root beer bundt cake

The root beer flavor in this cake is intense. I wasn't sure about making this because most times you hear about a soda flavored-cake and, for me, it tends not to be that flavored; you can't even taste what the original flavor was supposed to be. I hate that. And I hate wasting all those ingredients for nothing.
But this cake is very tasty--lots of root beer flavor in there, Recipe comes from a cookbook I'm dying to get which hails from a famous bakery in Brooklyn called Baked. I know a lot of you foodies have heard of this bakery and the more popular cookbook. I cannot wait to get my hands on this cookbook. This root beer bundt cake recipe uses root beer snapps. Bingo! That brings out flavor indeed. So, if you are a root beer lover as I am then try this, it's not a boring bundt cake at all. Everyone in our house loved this, it did not last long at all. That frosting, oh that frosting! Update! I have gotten the book and it's worth it! Very worth it. Modern baking at it's best.

root beer bundt cake
From Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
print recipe

Cake:
1 1/2 cups root beer (do not use diet root beer)
1/2 cup root beer schnapps (if you cannot find schnapps then use 2 cups of root beer, not the 1 and 1/2 cups as stated above)
1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1¼ cups granulated sugar
½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1¼ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs

Frosting:
2 ounces dark chocolate (60% cacao), melted and cooled slightly
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup root beer OR 1/8 cup of root schnapps
2/3 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
2½ cups confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Generously spray the inside of a 10-inch bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray; alternatively, butter it, dust with flour, and knock out excess flour.
In a small saucepan, heat the root beer, root beer schnapps (if using), cocoa powder, and butter over medium heat until the butter is melted. Add the sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.
In a small bowl, whisk the eggs until just beaten, then whisk them into a cooled cocoa mixture until combined. Gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture. The batter will be slightly lumpy - do not overbeat, as it could cause the cake to be tough.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a small sharp knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Gently loosen the sides of the cake from the pan and turn it out onto the rack.

For the root beer fudge frosting:
Put all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until the frosting is shiny and smooth. Use a spatula to spread the fudge frosting over the crown of the bundt in a thick layer. Let the frosting set before serving.

banana bread french toast

What to do with leftover banana bread you ask?

Well, let's make banana bread french toast!


I know Veggie Girl will relate to this as she eats a lot of banana bread when she's not eating her Lara Bars.
This french toast does not need any syrup, just butter. A little crispy on the outside and soft & cake-like on the inside. This is so easy to make too, just use the same egg batter you would with regular french toast, fry in butter, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar or whatever you're craving, top with butter, and eat. Easy.

I'm trying out my new camera that I got for Christmas. It's a Canon something. It takes really good pictures in the worst of light which I love since my last camera I literally had to have the stars align in order to get great photos. This new camera is just so much easier, but now I have to learn how to use all the buttons to make my photos even better for shooting food so that my shots are a little more in focus.

What did everyone get for Christmas? Do tell.....

Cheez It Bark

I'm sure you've all seen the "ghetto toffee" recipe floating around food-bloggerland for the holiday season. But my question to you is, have you seen it this way?

Yep, I totally went there--I used the ever-so-tasty Cheez-It crackers. Trust me on this one. It is WAY better than saltines. The sweet buttery toffee mixed with the salty taste of Cheez-It's. Oh yeah! Now we're talking tasty toffee.

cheez it bark
from vanillasugarblog.com
print recipe

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 cup, packed light brown sugar
2 bags of 11.05 ounces of milk chocolate chips
½ box of the Big-size Cheez-It’s (use the big ones, as they cover more room)
1 cup of crushed toasted pecans (or walnuts or whatever you crave)

Preheat oven to 400ºF.
Line jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray. Or just use a non-stick jelly roll pan.
Lay a flat layer of Cheez-It crackers out on the foil. I did a layer and a half, making sure to cover up any gaps with Cheez-It’s.
In a saucepan, melt the sugar and butter until a boil is reached. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 3-4 minutes or until mixture is thickened and sugar is completely dissolved. Pour this mixture over the crackers and spread to coat evenly. Do not mix! Just pour, and fill in any gaps with a spatula.
Bake in pre-heated oven for 5-8 minutes, or until the toffee becomes bubbly. Turn off oven, then take out of oven and let it sit for a couple of minutes. Then sprinkle on the chocolate chips. But tray back in oven to help the chips melt a bit. When chips are melted a bit, spread them into an even layer like you would frosting a cake. After done spreading the chocolate this is the time to sprinkle on the chopped nuts or whatever else you want to add.
Let cool and/or refrigerate until hardened. Once firmly cooled then break into pieces.
So good. Trust me the Cheez-It’s make all the difference!

really, no I mean really, cheesy crackers

Are there some of you out there that love cheese crackers? Always have box or two of cheese crackers in the cupboard? And each and every time you buy a new box of cheese crackers you hope & pray that this type of cheese cracker will actually TASTE cheesy? Yeah, I thought so. Well, look no further. Here is the ultimate cheese cracker. This cracker is so cheesy (how cheesy is it?) that after just one little cracker you will be seriously satisfied. After two crackers you will be reaching for a drink because you're so thirsty.
Another great blessing in disguise? They are super easy to make. Perfect to serve for a holiday party. Look at the edges, they get a nice golden color to them. I love how lightly crisp these are. Now, these do have a bit of heat to them which I love, but if you don't like heat then omit the cayenne. Sorry the pics aren't that great this time around--we've have days of rain, no sun, so I'm lacking my natural light for good photos.

Savory Italian Cheese Crackers
By Dawn

1 cup AP flour
1 cup Parmesan, grated
1 stick salted butter, cold & cut into chunks
½ to 1 ts Rosemary (depending on taste preference)
3 sun-dried tomatoes (on oil)
2 dashes of cayenne (optional)
1/2 ts salt
a dash or two of half & half or cream (if needed)

In a food processor combine flour, cheese, butter, rosemary cayenne, salt, and sun-dried tomatoes.
Pulsate a few times until the dough forms dough-likeness, take it out of the food processor and place it on your kitchen counter or cutting board.
Shape the dough into a log and place it on a piece of plastic wrap. Wrap tightly. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Use a really sharp knife, slice the dough into ½ inch thick slices. These are supposed to look rustic, so no need to shape them into some sort of uniformity.
Bake the cookies for 10 - 12 minutes, until lightly golden brown. They do cook fast, keep an eye on first batch until you see how fast they do brown because the bottoms brown a lot faster than the tops.
Let them cool a bit before eating. As they cool they will harden a bit.

Note: my dough batter on a couple of occasions was very dry and hard to form into a long. So I added a dash or two of half & half and it came together perfectly. If you do add in the half & half please make sure to add in as little as possible as it only takes a tiny amount; add too much and you can ruin the dough.

peanut butter shortbread

I love going to the peanut butter company website to find new exciting ways to create baked goods with pb in them. Plus their peanut butter products are some of my favorite. A while ago I saw this recipe for peanut butter shortbread, bookmarked it, even printed it out to try at some point. Or as most of us say, put it in the "to cook" pile. I finally came around to baking it. If you are a lover of peanut butter then I highly suggest making this. It's very rich, very buttery and you can try new flavors of peanut butter to use (best part) in it. The recipes on their website change from month to month so I don't know if the pb shortbread is still up there, but I'll list it below for you. There is also a recipe, currently up there, for pb hot chocolate. Sounds good.
I loved this shortbread so much, that the next time I make it I want to dip one end of the shortbread in melted milk chocolate and give these out to family & friends as Christmas gifts. I haven't even begun to start my holiday baking! Ack! Anyone else way behind in baking? For some reason I am having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit lately. Maybe it's all the rain and lack of sunshine. Who knows. I did all my Christmas cards, but it felt like it took forever and a day to do. Anyone else in a Christmas-less funk?

PB Shortbread
adapted from The Peanut Butter Company

2 cups flour
2/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup white chocolate pb (or try the: Dark Chocolate dreams, Mighty Maple)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
(I added 1/2 cup of Nestle pb & milk chocolate swirls morsels)

Prehead the oven to 275 (I cooked mine at 300 degrees). Grease a 9-inch cake pan for wedges or I guess you could use a square pan or even roll into balls for cookies.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour and salt and set aside.
In a separate large bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the butter, peanut butter, sugar, and vanilla till fluffy.
Continue mixing, adding the dry ingredients 1/2 cup at a time, until fully incorporated.
If you want classic wedges, at this point press the dough into the prepared cake pan, using a knife to score the surface of the dough into 12 wedge-shaped pieces. (I put mine in the fridge to chill for an hour before baking, then scored the dough before baking)
Repeatedly press the tips of a fork around the outer edge of the shortbread, creating four concentric circles of dots.
Bake for 60 - 75 minutes (I baked mine at 300 degrees for 60 minutes) or until shortbread is a pale golden color (if using the chocolate pb look for a slight crispness around the edges).
If in wedges, allow to cool for 1 hour before cutting.
(the next time I make these I am dipping one end of the shortbread into melted milk chocolate). Store in airtight container for up to 2 weeks. I put caramel drizzle on almost everything.
A big thank you to my friend Elle over at Elle's New England Kitchen. I won her recent giveway contest and will be receiving Barefoot Contessa's latest book "Back to Basics". I am over-the-moon thrilled to have won.