We interrupt the recipes to insert a commercial link

Anyone who regularly reads my blog has probably now noticed the new amazon images of the cookbooks with most of the blog posts.  There are several reasons for that - the most obvious one being I joined the Amazon Associates program and they make it ridiculously easy to insert the links and images that'll take you to their site so you can be tempted to buy stuff.  Jeff Bezos is no dummy.  He dangles a certain % of each sale driven by the associate's driving traffic/purchases to amazon back to the associate.  Rest assured anything I earn will go towards baking ingredients so I can keep trying new recipes and blogging about them, lol.

But the main driver is I want to give proper credit to the cookbooks & authors that I get my recipes from.  I'm always careful to cite the recipe source but I think it's actually cool to be able  to show you the recipe book I got something from. I believe in giving people the proper credit for their work.  Most of this baking odyssey is about my trying existing recipes from my plethora of baking books.  I rarely have time to make up my own.  I will tweak and fuss over an existing recipe and try to make it as faithfully as the recipe author intended with my notes on what I thought of it and how I'd change it up to (hopefully) make it better.  But I have to give the nod to the people who spent countless hours (because yes, that's what each recipe entails) to put the recipe together in the first place.  It's the right thing to do. 

The other reason is if some of what I post intrigues you enough to make you want to buy the book yourself, you can with a click of the link.  Or, even if you don't end up buying it from amazon, at least now you know what the book looks like in case you do decide to get it from somewhere.  It's always fun when someone tells me they tried a recipe I blogged about and they liked it so much they bought the original cookbook.  I admit to preferences for certain cookbooks and certain cookbook authors and am not shy about making those preferences known.  As I look back at the old posts and see the same cookbooks popping up, which ones I like seem to be obvious.  Once I move and unpack my 200+ baking books again, I'll have to experiment a bit more with the less-used books.  I'm still technically on a no-more-buying-baking-books moratorium until I use more of the recipe books I already have.  I'm setting myself a goal to make at least one recipe from each of the 200+ baking books I own before I let myself buy another.  My ulterior motive?  My favorite cookbook author, Lisa Yockelson, has a new baking book coming out called Bakingstyle in August 2011.  It's already up on amazon but there's no description of it, just the price and the release date.  I have no idea what the theme is or what kind of recipes will be in it.  I don't care.  I want it.  90% of the recipes I try from her cookbook always turn out.  That's a pretty high success rate.  So the challenge is on because I want this book....

My Favorite Cream Cheese Pound Cake

My Favorite Cream Cheese Pound Cake - first made November 2007 from Sticky Messy Chewy Gooey

That's what this recipe is literally called, not that I'm calling it my favorite cream cheese pound cake.  Truth be told, I've only made 2 cream cheese pound cakes and the other one is the entry just before this one.  I thought I'd post this one in case anyone wanted to do any comparative baking and taste testing.  However, between the two, I do have to give the nod to this recipe.  It's richer and (to me) has more flavor, probably because it's got a hefty 50% more butter than the other recipe.  The toothpick test works well for this one when you're testing for doneness.  It tastes great warm (most things do) but is also great at room temperature.  Don't refrigerate this as that'll dry it out.  If you need to store it because you aren't going to eat it all within a couple of days - and the consumption of anything with this much butter in it should be spaced out - then wrap it in foil or a freezer bag and put in the freezer. 

While this is richer, I wouldn't say the cream cheese is overpowering in flavor.  It's actually quite subtle.  I suspect the cream cheese helps with the excellent texture this has but if you're like me and aren't wild about the taste of cream cheese, this is a safe pound cake to make.

1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

3 cups sugar

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

6 large eggs, at room temperature
3 cups bleached all-purpose flour, sifted then measured

1 teaspoon baking powder

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325˚F. Spray two 8 ½ by 4 ½” loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Beat the butter and cream cheese together in a large bowl, with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. With the mixer running, gradually add the sugar and continue beating until pale and fluffy. Beat in the salt and vanilla.

3. Add the eggs to the butter mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift the flour again along with the baking powder into the batter and, using a large rubber spatula, fold in until no traces of flour remain and the batter is smooth.

4. Divide the batter between the two prepared loaf pans. Bake until the tops are golden and slightly cracked, and when a skewer inserted into the center of the cakes comes out with only a few moist crumbs clinging to it, 60 to 75 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn the cakes out of the pans and let cool to room temperature on the wire rack before serving.

5. At this point the cakes can be wrapped well in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake - Southern Cakes

Cream Cheese Pound Cake - made October 12, 2010 from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott

This cookbook is turning into a nice little find. Although the two frosting recipes I've tried from it = FAIL, the cakes themselves have been turning out pretty well. They're simple, basic cakes that I think anyone can make well and sometimes simple is best. I can't try anything fancier than Bundt cakes or 9 x 13 cakes right now since almost all of my baking pans are packed but I'm looking forward to making some of the layer cake recipes once I settle in.

What I like about this cake is it has a nice crumb and a typical pound cake texture. You can't really taste the cream cheese though so if you're a cream cheese lover, you might be disappointed. I have another cream cheese pound cake recipe from Sticky Messy Chewy Gooey that I could've sworn I'd blogged about before but nothing's coming up when I search for it on the blog so I might have to post that in another update. That one is a bit richer. This one is good plain but if you want to dress it up, you can add a vanilla glaze to it.

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
One 8-ounce package (1 cup) cream cheese, softened
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Heat the oven to 325˚F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan, or two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and stir with a fork to mix well.
3. Combine the softened butter and cream cheese in a large bowl, and beat well with a mixer at medium speed to transform them into a soft, fluffy mixture. Add the sugar and continue beating 2 minutes more, stopping once to scrape down the sides. Add the eggs, one by one, beating after each addition to mix it in well.
4. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, beating after each addition at low speed only until the flour disappears. Scrape down the bowl 2 or 3 times as you work. Stir in the vanilla, and scrape the batter into the prepared pan.
5. Bake at 325˚F for 1 hour and 15 minutes (55 to 60 minutes for loaf pans), until the cake is golden brown, pulling away from the sides, and a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack or a folded kitchen towel until it is at room temperature. Then gently loosen the cake from the sides of the pan with a table knife and tirn it out onto a cake stand or serving plate, top side up.

"Walnut" Butter Shortbread

Walnut Butter Shortbread - made October 3, 2010 from the Culinary Institute of America Baking & Pastry Arts Program

So…..remember my regular harping about not liking to use nuts in baked goods? Well, forget about that for this post because in this recipe, nuts are a critical component that make it tasty. The original recipe calls for walnuts (hence the title) but my aversion to walnuts remain. Apparently I can’t change all my leopard-like spots at once. Not to knock walnuts but they’re too bitter for my taste. Pecans rule for this shortbread cookie. Toast the pecans first to bring out their flavor. The trick to toasting nuts? You have to rely on your sense of smell. You can time them but the best way to tell if the nuts are properly toasted is if they smell really good. That might seem frustratingly vague but try toasting nuts a few times and you’ll know what I mean. If you don’t toast them long enough, they’ll smell good but not really fragrant. If you have to stick your nose all the way into the pan to get the smell, then the nuts aren’t toasted enough. If you overtoast them, they’ll look and smell burnt. Depending on your oven, and if you want to be cautious, try toasting them for 7-10 minutes and keep checking if they should be toasted longer. But ultimately, follow your nose. Once the nuts are toasted, let them cool completely before you even start making the shortbread dough. If they’re even the slightest bit warm when you use them, they can melt your dough and you don’t want that. Plus it’s easier to chop them finely when they’re completely cool. I use my nut grinder to chop them up in less than 30 seconds. If you haven’t already, invest in a nut grinder. They’re less than $10 and will save you a lot of time.

These are the easiest shortbread cookies to make – the recipe is from the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) so it makes a lot but you can easily halve the recipe. The directions are pretty succinct but easy enough to follow. And you will need a food scale to measure the ingredients. My recipes from CIA are almost always based on weight, not volume since that's the most accurate measure. What I like about this recipe is the dough handles really well, i.e. it isn’t too sticky. Shape them into round or square logs, wrap them in wax paper and freeze them. When you’re ready to bake them, let the dough thaw slightly. If you cut the cookie logs while they’re too frozen, the dough will crumble. If you let it thaw too much, the dough may be soft and the log will start to lose its shape as you cut it. One trick I learned in culinary school is to keep turning the log as you make each slice so you can “re-shape” it back into the log instead of having one side flatten as you keep cutting.



The toasted pecans bring out a wonderful flavor to complement the buttery richness of the shortbread. Don’t underbake these (one of the few times you’ll see me write that) as the key to good shortbread is the “snap” of the cookie and you’ll only get that if you bake them long enough. I bake mine until the tops look a little dry and the underside is slightly golden brown. When they’re cool, they’re crisp without being hard. You can make these cookies plain and they make for tasty little tea cookies. However, this time around, I sandwiched these with a little dulce de leche. My parents just got back from South America and per my request (“PLEASE, Mom, all I want is dulce de leche”), they brought me back a couple of cans from Buenos Aires. I love dulce de leche. It goes really well with these cookies in terms of flavor and texture contrast. The only thing I would caution is you should put these together as a sandwich cookie at the very last minute before serving. Otherwise the filling (whether it’s dulce de leche or not) will soften the shortbread cookies over a few hours and you’ll lose the crispness and texture contrast. They’ll still taste good even if they’re not crisp but if you like the cookies crisp, wait until the last minute.

As the holidays approach, if you want some time-saving tips, make the dough ahead of time and wrap in wax paper before putting in the freezer, bake it the day you’re planning to serve it, put in airtight containers after they cool (Ziploc bags work really well) then sandwich them with the filling right before serving. This is also a good recipe to make with kids if you want a family activity since the dough is easy to put together, you just slice the cookie logs (no messing with flouring a cutting board, rolling out dough and cutting out cookies), and the kids can spread the filling and sandwich the cookies together.

Oh, and in case you’re not planning to go to South America any time soon, dulce de leche is available in the States. I’ve gotten the pricey jars at Williams Sonoma ($10 a jar - eek) but have been told they’re also available at Cost Plus World Market and I imagine they’re cheaper there. When my mom found that out, she wanted to know why I wanted her to bring dulce de leche back from South America when I could get it here. “But Mom, you were going to be in South America anyway….” Besides, I’d rather have dulce de leche than a t-shirt or a mug :).




1 lb soft butter
8 ozs brown sugar
1 lb, 4 ozs all-purpose flour
3 ozs cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla
8 ozs walnuts, chopped

1. Cream butter and sugar. Sift dry ingredients together and add to the above. Add walnuts and vanilla to the batter; mix just until combined.
2. Shape dough into bricks. Refrigerate until firm. Slice ¼” thick, lay on paper.
3. Bake at 350˚F for ~15-18 minutes.

Butterscotch Flip

Butterscotch Flip - made October 1, 2010 from Fat Witch Brownies by Patricia Helding

If you like butterscotch and chocolate together, this is an awesome brownie. It looks pretty and it's a great flavor combination. The sweetness of the brown sugar/butterscotch is perfectly complemented by the chocolate brownie layer. When I made this recipe, I baked it for 35 minutes as the top was the right color of brown and the toothpick came out moist but clean. In hindsight, after it cooled and I tried a piece, I should've baked it a little bit longer. The top layer was still a bit mushy. It wasn't bad but to get it a little more cakelike and less mushy, it could've used a few more minutes of baking time. It doesn't affect the flavor but texture-wise I think it would've been a bit better if baked a little longer. Once again, this was impacted by my workouts as I made the brownie, popped it into the oven and did my workout. I had to keep pausing my workout after the first 25 minutes to keep checking on it. By the 35-minute mark, I didn't want to keep pausing anymore so I just took it out :).

Bottom Brownie
7 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
2 large eggs
½ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup unbleached flour
Pinch of salt
¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Top layer
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
1 large egg
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup unbleached flour
Pinch of salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup butterscotch chips

1. Grease a 9-inch x 9-inch baking pan with butter. Dust with flour and tap out the excess. Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
2. To make the bottom brownie, melt the butter and bittersweet chocolate chips together in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
3. Cream the eggs, granulated sugar and vanilla together until smooth. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and continue mixing until well blended.
4. Measure the flour and salt and sift together directly into the batter. Mix gentle until well combined and no trade of the dry ingredients remains. Stir in the semisweet chocolate chips by hand, if desired. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared baking pan and set aside.
5. To make the top layer, melt the butter in a small pan or in the microwave. Beat the egg, brown sugar and vanilla together until light and fluffy. Add the melted butter and continue beating until well combined.
6. Measure the flour, salt and baking powder and then sift directly into the batter. Mix gently until well combined and no trace of the dry ingredients remains. Stir in the butterscotch chips by hand. With a spatula, spread the batter over the bottom layer in the prepared baking pan and smooth to the edges.
7. Bake for 32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with only crumbs, not batter, on it. The top should be a golden butterscotch color.
8. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack for 1 hour. Cut just before serving.

Makes 12 to 16 bars

Oatmeal Caramel Bars

Oatmeal Caramel Bars - made September 26, 2010 from Cookies by Better Homes & Garden

The recipe calls for making this in an 15 x 10" baking pan but I made it in a 9 x 13" pan instead. Subsequently, they came out thicker than the cookbook authors intended but I thought they were just the right thickness. I almost doubled the amount of milk called for in melting the caramels as my previous experience with BHG recipes is they don't thin the caramel enough and after baking, the caramel becomes hard and chewy when cool. I didn't want to risk that. However, I might've thinned it a little too much. Next time, I'd add only 1 extra tablespoon of milk instead of 2.

I also omitted the nuts from this as is my wont but in this case, I think it might've been better to keep them in. The taste is good but the texture is all the same gooey-ness. Nothing wrong with that but I like contrasting textures in something sweet. So toasting some pecans and adding them finely chopped probably would've made this a better product. Next time. Oh and I also baked this for a little over 30 minutes. It wouldn't have hurt to bake it a little longer but I was working out while this was baking and I didn't want to keep stopping my workout to go check on the bars :).

1 cup butter
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1 6-ounce package (1 cup) semisweet chocolate pieces
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
24 vanilla caramels (7 ounces)
2 tablespoons milk

1. In a large mixing bowl beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed about 30 seconds or until softened. Add about 1 cup of the flour to the butter. Then add the brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and baking soda. Beat till thoroughly combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in the remaining flour. Stir in the rolled oats.
2. For crust, press two-thirds (about 3 1/3 cups) of the oat mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 15 x 10 x 1-inch baking pan. Sprinkle with the chocolate pieces and nuts.
3. In a medium saucepan combine the caramels and milk. Cook and stir over low heat till the caramels are melted. Drizzle the caramel mixture over the chocolate and nuts. Drop the remaining oat mixture by rounded teaspoons on top of the caramel layer.
4. Bake in a 350˚F oven about 25 minutes or till top is lightly browned. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes 60.

Banana Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Banana Cake "with Chocolate Frosting" - made September 25, 2010 from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott

No, your eyes aren't deceiving you - that isn't some new form of chocolate as the frosting. The original recipe calls for making this with a chocolate frosting but my personal favorite flavor with banana is a caramel frosting, especially when I add butterscotch chips to the banana cake (which I did). So I took some creative license here.

This makes a really good banana cake. It's still not as good as my favorite banana cake from Icing on the Cake but so far nothing's come up to snuff there. Regardless, this still has good flavor, a tender crumb and is moist - all earmarks of a good cake. I used the frosting recipe from the banana butterscotch cupcakes which is where I discovered the banana butterscotch combination in the first place: http://pastrychefbaking.blogspot.com/2009/11/banana-butterscotch-cupcakes.html

If someone does make this recipe with the original chocolate frosting, do let me know how it comes out. Thanks.

Banana Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter, softened
1 ½ cups sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup buttermilk
1 ½ cups mashed ripe bananas

Chocolate Frosting
½ cup (1 stick) butter
1/3 cup cocoa
1/3 cup evaporated milk or half-and-half
4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. To make the cake, heat the oven to 350˚F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl, and stir with a fork to combine well.
2. In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugar, and beat well, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one by one, and then the vanilla. Beat well for 2 to 3 minutes more, scraping down the bowl occasionally, until you have a smooth batter.
3. Using a large spoon or spatula, stir in half the flour just until it disappears into the batter. Stir in the buttermilk, and then the remaining flour, the same way. Quickly and gently fold in the mashed bananas, and then divide the batter between the 2 cake pans.
4. Bake at 350˚F for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cakes are golden brown, spring back when touched lightly in the center, and begin to pull away from the sides of the pans.
5. Cool for 10 minutes in the pans on wire racks or folded kitchen towels. Then turn out onto wire racks or plates to cool completely, top side up.
6. To make the frosting, in a medium saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa, and evaporated milk. Place over medium heat and bring to a gentle boil. Cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes, until the cocoa dissolves into a dark, shiny essence. Remove from the heat and stir in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Beat with a mixer at low speed until you have a smooth, thick frosting.
7. To complete the cake, place one layer, top side down, on a cake plate or serving plate, and spread about 1 cup of frosting evenly over the top. Cover with the second layer, placed top side up. Spread the frosting evenly, first over the sides and then covering the top of the cake.