The Bizarre Tale of Beany Brownies

Beany Brownies

I am now on the hunt for gluten-free recipes, and this is one of the first ones I chose. The clincher for me is the secret ingredient… black turtle beans. Not your usual brownie ingredient.

I love black turtle beans. I love them so much that I could probably snack on them. When I saw a brownie recipe that was mostly made up of black beans, I couldn’t imagine they would be good! I couldn’t get them out of my head, so I decided to make up a batch for Hallowe’en. It’s a simple recipe, so I really had nothing to lose.

Don’t kid yourself – these aren’t fat-free. I think the awesome power of black beans overpowers the butter and eggs, though. BAM! Superhero “brownies”!

Beany Brownies

Rich in beanly goodness

The Verdict:

Would you mistake these for regular brownies? Hells no! Are they tasty? Yes! Am I at least a little bit biased by my love of black beans? Yeah, I think so. J thought these were great, too, so you have a second opinion on the matter.

 

Beany Brownies

Source: this recipe

about 12 muffin-sized portions

Ingredients:

  • 1 can (15 ounces) no-salt-added black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/3 cup melted butter, more for the baking dish
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup cane sugar
  • 1/2 cup gluten-free semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

Preparation:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 12 silicone muffin liners and place in a muffin tin, or on a baking sheet with a lip.
  2. In a food processor, blend the black beans, eggs, melted butter, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract and sugar. Allow the mixture to sit for a couple of minutes, to allow it to thicken.
  3. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts.
  4. Scoop out the mixture into each of the muffin liners, filling about 2/3 of the way, and top with a few more chocolate chips.
  5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until just set in the center. Allow to cool completely before eating.

Argentinian Alfajores with Dulce de Leche

Argentinian Alfajores

This is me totally cheating, because I didn’t lift a finger to make these! Let’s say I delegated a little…

These alfajores are sweet and crumbly, and filled with tooth-shattering dulce de leche. Also, they are great with Scotch.

Continue reading Argentinian Alfajores with Dulce de Leche

Lemon Vanilla Crème Brûlée… and Scotch

Crème Brûlée and Scotch

Personal Challenge time!! Crème Brûlée is one of my very favourite desserts, so I had to learn how to make it!

Kitchen torch in hand, I was all set!

This combo gave me an excuse to mix three of my favourite things right now: custard, Scotch and lemon zest powder.

Continue reading Lemon Vanilla Crème Brûlée… and Scotch

Cranberry Apple Crisp

Cranberry Apple Crisp - close

I find that I’m trying to make excuses to turn on the oven these days. I may as well bake something while trying to heat the apartment.

That, and baking stuff always smells good and wins me brownie points with J. Luckily, he’s happy with a bowl of warm apple crisp.

Cranberry Apple Crisp - a row
All in a row

I don’t know if apple crisp even counts as baking. The only reason I can pull it off is because it’s more like cooking than baking. Measurements don’t have to be precise, you can add other ingredients and it won’t destroy everything. It’s brilliant, and satisfying. It’s also a great way to use up all of the apples starting to pile up on my counter.

This time around, I used a mix of Cortland and Granny Smith apples. Granny Smith are my very favourite kind of apple for snacking on.

I also decided to throw in a handful of dried cranberries. These were a really great addition, because they are sweet and tart and take on the spiced apple juices really well.

Cranberry Apple Crisp - solo
Solo

This recipe is the result of years of trial and error with different recipes, different techniques, different spices. I think it has a lot to do with how much liquid you add to the cooking container. Previous recipes had me adding way too much water to the bottom, leaving a mushy mess of apple. I prefer the apple to be soft, but still able to keep its shape until it reaches my mouth.

I think I also prefer making these in their own individual ramekins, rather than in one big dish. It cooks faster, and looks cute.

Recipe after the jump!

Continue reading Cranberry Apple Crisp

Surviving a Salted Caramel Cupcake Fail!

Salted Caramel Cuppies

I just have to deal with the fact that I am not a great baker.

I’ll still try to do it, but wow I need to have a little more patience with myself.

Since I bought the Martha Stewart Cupcakes book earlier this year, I’ve been wanting to make the Salted Caramel chocolate cupcakes. They looked like everything I like about food – sweet, rich, salty and chocolatey. I finally decided to make them to bring to Hallowe’en movie night.

I managed to mess something up at each stage.

D’oh #1 – Footless Cupcakes

The cupcakes stuck to the baking tin, and lost some chunks when I pulled them out. I didn’t have mini cupcake liners, but it wasn’t a problem last time. I just oiled it up and went ahead. Needless to say, I was not happy. Some of them wouldn’t stand on their own because of their injuries. On the other hand, they were really tasty and I decided it wasn’t too big of an issue.

D’oh #2 – Crazy Caramel (Corn?)

I messed this up twice, basically. The caramel sauce ended up being the worst part of the whole thing – everything else sort of pulled together, except for this part. Instead of sauce inside, it’s like a piece of caramelly fudge, or like the texture of candy corn. Grrr. My problem revolved around my lack of a candy thermometer, and I couldn’t judge when it was cooked enough. I knew we had a thermometer and pulled it out – only to discover that it’s a meat thermometer and doesn’t measure a high enough temperature. Crap on a stick!

If you don’t have a candy thermometer, it helps to know the different stages to look for. I found this web page that describes the different stages, but I still messed it up. First, I pulled it off the heat too early because I thought it was cooked more than it was. I added the cream, and realized it was too light and oogy. I put it back on the heat, cooked until it browned and tasted better — but then after I poured the sauce into the cupcakes, it started to harden funny (the aforementioned candy corn texture). Ah well, not much to be done about that – and I was too lazy to start over by baking new cupcakes.

At least it still tasted good…

D’oh #3 – Mmmm, Chocolate Soup

Following the instructions, the dark chocolate icing ended up being the consistency of chocolate soup. I saved it by putting the bowl of icing ingredients into a larger bowl full of ice, and beating the crap out of it as it cooled. It turned out really really good. As a side note — I have no scale and had no idea what one pound of chocolate should look like. I guesstimated, and it worked. I don’t think my baking warrants getting a scale, either.

Salted Caramel Cuppies - Insides

Oh yeah – and I forgot to add the decorative salt on top before I took pics. Hahaha!

The Verdict

While I screwed all sorts of things up, these turned out pretty tasty. I do eventually want to try the recipe again, to try to get it all perfect. First, I’ll tackle the caramel a couple more times and use it in other things. The chocolate frosting on this is really incredible – and it should be, considering the amount of butter that’s in it!!

They don’t have this recipe up on the Martha Stewart website, but I found it posted on this blog. Note that this blogger had no trouble with the caramel… so it’s obviously me.

UPDATE: I bought a candy thermometer. I am determined to make this work, because I really love caramel and I think I should be able to make it.

Salted Caramel Cuppies - solo

Almond Pista Kulfi (a Bite of Blog Love)

Almond Pista Kulfi -side

This post is part of a “Blog Bites” challenge issued by Nupur, of the blog One Hot Stove. This month, we’re asked to pick ANY recipe from the blog of our choice, make it, take pics and blog about it. The spirit of the “Blog Bites” challenge series is to get us checking out other food blogs and posting about our experiences, while giving due credit to the original poster. This also fits with the ‘Blog Love’ series I started back in June…

I had already found the perfect recipe when I saw the challenge. Sweet! (Literally)

I have always wanted to try making ice cream, but I don’t have an ice cream maker (and try not to buy unitasking gadgets). Summer brings a slew of amazing sounding ice cream recipes which, for the most part, just depress me into trying to justify making an ice cream maker (can I make dinner ice cream?).

Then I came across a recipe for Almond Pista Kulfi, posted by indosungod on Daily Musings.

Kulfi is an Indian frozen dessert that is made with milk, instead of cream, so doesn’t require an ice cream maker. They often come in flavours like mango, almond, pistachio – and can contain ground nuts. This recipe is a combination of almond and pistachio.

Ground Almonds, Pistachios and Vanilla Beans

Vanilla Beans with Ground Almonds and Pistachios.

I first had to roast my almonds and pistachios, and then grind them coarsely in the food processor. Since I had some on hand – and totally love them – I decided to add vanilla bean, as well as a few drops of almond extract.

You start by cooking down some whole milk and condensed milk on the stove, adding in a few ingredients and cooking it down a little more.

Making Almond Pista Kulfi

Making kulfi. It may be too thick already…

Here is where I ran into some trouble. Never having made kulfi before, I wasn’t sure how thick it should be. Initially, I followed the instructions, cooking the milk down for a certain amount of time. After adding in some ingredients and letting it thicken, you’re supposed to cook it down a little bit further. I did take it off earlier than it called for, thinking it was thick enough… but it was actually too thick. It was actually too sticky to freeze all the way through!

The next day, I decided I would try to fix things. I warmed up a little more of the whole milk and stirred it into the “semifreddo” concoction, crossed my fingers and stuck it back in the freezer. It worked!!

Writing instructions for these kinds of things can be tricky, because different stoves and cookware can cook things differently. Trial and error are definitely required! I now have a better idea of the consistency it should be when done. I know this sounds gross when talking about dessert, but it had the consistency of clam chowder (sans lumps) before freezing. Thick, coats the spoon, but not too sticky.

Almond Pista Kulfi - top

Back off! This bowl is MINE!

Sooo delicious! Once I’m done killing this batch, I’m going to make a cardamom coffee one!!! Can’t wait!!

Recipe after the jump!

Continue reading Almond Pista Kulfi (a Bite of Blog Love)

Macarons

Lemon Tree Macarons - assortment

A while ago I mentioned how macarons are starting to eclipse the popularity of cupcakes. I still don’t think they have the mass appeal of cupcakes, but they are pretty special. Do a Google image search, and you’ll see why — while they all have a similar shape, they can come in bright jewel colours and complex flavours.

I first saw Lemon Tree macarons while in the throes of my cupcake obsession. Of course, every time I passed the little table at St. Lawrence Market, I was on my way to buy cupcake supplies for that weekend. Must buy macarons next time.

These macarons don’t really mess with the gimmicky stuff. They are all inspired by classic flavours, like mint, nut, caramel, mocha and chocolate.

Lemon Tree Macarons - Salted Caramel

Delicious salted caramel – can you blame me for being greedy?

It took a couple of months, but I finally caved and bought a few. J and I shared them bite by bite, and found a delicious surprise in each.

Probably my favourite one, the only one I kept all to myself, was the salted caramel. You can’t tell from the outside, but inside there is a well of delicious flowing salted caramel. Sooooo good!

If you want these babies, you either have to make a custom order or buy a few from the select stock at their small table downstairs at the St. Lawrence Market (just next to Rube’s rice and bean island). You won’t regret it!!

The Last Cupcake

Tiramisu Cupcakes

This past week was my hubby’s birthday, and I decided a long time ago that I would make him any special dessert he wanted. At one point, I even offered to make the Tiramisu recipe posted on the Daring Kitchen (one that requires you make most things from scratch – the biscuits, the mascarpone cheese, etc.). He decided that he wanted cupcakes, so the logical choice (having just bought my Martha Stewart Cupcakes book), was to make Tiramisu Cupcakes.

This recipe came from “Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes” book, but you can also find it online at marthastewart.com. I tried to stick to the recipe as closely as possible, but did take the opportunity to make the mascarpone cheese from scratch. So much fun!!

Tiramisu Cupcakes - inside

Inside the cupcake.

This cupcake has three parts, to imitate the flavours and textures of Tiramisu: a vanilla bean cake, a Marsala/Espresso syrup that is allowed to soak into the top of the cake, and a light mascarpone/whipped cream icing.

I was really happy with the way these turned out. The Marsala/Espresso syrup really made it, as it gave the most flavour punch. Both the cake and frosting were lightly flavoured and not too sweet.

One thing I should mention — paper liners work better than silicone ones for these particular cupcakes. I had only used the silicone ones once before, with a more firm type of cupcake. They worked perfectly with those cupcakes, but didn’t work quite as well with these delicate babies. I think the combination of a fluffier cake base, and the soaked tops made it REALLY hard to pop them out of the silicone. Awkwardness ensued, and messes were made.

This will be the last cupcake I make for a little while. April has been a kind of cupcake eating bootcamp for me, and I’m a little cupcaked out. I keep telling people that I feel like my body is made of cupcakes right now. 🙂

Buttercream Harumph! / Delicious Science

This was very nearly going to be a cranky post.

Instead, it is a tale of overcoming hardship broken, oogy buttercream frosting.

I really should have taken a picture of it, but I was so upset at the time that I didn’t think to. Let’s rewind.

This was my first attempt at buttercream frosting, to go along with my first attempt at making cupcakes from scratch. The cupcakes were brilliant, so I think I got a little cocky. I started the buttercream frosting, excited to think of the yumminess that would be the reward for my hard work. It started off well enough. I followed the instructions carefully, even looking online to try to figure out the difference between “hard peaks” and “dry peaks”. I added in the butter and things got a little chunky. Not to worry!! The recipe said this might happen, and to just keep mixing it at medium-high speed.

It just got worse.

It went from “almost there, just a little lumpy” to “oogy, clumpy and soupy”. I stopped the mixer and just stared at it, my face falling. Then, I picked up my computer.

“How to fix a broken buttercream frosting”

“Lumpy buttercream frosting”

“Butercream frosting disaster!”

Finally, I found a post on a board where someone had the same problem I did… and an answer that made me think I could still pull it off.

Published March 1, 2001. From Cook’s Illustrated.

Can I save broken or curdled buttercream frosting?

Given proper proportions and supervision when its sugar base is cooked, buttercream frosting can be made quickly and easily. But cooks are inclined to read catastrophe into their finished efforts if the icing looks curdled or broken. However, appearances can be deceiving and most problems with buttercreams can easily be corrected.

The biggest threat a buttercream faces is temperature. If the frosting appears soupy and slippery, it’s likely grown too warm. Plunge the bowl into an ice bath and whisk briskly until the icing becomes silky and cohesive again. If the buttercream resembles fine-curd cottage cheese and slides about in the bowl, it’s likely too cold (from cold butter or a chilly ambient temperature). Wrap a steaming hot dish towel, turbanlike, around the bowl to heat it up and whisk or stir it with a wooden spoon to bring the icing back to its shiny, satiny self.

I had to read it a couple of times, and then I laughed. My frosting seemed to have a little bit of both problems, being both soupy and clumpy. First, I plunged it into an ice bath and while things started to firm up a bit, it really just turned back into butter. I put it back on the stand mixer, with no success. I then decided to put it back on the steam to melt it all down and start over. After it melted down, I plunged it back into the ice bath and whisked it by hand as the mixture cooled. Once I thought it had cooled enough, I pulled it out of the cold water and kept whisking. My arm was getting tired and sore (can you tell I don’t do this kind of thing often?!), and I was just about to give up on the clumpy mess when it suddenly began to change, and become a smooth and creamy mixture.

Mini Cupcake with Buttercream Frosting

Mini Cupcake with Buttercream Frosting

I did it! I actually fixed it!

In some ways, this was probably better than the recipe working out right away. It made me do a little problem solving, put in a little bit of elbow grease, and in the end I was proud of what I had learned.

As I keep learning, it isn’t about the recipes that go off without a hitch, it’s learning what to do when there is a hitch.

I added a bit of colour to my newly made frosting, added some to a piping bag and did a few test swirls on some mini cupcakes.

What delicious science!

(P.S. I was using the Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting recipe from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes book)

A Cupcake Spring

Distillery Cupcakes - Café Mocha

Cupcakes.

I don’t eat them often, but I have always enjoyed them. I have never made them from scratch, and have even recently made some from a box. Yes, I know – shame!!

This Spring, I plan to explore the world of the springy treat with gusto!!

The Plan: Visit a few different gourmet cupcake establishments, and see what it takes to be a delicious gourmet cupcake. Then, try my hand at making some. I am enlisting the help of some of my girls (and, undoubtedly, my guinea pig J) and we will all figure out what all the fuss is about!

My first stop was at a wee location tucked inside one of the buildings in the Distillery District, The Sweet Escape.

Being a smaller shop, they don’t have hundreds of cupcakes on hand. That said, I didn’t have any trouble finding exactly what I wanted to try. I narrowed it down to two: Red Velvet and Café Mocha. Before you start to judge – I didn’t eat them both myself!!! I split them with J (he deserves it!).

Distillery Cupcakes - Red Velvet

Sweet Escape Cupcakes – Red Velvet, anyone?
  • Red Velvet – nice light cocoa cake, with a rich cream cheese frosting
  • Café Mocha – rich chocolatey cake, with a delicious espresso buttercream frosting and topped with an espresso bean

I enjoyed both of these quite a bit, but my vote has to go with the Café Mocha. I prefer its richer chocolate over the light cocoa taste of the Red Velvet, and I’m a sucker for coffee infused anything! The icings on both were rich, creamy and nicely flavoured.  Definitely a great start to my adventure!

But it doesn’t end there. I had to try a new (to me) tasty treat.

Distillery Cupcakes - Macarons

Mmmmmmmacarons.

Macarons

I’ve been told that cupcakes are on their way “out”. That’s pretty funny. What’s supposedly coming up in popularity is the french macaron, which I believe because I’ve been seeing them everywhere. Having never tried one before, I thought this would be a good opportunity. I read that they are French macaroons, which led me to believe that they were full of coconut (even though I couldn’t see any evidence of it on first glance). Let me reassure you, these are NOTHING like the coconut-filled macaroons that we have here in Canada. The coconut ones are commonly found in Scotland, North America and Germany and really don’t taste anything like the French macaron.

This was heavenly – light, crispy meringue outer shell, a soft and chewy middle, with a fine nuttiness. I instantly regret buying only one. I didn’t even share it with J.

Is this the beginning of the end for me? Will I decide that cupcakes are an appropriate food item for every meal? Not likely. But I think this is going to be a fun Spring!!

🙂
S