Tag: dessert

Magnolia Bakery Handbook 6: Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Pudding

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Over the weekend, I was finally able to see some friends for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Both of these friends were former co-workers who have moved onto bigger and better opportunities. It is so strange, sometimes. You go from seeing certain people almost every day for years then suddenly overnight it’s over. It’s the same thing with graduating high school and even college.

We still keep in touch and had plans to see each other regularly, but the pandemic kind of put those plans on hold. We are now hoping to restart our regular visits.

We decided that I would host the little get-together, so naturally, I made a couple things. I made a lovely dip as an appetizer. In fact, it was Ree Drummond’s (The Pioneer Woman) Eight-Layer Dip. But the star of the show was the dessert!

This dessert is featured in the Banana Pudding chapter of the Magnolia Bakery cookbook. Banana Pudding seems to be their signature treat at the bakery. The chapter contains variations on the basic BP recipe: salted caramel, java chip, peanut butter, etc.

All of them look delicious. So, I figured combining the deliciousness of banana pudding with Nutella would be a hit! And it was!

But, I will say, I think the recipe for Banana Pudding that I made from Ina’s Garten’s cookbook tasted better. Maybe next time I’ll try that recipe with the Nutella addition!

Cupcakes, Party Style!

Published on by RJ1 Comment

With my birthday being last week, I decided to make the cupcakes for the work-related celebration everyone gets. I could have went “over the top,” but frankly, I wanted to keep it simple. So, I found a recipe from Sally’s Baking Addition and got to work.

I made her Confetti Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting. The addition of the sprinkles to the decorations really made me feel like I was serving up a party! The pop of color was a fun addition!

Continue reading “Cupcakes, Party Style!” →

Magnolia Bakery Recipe 5: Peanut Butter Icebox Bars

Published on by RJ4 Comments

Wow!

I didn’t realize how long it had been since I’ve made a recipe out of the Magnolia Bakery cookbook. Almost two months! Where has the time gone?

A few weeks ago, my family hosted some family members for a little get-together. It was the first one since the pandemic started and since we all had become fully vaccinated, and it was held outdoors, we felt safe enough.

I was asked to provide dessert for the occasion, which of course, I jumped on! I made two desserts. The first one was Ina Garten’s Boston Cream Pie and the second was these Peanut Butter Icebox Bars. I really liked this one since this was a no-bake recipe so it made my life a bit easier.

This recipe was one of the easiest ones I’ve ever made and the result? Decadent peanut butter clouds that were a huge hit!

While they were tasty and well-received, I did taste a little too much cream cheese for my liking. If I made them again, I will probably use more peanut butter or a little less cream cheese — or maybe both! Also, I ended up using way more caramel sauce than called for. I probably needed double the amount in the recipe to “thinly coat” my 9×13 pan.

The only other downside to these was the fact that they would “melt” quickly. There is no gelatin in these bars, so in order to stay firm, it relies solely on the cream cheese consistency. Once they are held in your hands, from either just handling them or eating them, they do warm up a bit and start to lose their shape. Leaving them out on a hot day? Forget about it, they will start to spread.

But have no fear! I’ve found a solution — well actually, my mom did. She froze some of the pieces. When we tried them a few days later, they tasted even better and stayed firm which I think improved the taste a bit. Thanks, Mom!

Cut these on the smaller side since they are quite rich. The crust alone was a treat!

My counter while the crust was cooling. I was anxiously waiting to do the next step of the process!

I tried to take a close-up shot and be artsy. I only realized when I went to upload it to the blog that this photo has the tray in focus and not the topping, which is what I was going for. *sigh*

And finally…..!

Completed and chilled! Nom…nom…nom! It’s going to be a bit warm today. I wish I had one of these frozen to snack on later.

Barefoot Contessa Recipe 49 Boston Cream Pie

Published on by RJ5 Comments

This recipe can be found in Comfort Food.

Over the weekend, some members of my family got together for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. It was nice to see some of these people after many months of not being able to do so.

With my new interest in baking, it was requested that I make dessert. Of course, I obliged. In fact, I made not only one, but two different desserts for the soiree.

The first dessert is one that caught my eye immediately upon thumbing through Ina’s latest cookbook. I’m not sure if it was the stellar food photography, the head notes, or the dessert itself. But Ina’s Boston Cream Pie was one I knew I had to make — and soon!

In the cookbook, Ina states that it took her almost 9 years to develop and perfect this recipe! And let me tell you: it is amazing! It was also well-received by the party guests. Ina is famous for creating simple recipes and enhancing classic dishes. Her Boston Cream Pie is definitely unlike anything you have tasted before. The additions of brandy and Grand Mariner allow the orange flavors to come alive and throw your taste buds a dance party!

This recipe was a multi-step process, but nothing was too overwhelming. It also allowed me to work on many different skills such as making pastry cream, chocolate ganache, and a sponge cake.

Here’s some photos of the various parts in the whole

The pastry cream which was flavored with brandy and Grand Mariner.
Melting chocolate for the ganache! This recipe combined bittersweet with semi-sweet chocolate to make a ganache that wasn’t too sweet.

And finally….

The finished cake! If you ask me, it looks like an over-sized Boston Cream Pie donut. But I guess that’s the point, right?

Happy baking!

Magnolia Bakery #4 Banana Chocolate Chip Cake with Nutella Buttercream

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I recently completed my Master’s degree. So of course I had to celebrate the achievement! For me, celebrating includes baking and decorating a cake….and of course eating it! So, naturally, I turned to a recipe out of my favorite baking cookbook: The Magnolia Bakery Handbook.

I had been eyeing this recipe for quite sometime. I loved the idea of banana in a cake and combined with chocolate chips I thought “How bad could it be?” Plus it used one of my favorite ingredients. Nutella! I swear, I think Nutella was originally designed for the Gods, but it somehow made its way to Earth. Luckily for us, we now get to taste this wonderful ingredient.

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Magnolia Bakery Handbook #3

Published on by RJ2 Comments

A couple weekends ago (yes, time has been flying!), I was in the mood for a chocolate treat. I didn’t feel like making a cookie and I would be having cake the following weekend (A post about that is coming later). I settled on brownies.

Luckily, the Magnolia Bakery Handbook has some wonderful brownie recipes. I decided to make the simple and basic Double Chocolate Brownies. These are a great brownie. Not too cakey, the right amount of fudgy, and very chocolatey. I felt like I died and went to chocolate heaven!

Plus, they were really easy to make. No stand mixer required!

Continue reading “Magnolia Bakery Handbook #3” →

Fridays Are For Cakes (Magnolia Bakery Recipe #1)

Published on by RJ3 Comments

My father’s birthday was last Saturday. For me this date had a little more meaning this year than in previous years since it is the day I coincide with the end of the “before times” prior to COVID-19 changing our lives.

So, as a way for me to stay distracted, I offered to bake his birthday cake. He gladly accepted the offer. So, I turned to a book that I have fallen in love with ever since I purchased it last Fall. It is The Magnolia Bakery Handbook: A Complete Guide for the Home Baker. This is a MUST BUY for anyone who enjoys baking, even in a casual sense. The recipes are flawless and so easy to follow. You will honestly feel like you are a master baker every time you try one of these recipes!

Continue reading “Fridays Are For Cakes (Magnolia Bakery Recipe #1)” →

Yesterday’s Bake

Published on by RJ1 Comment

Yesterday was Pi Day! It was March 14 and the mathematical number, Pi, begins with 3.14. Though I did decide to bake yesterday, I did not bake a pie. Instead, I made GIANT chocolate chip cookies!

The recipe I used came from Sally’s Baking Addiction and the recipe I used can be found here. I highly recommend checking out her baking blog. There are recipes for virtually anything you would ever want to bake. Plus, the stellar food photograph really makes her recipes shine. I often want to jump right into my computer’s screen to gobble everything up!

If you are looking for a giant cookie recipe, these will not disappoint. The recipe is easy and, unlike some of Sally’s cookie recipes, does not require any chilling time. One downside is the recipe only yields 6 cookies. Though, each one is equivalent to about 4 regular-sized cookies. But, by making a second batch, you can get twelve extra, extra large cookies in no time!

I’ll be honest, when making these cookies, I thought the massive amount of cookie dough used for each one would cause it to be dense. But that wasn’t the case at all. This recipe was definitely a success for me! The best part? No scooping the dough required. (One less tool to wash!) I just turned out the prepared cookie dough on a piece of parchment paper, formed it into a large hockey puck shape, and divided it into 6 sections. Each section became one cookie. It worked great!!

After baking, while the cookies cooled, I decide to “dress them up” a little bit and pressed in some additional chocolate chips into the tops. This gave the cookie a “bakery look” and really did make them look better.

Yum!

Barefoot Contessa Recipe #36: Red Velvet Cupcakes

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This recipe is available in How Easy is That?

This week, one of my co-workers had his last day at work before moving onto his new job. Usually we have a little party and lunch or dinner for the person leaving. Due to some COVID precautions, this was scaled back a tad. But, I still offered to make cupcakes!

Part of this — ok, most of it — was self-centered. I love to bake and I wanted another excuse to knock off a recipe. So, I offered to make the red velvet cupcakes. And let me tell you: they were a HUGE hit!

This recipe makes 15 cupcakes, which in my opinion is a great number. Many other red velvet recipes make like 24 cupcakes. I didn’t need that many…trying to lose weight and be healthy with cupcakes around the house isn’t a good idea–so Ina came through on that front as well!

These cupcakes weren’t dry and had the right balance of flavors. There wasn’t too much food coloring in them. That was nice because who likes tasting food coloring? The cream cheese frosting was the perfect balance between the tangy cream cheese flavor and sweetness. I highly recommend these for your next red velvet needs!

Due to COVID, I decided to put each one in little boxes. That way people could take them home if they didn’t want to eat them at work. Though, most of my coworkers just ate them right after serving. But, the boxes did make them look cute and more “professional.” I was very pleased with how these turned out.