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Author Archives: Kerstin - Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Lemon Birthday Bars

September 1, 2011

What makes these birthday bars? The sprinkles! I just can’t resist desserts covered in sprinkles, and sugar cookies with a nice thick layer of frosting are one of my favorite treats. I recently decided to bake up some fun sprinkle covered sugar cookies with my own special twist!

I love making bar cookies because they’re so easy to throw together. I mixed the perfect amount of lemon zest and almond extract into the cookie dough and topped the bars with an ooey gooey frosting made with cream cheese, lemon curd, and powdered sugar. And of course, added a healthy dose of sprinkles on top. My birthday isn’t until tomorrow, but I’ve been enjoying these all week!

Lemon Birthday Bars
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup lemon curd
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons sprinkles

Directions:
To make the bar cookies, heat oven to 350˚F. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Mix in egg and almond extract; stir in flour, lemon zest, baking powder, and salt until soft dough forms. Spread dough in bottom of a greased 8×8-inch square pan. Bake 18 to 20 minutes at 350˚F or until light golden brown on the edges and a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

To make the frosting, place cream cheese and lemon curd in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Mix in powdered sugar until smooth. Spread frosting evenly over cooled sugar cookie bars and top evenly with sprinkles. Cut into 16 bars.

Nutrition: 225 calories, 13.8g fat, 0.3g fiber, 2.9g protein per bar
Cost: $0.34 per bar

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Mini Green Tea Cheesecakes

August 28, 2011

I’m always a little amazed about how much forgotten stuff we find when we’re packing. Our small kitchen has been literally been overflowing with cooking/baking supplies and I just found a brand new mini cheesecake pan hidden behind my fondant tools on top of one of our cabinets – oops. I was determined to use it before we actually moved so I made these delightful little cheesecakes.

The crust is made of crushed gingersnaps and the cheesecake filling is flavored with green tea powder, or matcha, which I scored from HMart, but can also be bought online from amazon. I added a little almond extract as well, since I’ve been in love with the stuff lately, most recently when I made almond cream cheese frosting to top the ginger chiffon cupcakes filled with mango mousse I saw on Shannon’s blog. They were for a work wedding shower and so good (congrats Libby!). I topped my little cheesecakes with fun pieces of crystallized ginger. These are the perfect size and I will not be forgetting about this pan anytime soon!

Mini Green Tea Cheesecakes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup gingersnap cookie crumbs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons matcha (green tea powder)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
12 small pieces of crystallized ginger, for garnish

Directions:
Heat oven to 350˚F. Spray a 12-cup mini cheesecake pan with cooking spray. Mix gingersnap cookie crumbs and melted butter in a small bowl. Distribute evenly among the cups of the mini cheesecake pan and push down evenly with your fingers. Bake at 350˚F for 7 to 9 minutes or until set.

Reduce oven heat to 300˚F. Combine the cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl and beat on medium-high speed with a mixer for 3 minutes or until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Stir in matcha and almond extract. Pour into the cups of the mini cheesecake pans and bake at 300˚F for 20 minutes or until edges are set and middle is slightly wobbly. Garnish with crystallized ginger, if desired. Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours or until chilled and remove from the pan. Makes 12 servings.

Nutrition: 238 calories, 16.7g fat, 0.2g fiber, 4.4g protein per mini cheesecake
Cost: $0.46 per mini cheesecake

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BBQ Chicken and Cheddar Baked Potatoes with Corn and Roasted Red Peppers

August 24, 2011

I’ve been unable to stop smiling lately. I just feel like we have so much to look forward to – we’re moving next week into a more spacious apartment and will finally have a grown up master suite with a walk-in closet. I’m already itching to organize our new kitchen and we’re working on buying new furniture to keep things more organized – yes, all our books will actually be on bookcases instead of hidden away in boxes in the garage! We also have a couple of fun trips planned for the fall including a visit with my mom over her birthday weekend, a trip to Portland, Oregon for my dear friend Britt’s wedding, and a once in a lifetime adventure to New Zealand!

Small things usually make me smile too though – a sweet training run, an iced mocha (soon to be a pumpkin latte – yay!), or a yummy dinner like these easy baked potatoes loaded with all the delightful goodies in today’s lengthy recipe title. These were really filling and perfect for leftovers the next day!

BBQ Chicken and Cheddar Baked Potatoes with Corn and Roasted Red Peppers
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
4 large baking potatoes, scrubbed and poked all over with a fork
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
Corn from 4 ears of corn
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 7-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
Juice of half a lime
2 cooked boneless chicken breasts (I poached mine), shredded
1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
1 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:
Heat oven to 400˚F. Place potatoes on a large cookie sheet and bake at 400˚F for 60 to 70 minutes or until tender. Cool 15 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop out most of the flesh, leaving just enough behind that the potato skins can still stand up. Place flesh in a large bowl. Mash well and stir in butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat and sauté onions for 5 to 7 minutes or until soft; add corn and sauté 3 more minutes; add garlic and sauté one additional minute. Remove from heat and stir in roasted red peppers, lime juice, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Place veggies in the bowl with the potato flesh and mix well.

Preheat oven broiler. Mix shredded chicken and BBQ sauce together in a medium bowl. Fill potato skins evenly with the potato/veggie mixture. Top evenly with BBQ chicken and cheddar cheese. Broil for 2 to 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 660 calories, 26.7g fat, 7.2g fiber, 45.4g protein per serving
Cost: $2.53 per serving

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Pesto Goat Cheese Pizza

August 20, 2011

When it comes to pizza, I’m a crust girl. It can make or break a pie for me and I will often scavenge up extra pieces of crust from my crazy family members who are somehow not all about the carbs. The very first thing I made with my sourdough starter was this amazing pizza dough, which resulted in the very best crust I’ve ever made! It’s an ideal way to use up some of starter that you would otherwise throw away when you’re feeding your culture, and the resulting crust had the perfect amount of tang and chew. It just baked up beautifully and I felt like I was in a pizzeria!

I love pizza of all kinds – thick, thin, deep dish – I don’t discriminate, but this time went for a nice hearty thick crust and used the entire amount of dough for one pizza. I topped the crust with a generous amount of an arugula and basil pesto blended with a hefty amount of goat cheese. Then I topped it off with lots of chopped tomatoes, mozzarella, and fontina cheese. So good!

Oh, and you can actually buy a sourdough starter if you don’t want to deal with making your own but would like to try a few sourdough recipes at home!

Pesto Goat Cheese Pizza
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Pesto Goat Cheese Sauce:
1 cup packed arugula (2 ounces)
1/2 cup packed basil (0.7 ounces)
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1/4 cup finely grated pecorino romano cheese
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup olive oil
6 ounces goat cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt

Pizza Assembly:
1 batch of sourdough pizza dough
6 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded fontina cheese

Directions:
To make the sauce, place arugula, basil, pine nuts, pecorino romano, garlic, and olive oil in a food processor and pulse until smooth, about a 1 minute, scraping down the sides as needed. Put in goat cheese and salt and pulse again until smooth.

To make the pizza, heat oven and a pizza stone to 500˚F. Shape pizza dough into desired shape on a peel heavily dusted with semolina flour. Spread crust evenly with pesto goat cheese sauce and top evenly with tomatoes, mozzarella, and fontina cheese. Bake on the pizza stone at 500˚F for 12 to 15 minutes or until crust is deep golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes and slice into 8 slices.

Nutrition: 384 calories, 14.1g fat, 2.2g fiber, 18.4g protein per slice
Cost: $1.67 per slice

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Summer Veggie and Chicken Lasagna with Goat Cheese Sauce

August 16, 2011

I think I’ve mentioned before that I often devour leftovers for dinner because I tend to get home pretty late and I’m always starving when I walk in the door. So, when I do manage to find time to cook during the week, I’m usually whipping up a meal to enjoy the next day, and I’m often just getting started in the kitchen around 10 or 11pm!

The other night I made this lasagna and instructed Apolinaras to stick it in the fridge before he hit the sack since it needed to cool down a bit more and I was heading off to bed. You can imagine my surprise when I was suddenly jolted awake by a grinning Apolinaras who had eaten a piece and came in to gush that it was the best lasagna I’d ever made! It was pretty cute that he couldn’t wait until morning to proclaim his lasagna love, and I fell right back asleep and almost thought the whole conversation was a dream until I asked him about the next day.

I stuffed my whole wheat lasagna with layers of creamy ricotta, chicken, summer veggies, and a luscious goat cheese sauce. I was very excited to recently find that the goat cheese at Costco now comes in two 10.5-ounce contains instead of one large package. Now there’s much less pressure to use it up before it goes bad – yay!

Summer Veggie and Chicken Lasagna with Goat Cheese Sauce
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Chicken and Veggie Layer:
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
2 zucchinis, chopped
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 7-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped

Ricotta Layer:
32 ounces part-skim ricotta
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg

Sauce:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk (I used 2%)
1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino romano
10.5 ounces goat cheese (1 log from costco)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Assembly:
1 box whole wheat lasagna noodles
4 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:
To make the chicken and veggie layer, heat olive oil over medium heat and cook chicken for 5-7 minutes, or until cooked through and no longer pink in the center. Place chicken in a large bowl and add zucchini to the same hot pan; sauté 5 minutes and add the leeks; sauté an additional 2 to 3 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and sauté one additional minute. Stir zucchini mixture and roasted red peppers in with the chicken.

To make the ricotta layer, place ricotta, basil, oregano, thyme, salt, and egg in a large bowl and mix until smooth.

To make the sauce, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth and cook one more minute or until mixture starts to brown. Whisk in milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and whisk in pecorino romano, goat cheese, and salt. Heat 5 minutes, stirring frequently, or until cheese is melted and mixture is smooth.

Heat oven to 350˚F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook lasagna noodles according to the directions on the package. To assemble the lasagna, place a layer of 4 noodles in a 13×9-inch pan and top it with half the ricotta mixture, half the chicken and veggie mix, half the sauce, and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Repeat this layer. Then place the remaining 4 noodles on top and sprinkle evenly with the 2 remaining cups of mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350˚F for 45 minutes or until cheesy is light brown and bubbly. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving. Makes 12 servings.

Nutrition: 501 calories, 23.4g fat, 4.1g fiber, 41.6g protein per serving
Cost: $1.93 per serving

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Triple Tomato Chicken Panini

August 12, 2011

My parents visited us last weekend! We started things off perfectly by enjoying some delicious pizza at Emma’s Thursday night. Then on Friday, I snuck out of work a bit early to check out the Chihuly exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts with them – amazing! I think my Dad put it best when he said he felt like we were in a world Dr. Seuss had created. After picking up Apolinaras, we headed out for Blue Ribbon BBQ, which the birthday boy requested, and then drove up to Vermont.

We started the next day by doing the Magic Hat Brewery tour and tasting, where I voted for Wacko, aka The Liquid Song of Summer, as my favorite. My mom was super cute and answered a question right on the tour to win a free pint glass.

Next up was lunch on Lake Champlain at Splash - we were literally on the lake since the tables are on a floating dock. The views were beautiful and our clam chowder was surprisingly excellent.

Then we indulged in a little ice cream during the Ben and Jerry’s Factory tour (which is free by the way if you check in on yelp) and my Dad and I squeezed in a hilly run before our Korean takeout from Yama. It was a very relaxing day and we headed to bed early since the next morning we needed to rise and shine super early for the highlight of our trip, a King Arthur Flour baking class!

I’ve been planning this trip with my mom ever since I took a class there last year with a group of bloggers. While the boys amused themselves by hiking the Appalachian Trail, my mom and I were treated to a tour of the King Arthur Flour warehouse, production facility where they make all their mixes, and test kitchen, led by the lovely Allison Furbish, who is their web media coordinator and set up our blogger baking class last year. Here we are in the test kitchen, where I salivated over their super well stocked walk-in pantry. Thanks so much Allison for coming in on a Sunday to show us around!

Then we headed in for our class called “The Magic of Wild Yeast – Sourdough” where we learned everything we need to know to successfully maintain starter cultures and bake beautiful boules of sourdough bread at home – SO fun! We also hit the King Arthur store, where I loaded up some fun baking goodies, and had a fantastic meal at Foundry on Elm after the drive home. I had such a great mini vacation with my family and wish they could visit more often!

Sourdough is my absolute favorite and I’ve been diligently feeding my starter and plan to make something with it soon! In the meantime, I wanted to whip up some sandwiches with the bread we baked during the class and decided to feature ripe summer tomatoes. I settled on chicken panini with a tomato and feta sauce topped with melted mozzarella and fresh tomato slices. I can’t wait to take a stab at making my own sourdough!

Triple Tomato Chicken Panini
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup of your favorite tomato sauce
1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
4 slices sourdough bread
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cooked butterflied boneless skinless chicken breasts, warmed
1 large tomato, sliced
2/3 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Place feta cheese and tomato sauce in a food processor and pulse until smooth, about 1 minute. Stir in sun dried tomatoes.

Use a pastry brush to evenly spread olive oil over each slice of bread. Flip slices of bread over and evenly spread with feta tomato sauce. Top two slices evenly with chicken, tomato slices, and mozzarella cheese. Top with the remaining slices of bread, tomato sauce side down. Place sandwiches in a preheated panini press and cook until bead is crispy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Makes 2 panini.

Nutrition: 503 calories, 24.0g fat, protein per panino
Cost: $2.60 per panino

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Chocolate Raspberry Torte

August 8, 2011

I think Boston is a bit of a cold city. It’s not something I notice anymore on a daily basis, but when I’m visiting more friendly regions, I’m often struck by the joggers who nod and give you a smile as you run past and the eager store employees who go out of their way to help you. These things rarely happen here and the subway is especially a land of aloofness where people tend to avoid eye contact. I’ve found a way to warm people up though – simply tote a homemade dessert around with you.

I have a clear cake carrying case that I bring all my treats to work in with and not only do people tend to smile when they see a dessert inside, many go out of their way to strike up a friendly conversation. Usually they ask if I made it or what flavor it is or just compliment its appearance, but one guy surprised me by pulling a quart of milk out of his backpack and asking if we could split the cherry pie I was holding with everyone on the train if he provided the beverages!

Desserts always make people happy, but I think it’s more than that. I think people realize that a lot of love goes into taking time out of one’s busy schedule to bake something special for someone. And I think they’re drawn to that warmth. A cheesy sentiment perhaps, but wouldn’t the world be a better place with more homemade desserts?

I recently baked up a treat for the most important birthday boy – Apolinaras, who celebrated his big day last Friday. He usually requests a treat with pineapple and coconut, but this year he wanted a decadent raspberry and chocolate cake instead. Here’s what I came up with – a layer of chocolate cake baked in a springform pan topped with a bit of raspberry puree and a creamy raspberry mousse. I garnished it with some dark chocolate shavings and fresh berries. Apolinaras and his coworkers were big fans!

p.s. Apolinaras suggested the best trick for removing the cake from the bottom of the springform pan (apparently, he uses a similar technique to remove his racing badges from his car). After detaching the sides of the pan, nurse a piece of dental floss or fishing line carefully under the entire length of the cake – then you can just lift the cake off with a big spatula and put it on the dish you’d like to serve it on. This avoids someone accidently cutting up the bottom of your fancy pan with a sharp knife!

Chocolate Raspberry Torte
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cake:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Raspberry Puree:
12 ounces frozen raspberries, thawed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Raspberry Mousse:
2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For assembly:
6 ounces fresh raspberries
1/2 ounce shaved dark chocolate

Directions:
To make the chocolate cake, heat oven to 350˚F. Grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan. Sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, espresso powder, and salt together into the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix buttermilk, oil, egg, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl until well combined. Add liquids to dry ingredients and mix for 2 minutes. Scrape down bowl and mix again briefly. Pour cake batter into the prepared springform pan and bake at 350˚F for 28 to 32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for an hour or until completely cooled to room temperature.

To make the raspberry puree, place raspberries in a food processor and pulse until smooth, about one minute. Push puree through a fine mesh strainer into a pot to remove the seeds. Add sugar and lemon juice to the pot and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer 2 minutes, stirring frequently, or until sugar is dissolved. Cool 1/2 cup of the puree to room temperature (I stuck mine in the freezer for 15 minutes).

To make the raspberry mousse, place heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract in a well chilled bowl and whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 1 1/2 minutes. Fold 1/2 cup cooled raspberry puree into the whipped cream until smooth.

To assemble the cake, poke cooled chocolate cake all over with a fork and evenly spread remaining 1/2 cup raspberry puree over the cake. Allow to sit for 30 minutes and massage the puree into the cake every 10 minutes. Top with raspberry mousse and garnish with fresh raspberries and shaved dark chocolate. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving. Remove from pan and smooth edges as needed. Store in the refrigerator. Makes 12 servings.

Nutrition: 387 calories, 25.5g fat, 4.3g fiber, 4.2g protein per serving
Cost: $0.95 per serving

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Mediterranean Cucumber Appetizers

August 4, 2011

I was craving a nice light summer snack the other night while I was reading and really wanted to munch on some of these cucumber hummus appetizers. Unfortunately, there was no hummus in the fridge or chickpeas in the cupboard and I was about to make some boring old popcorn, but then I spotted a tub of feta and these new Mediterranean inspired cucumber apps were born! I topped the crisp cucumbers with a creamy feta and pecorino romano cheese spread and then sprinkled on a healthy dose of chopped sun dried tomatoes and toasted pine nuts. Yum, these were very tasty and even fairly healthy little bites.

By the way, am I the only one who can never spell Mediterranean correctly? I’m always so off that my spell check never even has any recommendations!

Mediterranean Cucumber Appetizers
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup crumbled feta
1/3 cup finely grated pecorino romano cheese
1/4 cup milk
1 large English cucumber, cut into slices (I had 30)
1/2 cup finely chopped sun dried tomatoes
3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

Directions:
Place feta, pecorino romano, and milk in a food processor and pulse until smooth, about 1 minute. Evenly cover cucumber slices with the feta spread. Top evenly with sun dried tomatoes and pine nuts. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition: 138 calories, 10.1g fat, 1.2g fiber, 6.5g protein per serving
Cost: $0.88 per serving

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