ever since I tried to make it and didn't have spelt flour so ended up making apple crisp instead. While apple crisp turned out great, I was anxious to both cross this recipe off the list and take my first ever shot at making a pie.

Full disclosure: I was just a mess of efficient ideas gone bad this Thanksgiving. My downfall on the pie was my grand idea to make the dough for the crust the night before. The recipe calls for a 20 minute refrigeration between making the dough and rolling it out for the crust. I, somehow, took the liberty to think this meant I would obtain similar results by refrigerating it not 20, but 720 minutes.

Given what I know about the chemistry of coconut oil (an ingredient in everything BabyCakes it would seem), I cannot believe I didn't think through what would happen to this dough after 12 hours in the fridge. And yet, I was shocked to find the pie dough had solidified into a rock hard disk when I pulled it from the refrigerator on Thanksgiving day.

Unfortunately, I had used up the last of my vat of coconut oil on the corn muffins so I couldn't start over - my only option was to hope that when warmed to room temperature, it would magically transform back into workable pie dough.

I wasn't entirely disappointed, but it was in no way as malleable as it had been the day before. I managed to roll it out, but it didn't hold together well and it was tough to get a nice, thin dough (I also think it would help to invest in a real, heavy rolling pin rather than use my little pastry roller).

The high point in the making of this recipe was how amazing my house smelled when I roasted the apples for the filling. So yummy.

I also made a few baby pies in my new, adorable ramekins (thanks, Angie!!). I thought these were just the cutest little things ever.

The finished product was actually quite yummy, but the dough was a little dense. Like the corn bread fiasco, I think I have to accept responsibility for that and try it again - this time actually following the directions! While it's probably tough to get a flaky pastry dough that is also gluten free, I can't help but think it would have been lighter if I'd been able to roll it out as intended.

It may not have been super light and flaky, but the flavor was great and the BabyCakes roasted apples are just delicious! I really need to find more excuses to roast apples. And, since there is at least one more recipe (Apple-Cinnamon Muffins) that calls for them, I'm sure they will be making an appearance again soon!

Page 53: Corn Bread

Happy belated Thanksgiving!

Since I was already planning to do some baking for the holiday, I thought it would be most efficient to use this opportunity to inch slightly closer toward the BabyCakes goal. While not a traditional part of the Thanksgiving meal, I felt like corn bread was a sufficiently fallish recipe. The BabyCakes corn bread is in the teacakes chapter, and teacakes are some of my favorite treats! I also thought that if I made a batch of Morgan's homemade pumpkin butter to accompany the corn bread at dinner, it could certainly pass as standard Thanksgiving fare.

The corn bread recipe calls for it to be baked in a loaf pan, like a teacake. Not a brownie pan or muffin tins, but rather a standard loaf pan. I adore this idea and thought how decadent it would be to slather some earth balance on a slice of corn bread masquerading as a teacake. However, I was having dinner with roughly thirty people... one little loaf pan was just not going to cut it. Granted, I wasn't responsible to feed the whole crew, but I thought it might be rude to take a dish with only ten servings. So, I rectified the situation with my darling little mini muffin pan. "Perfect..." I thought to myself... "then everyone will get to sample the amazing BabyCakes corn bread that is sure to result from my efforts."

First thing Thursday morning, I set out to make my ingenious mini corn bread muffins. My hidden agenda here was that the hubby and I could enjoy a few for breakfast with the pumpkin butter I'd made the night before.

The ingredients seemed normal enough... including gluten-free flour, cornmeal, and corn flour. And, I think you'll agree, the result was adorable little golden nuggets that oozed with the feeling of fall.

Warm out of the oven they were tasty enough. Hubby's only immediate comment was that they seemed to turn to dough in his mouth. Not such a bad thing in my opinion, but he wasn't necessarily complaining either.

Topped with Morgan's pumpkin butter.
How much more fallish can you get?

However, the more these muffins cooled the less impressed I was by them. By the time I took them to dinner, I found myself explaining to everyone that they should really add the pumpkin butter for more flavor. It didn't help my cause that they ended up on the dessert table instead of the dinner table... and, let's be real here, the world's best corn bread cannot possibly compete with a Thanksgiving dessert table.

Also, somewhat mysteriously, after they cooled I noticed they had little orange specks throughout the muffin. Strange I thought... particularly since there were absolutely no orange ingredients. Still haven't figured that one out.

In summary, I take full responsibility for being entirely underwhelmed by the BabyCakes corn bread as I did not bake it in the form and manner designed. I think I owe this corn bread another shot - this time in a loaf pan. Even if it doesn't feed 30.

Baking with Jaedyn

My niece, Jaedyn, visited me recently so she got to participate in a few of my most recent baking adventures.  Jaedyn loves to help out in the kitchen! Even though it's sometimes messier, I love the "help" and miss having little fingers sneaking samples of ingredients like sugar and chocolate chips (both of which she happily eats by the handful).

Even though I, in classic fashion, totally forgot to photograph any of our adventures, my sister managed to snap a few photos of us making chocolate chip cookie sandwiches. That's right... I'm training her well.

Stirring up the cookie batter

She was very proud of her work!

The perks of being a kitchen assistant

She stopped licking the beaters long enough to help me add the chocolate chips!

Little brother Jonah was eager to try the finished product

"This is how you make the perfect sandwich"

"Now you try..."

Licking frosting off your fingers is the best part!

Well done, Jaedyn!

Page 88: Healthy Hostess

It was time for another bake sale at work and I decided to be adventurous. This was, of course, after I had already made the obligatory chocolate chip cookie sandwiches. Plus I think these healthier hostess-like treats are just adorable and I couldn't wait to attempt to recreate them.

I'm still not a fan of the BabyCakes cupcakes, but with the filling inside these babies it did help keep them moist!

Unfortunately I made this batch before I perfected the half-batch-in-the-Vitamix approach, so the chocolate frosting didn't turn out so well.  The recipe calls for vanilla frosting on top, so perhaps I brought this curse upon myself. Anyway, without chocolate frosting I improvised with a fudge frosting made mostly from melted chocolate chips. I thought this ended up being more hostess-like anyway.

Could have been better, but I was tired and have all but given up on the BabyCakes cupcake. Still a few to go in the book, but probably won't be making these babies again. Sad... they have such cuteness potential!

This being Thanksgiving week you should look forward to not just one but TWO new recipes this week! That's right... making up for lost time here! 

The Quest Continues

If you've followed my BabyCakes quest at all, you'll recall I have a love-hate relationship with the chocolate chip cookie sandwiches. I adore them (and they are in high demand by those lucky enough to have sampled them), but virtually every batch turns out differently.  Thus, they make for an unpredictable and sometimes frustrating baking experience. Lately I'm three for four in successful attempts. Given how delicious they are, I suppose I'll take those odds.

Two of those perfectly successful attempts at the infamous treats were completed during girls' night at my place. Not only do Brooke and Kim apparently serve as good luck charms... but baking with friends makes it even more fun. Plus, I feel slightly less gluttonous keeping only a third of the booty.

Also... frosting making recently became MUCH easier thanks to my new VITAMIX! I love it and we are having fun making lots of new blended treats. And, of course, perfecting the classics like my beloved frosting! After a couple of attempts at frosting with the new gadget, I am slightly sad to report it doesn't always work miracles (at least one soupy post-Vitamix attempt logged to date), but I have discovered that a half batch in the Vitamix seems to perform consistently well.

YAY for the Vitamix!

A couple other items I've repeated lately but neglected to blog about:

1. Chocolate Chip Cookies (several times)... lately with walnuts thanks to an addition by Brooke that the hubby decided he really liked.
2. Banana Bread with Walnuts... overcooked it this time! Sigh. I cannot win. But the 24 mini muffins I made from the extra batter turned out great. A small consolation.
3. Brownies... warm with ice cream - will never get old!
4. Blondies... still a few tucked away in my freezer!
5. Apple Crisp... okay, this is actually kind of new and I suppose I should have photographed it. My apologies! I didn't have the stuff for apple pie crust and the store had neither blackberries nor peaches, so I combined the apple pie filling with the blackberry & peach cobbler topping. Topped with ice cream and it turned out almost caramel-like. Very good.

So there's the rundown. Only new recipes for awhile... I promise!

Page 76: Macaroons and Page 115: Vanilla Crumb Base (and various other birthday treats)

I'm back with the promised Macaroons! See... that didn't take long did it?

Today's productivity is largely due to the fact that my friend Brooke's birthday is tomorrow. Brooke has gluten and dairy sensitivities, and therefore is the only other person I know that gets as excited as I do about dairy free wonders. Brooke has also been out of town visiting family for several weeks so I decided to whip up some BabyCakes staples - and one totally new recipe (because I do need to work on my stats here) -  for a Happy Birthday/Welcome Home package! Timely enough, our Labor Day was cloudy and overcast so it was a great day to do some baking.

First up, I knew I wanted to make Macaroons. However, I actually got to knock down three individual recipes (two of which I've never made before) in the making of said Macaroons. I'll explain...

On the surface, the Macaroons appeared to be quite simple... like four ingredients simple. Except one of the ingredients is "Vanilla Crumb Base".  So I flip to page 115 for the Vanilla Crumb Base. And again... four ingredients. Nice! Except, one of those ingredients is "6 unfrosted vanilla cupcakes (Page 86)". There it is. So much for simplicity! Not to mention I felt like I was back in the fourth grade reading a "choose your own adventure book". While I'm sure this is an incredibly efficient use of resources in a commercial bakery kitchen, it's slightly less than ideal for me at home.

But regardless, in order to make the desired Macaroons I first had to make cupcakes. And you know how I feel about cupcakes. Or, more accurately, how low my success rate has been with cupcakes to date. But I went for it anyway. Today, I did something slightly different and instead of using hot water as the recipe called for, I used almond milk right out of the fridge. Not sure how big of a difference it made but the cupcakes seemed to be more moist than my last venture into BabyCakes cupcakeland. They were so moist in fact, that once they cooled and I went to crumble them for the crumb base, they didn't want to crumble like the less moist chocolate version did last week. This is progress!

So, here is how you make BabyCakes Macaroons:

Step One: Make fluffy cupcakes

Step Two: Crumble six such fluffy cupcakes into bowl

Step Three: Add sweet and salty to make Vanilla Crumb Base recipe

Step Four: Add more sweetness, salt, and coconut to make Macaroon batter

Step Five: Spoon onto baking dish and bake until golden

I only made a half batch of the cupcakes and used half for the crumb base and frosted the other half for eating just as cupcakes. I was making the legendary favorite chocolate chip cookie sandwiches so I needed frosting anyway!

The sandwich making went pretty well this time. I'm still trying to master the perfect cookie, but fortunately when you put frosting between them and freeze the bundle, they are much more forgiving than when enjoyed solo.

I also made a half batch of frosting. As much as I love the stuff, I do think that a smaller batch is easier to manage. I'm still learning interesting things about the chemistry of this concoction - I think it has to do mostly with the coconut oil - and it's proving quite helpful. Today I discovered that even though it was chilled it wasn't setting up like frosting. That is until I whipped it up with a rubber spatula. This seemed to activate some previously untapped coconut oil super powers and it was suddenly the consistency of icing. It was amazing. And I was relieved that I had frosting instead of frosting flavored sauce.

The final product: a BabyCakes Birthday/Welcome Home goodie package for my dairy free/gluten free friend! And, plenty of leftovers for the officemates.

The end.

Oh wait... I decided to start a recipe countdown, both to keep me motivated and give you some perspective, and when I sat down to tally my progress I was surprised to discover I am over a third of the way done! There are 51 recipes, including five recipes in the drinks chapter. And, as of tonight, I have 18 down and 33 to go!

Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Bananas, and More Chocolate. This can't go wrong.

Hello, friends. My sincere apologies that I have been absentee lately. It's not that I haven't been baking. I've even been baking BabyCakes goodies. It's just that I haven't been baking anything new.

I made blondies (page 80) last week for my co-workers just because they are so delicious and I hadn't taken anything to the office for awhile. They were declared "the best thing [I've] ever made" by an officemate as he grabbed his fifth and sixth blondie of the afternoon.

I also forgot to post anything about the latest cookie sandwiches I made. This time I went with double chocolate cookies with mint frosting. They were good - very good - but, if I'm being honest, they weren't as good as the plain old chocolate chip and vanilla version.  Of course, I have no pictures. I'm sorry.

I also made scones again (page 42) - mini scones to be precise - for a bridal shower on Saturday. These I did get a picture of! As I've made very clear in the past, I love scones. And I love cute little things. So these were just... perfect. One batch of blueberry and one batch of chocolate chip. Rave reviews from the hubby (he stole a couple before the party got started) on the chocolate chip in lieu of fruit. He was a fan. I still preferred the fruit.

And, lastly, I have a little something different for you. A co-worker brought me an amazing dessert a few weeks ago - it was a layered torte of chocolate, peanut butter, and banana goodness. It was amazing but, tragically, not dairy-free. Knowing what I do about how desserts can be free of animal products while still being super yummy, I decided I would recreate this masterpiece. Only without cream or eggs. So this is how I spent my Sunday... and, since it's not from the book, I can give you recipes! If that's possible. I'm not really a recipe kind of baker and really just ripped off and modified several other (publicly available) recipes. But I'll try:

Layer One: Chocolate Cookie Crust
Okay, I lied. This one is a BabyCakes recipe. It's six unfrosted chocolate cupcakes (which I froze last time I made chocolate cupcakes knowing I would one day need this crumb base), salt, and agave nectar. However, there are a million ways to make a chocolate cookie crust. Pretty sure you can even buy ready made ones at the grocers. So, don't dismay. Just figure something out and let's carry on.

Layer Two: Peanut Butter Goo
Not sure this is the best name for it, but I can think of no better description so I'm going with it. For this layer, I made the Peanut Butter Swirl from this recipe. However, it was very soupy - probably because my coconut milk was less than stellar quality. I used better stuff for later layers and it made a big difference

But I digress. Like I said, it was soupy. So I threw together some frosting like substance similar - but not exactly like - the BabyCakes frosting. A quarter cup of soy milk powder, maybe three tablespoons of agave nectar, a heaping tablespoon of coconut flour, and about a half cup of coconut oil in hopes it would harden the mixture up when chilled. I added this to the peanut butter mixture and poured it on top of my cookie crust. Next time, I might try a more pudding-like approach including arrowroot powder. The taste was delish but the texture doesn't really hold up unless frozen.

Layer Three: Carmelized Bananas
Okay, I guess I did really oversell the publicly available part. This is BabyCakes too. Let's just say it's bananas, salt, and some agave nectar, baked until caramelly good. And then placed over the peanut butter layer.

Layer Four: Chocolate Pudding
Publicly available and not altered a bit: eat your heart out. I have to say, I had no idea how easy it was to make pudding from scratch. I'll never buy a mix again. This one needed about twice as much sugar as called for in the recipe, but by the time I layered it up with the other sweets it worked out just fine. In the future though, more sugar. Especially if eating by itself.

Layer Five: Whipped Topping
Another canned coconut milk creation.  And I might add a very good version. It's not very easy to make a dairy-free version of whipped cream so I commend this author for nailing it. This totally worked and was delicious!

There you have it. As usual, pictures did not occur to me until after half the dish had been consumed, so this is all I've got:

It needs to stay refrigerated, and maybe even almost frozen, and it's soooo good! I don't know who thought up this money combination, but it's genius. And now... dairy free!

New BabyCakes recipes coming up, I promise! The next planned adventure: Macaroons. Back soon...

Page 58: Apple-Cinnamon Toastie

What is a "toastie" you may ask? I wasn't sure either, but it appears to be a sort of streuselesque tea cake. And this one, as with most BabyCakes goodies (save all cupcakes attempts to date), is fantastic. Toastie is now and forevermore part of our household vocabulary.

The batter for this goodness included applesauce and cinnamon, and you also fold in some roasted apples.  Then you make a separate batter derived from the original batter with some extra cinnamon, sugar, and water. You pour the second batter on top of the original batter and swirl it in, thus creating a delicious swirl of streusel throughout the loaf. And a yummy and sweet crunchy streusel top.

Although I think I baked it at least 50% longer than called for, I was patient this time and left it in until the toothpick came out clean. My patience was rewarded and, unlike the banana bread fiasco, it came out perfect. Fluffy, with a lovely balance of apple, cinnamon, and sweetness. And the crunchy streusel top was the best part.

It was wonderful warm... right out of the oven... but we didn't stop there. For dessert we warmed a couple of pieces in the toaster oven and added a scoop of ice cream (soy for me, dairy for the hubby, who actually requested coconut milk which I didn't have but the request still made my day). It tasted similar to an apple crisp and was quite yummy!

The next morning, I stole an idea from the St. Regis Princeville and fried up some slices in a pan with a little bit of earth balance (that's a butter substitute for you not in the vegan-know). This created a sort of apple cinnamon french toast. And it was amaaaazing! Slightly crunchy on the outside but still soft inside with a roasted apple peaking through every once in awhile. I topped it with a homemade cinnamon butter syrup using a recipe from my favorite vegan recipe genius, Morgan at Little House of Veggies. The combination was nothing short of delectable.

We definitely made the most out of the this toastie this weekend! And it's definitely going in the "to make again" category.

Page 87: Chocolate Cupcakes and Page 93: Chocolate Frosting

Oh, cupcake... why do you torment me so?

I gave the cupcake another chance, and it once again got the best of me.

I incorporated all my lessons learned this time.  I didn't fill the cups too full and baked them for a significantly shorter time. When they were still warm out of the oven I sampled and was so excited because they seemed much lighter and fluffier than all prior versions. "I MADE CUPCAKES!" I declared! "Not muffins, not tea cake, CUPCAKES"! Even hubby thought they were more cupcake-like and commented how much lighter they felt just by weight.

See how they even look more cupcake-like? It was wonderful. And I strutted around the house the rest of the day thinking I finally mastered the gluten free/dairy free BabyCakes masterpiece.  But by the time they all cooled and I frosted them, not so fluffy anymore. And... once frosted I keep them in the fridge because the frosting is so fragile and by the next day they were pretty much as dry and dense as all previous attempts. Maybe not refrigerating them would help, but then my frosting would just be a disaster. Perhaps the trick is to make and frost them immediately before serving (oh sure, that's not inconvenient at all...).

Sigh. There are two more cupcake recipes in the book, so I'll keep trying with Red Velvet and Meyer Lemon and Bing Cherry versions eventually. But if I fail there too it may all be over. There are just too many better things going on in that book to keep making disappointing cupcakes!

In related news, I continue to learn and master the intricacies of frosting making. I had to make a couple adjustments to this batch.... I had almond milk instead of soy milk, which won't hold up as well in the frosting, so I substituted canned coconut milk - which made it very creamy. I also ran out of agave nectar (I have been burning through that stuff like crazy... thank goodness they sell it at Costco) about 1/8 of a cup shy of what was required, so I substituted maple syrup for the remaining amount which seemed to work out just fine.

The texture was pretty good after chilled, but I wanted it a bit thicker so tried the food processor trick and added a little coconut oil to the chilled frosting. DISASTROUS! It all clumped up like curdled milk and I nearly cried. But I let it warm up to room temperature again and put it through the blender a second time in small batches.  This seemed to do the trick and got it back to the original texture, and after it chilled all was right with the world again.

Looks better than it tasted. Oh well.

So here is what I think: I love BabyCakes, but either I do not care for, or cannot adequately replicate her cupcakes. So, I'll continue to adore and remake many other BabyCakes recipes, but perhaps research a way to make a better gluten free/dairy free cupcake. I heard the woman who started Sticky Fingers Bakery in D.C. uses soda water to make them lighter, so maybe I'll start to experiment with other tricks like that. But for now, onward with other BabyCakes recipes!

Page 121: Cherry Cobbler

After remaking the Blackberry, Peach, and Oat Cobbler (see previous post) for dinner guests last week, I decided I really wanted to try the BabyCakes book's other cobbler, this one of the cherry variety. But cherries are always so pricey so I kept wimping out and going back to the blackberry and peach one. Plus, the Cherry Cobbler recipe calls for it to be made in eight 6-ounce ramekins, which, despite the fact ramekins are cute and I love cute things and my kitchen is full of lots of small prep and snack bowls, I do not yet own.

This all changed when I got an email from Whole Foods advertising their one-day Friday sale: organic cherries for $2.99 a pound. I was thrilled. And I bought five pounds. Still no ramekins but I figured at that price I could improvise and just make a large cobbler instead.

Also prompting my adventure was the fact that the hubby's birthday was Wednesday.  Since he was out of town on the actual day of his birthday, I made him his favorite meal last night and the cobbler was slotted to be his birthday dessert.

I learned one very important thing in making this cobbler: I need a cherry pitter. Granted, it didn't take as long as I feared to pit three cups of cherries by hand, but my right thumb is still stained dark red.

This cobbler is topped with pie crust like dough, as opposed to the crumbly goodness that tops the blackberry and peach version. By itself, I actually liked the crust better (and the dough was delish too) - but I think I prefer the crumbly topping over the fruit.

Still, it was quite good, and the presentation was a bit prettier than the other version:

We topped it with ice cream (the real stuff for hubby - it was his birthday dinner after all) and I added a candle, but unfortunately I didn't get a picture because he definitely thought the candle was somewhat ridiculous. He just doesn't get into birthdays the way I do.

Yum!

Also - I still have approximately three and a half pounds of cherries so I might have to break out some other cherry recipes later this week...

Page 80: Blondies

I was looking for the perfect treat to take to a beachside BBQ for the fourth of July holiday last week. The pre-BabyCakes me would have simply taken cookies or some other standby, tried and true recipe. But, in keeping with my mission, I picked a yet-untested recipe from the BabyCakes book (in this case one that was simple and did not require frosting... a girl only has so much time to spend in the kitchen...) and went for it - and these were yummy!

I've never made blondies before. Maybe because I am generally of the belief that chocolate should be used in as many desserts as possible. Why would anyone want a vanilla brownie? But these little bites were delicious and had many fans at the BBQ. It might not have hurt that their only competition was a bag of Chewy Chips Ahoy. Oh well, I'll take the credit regardless!

So, the typical players here - garbanzo-fava bean flour, brown rice flour, potato starch (it had been awhile since I had to break that stuff out, actually), arrowroot, etc. When I mixed it all up and tasted the batter I said to myself: "self, this really tastes like chocolate chip cookie batter...". As directed, I made them in mini-muffin tins (which I am beginning to love because they only bake for nine minutes and thanks to my 24-cup tin I'm done in two batches!).

They were delish - right out of the oven they were gooey little nuggets of sweet goodness. Indeed, the finished product was also similar to that of a cakey chocolate chip cookie.

I'm sorry - I am still very lacking in the photo documentation department. And yes, I have regressed to the iPhone. 

The recipe says that blondies are best served warm and you should actually leave them in the tins to preserve freshness. This was a problem for me on two levels: 1) I needed to reuse the tins for batch two (sorry, Erin - most non-commercial kitchens don't have that much bakeware!) and 2) I was going to a BBQ on the beach. Portability was key here.

So, as I tend to do with most baked goods, once cooled I popped them in the freezer to make them stackable in a portable container. Then they went into the cooler and off we went.

When I took them out to serve them after the grilling was finished, the chilled version was very reminiscent of balls of cookie dough! In a good way, though. Definitely a winner.

I apologize for my lack of photos. I didn't even get one of the BBQ. Although I do have one I took of my view from the BBQ, so I will leave you with that:

Hope you had a wonderful holiday!

Page 98: Carrot Cupcakes

It's been so long since I actually made these cupcakes that I have to take a minute to jog my memory about the endeavor. I'm sorry... I've been busy. Okay, I remember. Let's go...

So first of all, BIG props to my amazing food processor! I love having this thing and it made grating three cups of carrots a cinch. Removing the orange tinge from the bowl was the only semi-annoying part of that ordeal.

These cupcakes included spices like cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.  I'm not a fan of ginger... at ALL... but I do not dare depart from the recipes during my adventure through the book so I put it in and, of course, they were still delicious. I think the cinnamon and nutmeg covered it up. It may also have a little bit to do with the fact I went a little light on the ginger and no, I do not consider that cheating.

Bottom line: these were very yummy. But still not like cupcakes. Still more like a dense tea cake. They could be lighter and definitely more moist. I did discover that if I don't fill the muffin cups too full it helps a lot because in the end the frosting to cupcake ratio is more appropriate that way. However, I didn't do this on the first batch so I improvised by serving them to the girls at girls night like this:

And... this is the ONLY picture I have. So sorry. I guess I need to invite Kim over when I bake to appropriately document the process!

I also think I could maybe bake them for a little less time and that might help make them less dry. There may also be some secret about "cupcake tins" as opposed to "muffin tins". The latter of which I guess I own. Or maybe not. I cannot tell from this slightly cryptic explanation in the front of the BabyCakes NYC book:

Muffin cups are slightly larger than cupcake cups, by about 1 inch in diameter. Because these vary in size, try to get the correct one for each recipe to ensure accurate baking times.

Does anyone understand this? Is she talking about the Texas size muffin tins or is there really a third size of muffin tins out there? If you get this or know anything about it, please interpret for me and, just possibly, save my cupcakes. Thank you.

One great thing about this bake session is that I think I finally mastered the frosting. Even if it isn't easy. The process seems to be, for me and my kitchen equipment at least, as follows:

1. Mix liquid ingredients in the blender

2. Slowly add coconut oil and lemon, as directed

3. Once the mix gets to thick for your blender, pour into a bowl and mix the rest of the oil in by hand. (Really need that VitaMix... I'm convinced it will change my life. Much like the food processor I love.)

4. Chill

5. Once fully chilled, pour into food processor and blend. If it's still too thin, add a little more coconut oil which, when it comes in contact with the chilled frosting, will thicken the mix.

6. FROST! Yay!

See, simple? Well, okay, not simple. But at least it's predictable. I'm good with that for now.

Page 57: Banana Bread/Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

Early Sunday morning while hubby was out for a sunrise surf session, I decided to whip up a yummy BabyCakes treat for breakfast. Flipping through the book, I happened upon the banana bread. Not having ventured into the tea cakes chapter yet, I thought banana bread was a perfect choice.

The recipe was for just the banana bread, but in the description Erin McKenna recommends throwing in a cup of chocolate chips. "You will not be sorry" she declares. Okay then... mine became banana chocolate chip bread.

The recipe was pretty standard - well, pretty standard for BabyCakes. You know the drill... gluten free four, xanthan gum, agave nectar. And, of course, coconut oil - which I have been using with such frequency that I recently ordered a seven pound vat of it from amazon.com.

When I got to the part in the recipe where you pour the batter into the bread pan, the following sentence struck me as somewhat odd: Fill the pan halfway with batter. See "Batter Spectacular" on page 63 for ideas for using leftover batter. I thought it was a little strange that the recipe had "extra batter", but who am I to question. So I obediently flipped to page 63 to see what was up.

The referenced "spectacular" paragraph on page 63 recommends lining a pan with parchment paper and spreading the batter out like a giant pancake (well, I made the pancake reference up on my own, but it works). So I did, and as you'll see in a bit it was a darn good thing I did.

The extra batter only has to bake for 10 minutes, while the entire loaf is supposed to bake for 35 minutes.  It being breakfast time and me being hungry, I had dug into the extra batter pancake long before the banana bread was finished. I was adequately impressed. I actually think next time I will leave out the chocolate chips because they really took over the flavor and I am a fan of a good, solid, plain old banana bread. But the extra batter was very moist, not too dense, and overall quite yummy.

Perhaps it was because I was so happily preoccupied with the extra batter pancake, but I completely destroyed the banana bread. Using the tried and true method, I checked the loaf with a toothpick at 20 minutes when I rotated it 180 degrees. As expected, the toothpick was not clean so I left it to bake the remaining 15 minutes. However, I didn't use a toothpick again at 35 minutes and instead just removed the beautifully golden brown loaf from the oven.

Big mistake. Despite the golden brown appearance, it was not yet ready to be retrieved.

I let it cool while we were out for the day and when we returned the sunken center made it quite obvious the top was still mostly batter. I sliced into it and verified the obvious. There was no saving it at that point.

So I am discovering that the baking times in the book are ... more like guidelines. Maybe it's my oven. Maybe, as my grandma recently suggested, it has something to do with the weather. Maybe I should just check it with a toothpick before I call it done.

Based on how good the extra batter and the sides of the loaf were, I will certainly try this again. But for now, moving on to carrot cupcakes - coming soon!

Page 77: Brownies

Or shall I say... brownie bites.  The book recommends that you make these little darlings in mini-muffin tins instead of in a casserole dish - so they come out in perfectly bite sized (or two bites for me!) gems. I was slightly preoccupied with making shish-kabobs and prepping for a Memorial Day BBQ so the pictures are minimal. My profuse apologies. You'll get the drift.

Mixing in the chocolate chips

The finished product - such cuties!

I loved these! They were so chocolately and rich! Brownie bites were actually the very first thing I tried from BabyCakes when I was in New York - and the homemade version did not disappoint.

And... I made another batch of chocolate chip cookie sandwiches - and this time I was able to practice enough self restraint that they were still around when our friends arrived for the BBQ. They came out slightly different this time, but everyone still loved them. The cookies were not as chewy - I still have some perfecting to do with those persnickety little things - and the frosting... simply DISASTROUS.

Seriously. Went straight to the food processor this time and the texture resembled that of curdled milk. I also partially blame my coconut oil. Anyway, thank goodness these babies are best frozen because the frosting never really acted like frosting.

These sandwiches have become something akin to a stubborn child. It seems the frosting needs some magical combination of blending followed by a turn in the food processor, but only after being blended and chilled. And no two sheets of cookies have turned out the same. Even I am not that high maintenance. I think maybe the solution lies in new Vita-Mix blender. I'll start working on talking to hubby into that one. I WILL master this!

Persnickety - but so worth it.

Page 126: Blackberry, Peach, and Oat Cobbler

To celebrate the end of our "absolutely zero sugar" diet last week, Kim joined us for dinner and I made cobbler for dessert on Friday night! It was wooooonnnnnderful! Even if there was only three tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 cup of agave nectar in the entire dish... trust me - it was perfect!

Mixing up the filling

Adding the yummy crumb topping

As Kim pointed out, it looks somewhat unbecoming in the before stage...

Before

After - golden delicious!

We topped it off with So Delicous Vanilla Bean (coconut milk) ice cream and enjoyed it warm. The hubby had seconds and told me I could tell you so... just so you know I'm not exaggerating the delicious factor. Everyone (yep, even him) approved.

So delicious! Both the blackberries and the peaches were very good so I'm sure that helped make it extra yummy.  Definitely a successful BabyCakes experience... and a treat perfectly worthy of bringing an end to the week of zero sugar!

Credit is due to Kim for her wonderful photography skills for this post! Thanks, Kim!