What to do with the excess?

Greetings from a very frosty and icy Sweden. After successfully cleaning our flat this morning and watching a super cheesy chick flick on the couch (total waste of brain cells) I decided to do something better with my time this afternoon. And what could be better for a baker's time then baking? Totally rhetorical question. Because I am a believer in using almost any food before throwing it out, I have had sitting in my refrigerator for the past two weeks, some yogurt that my husband didn't like the taste of. Yogurt is great in many things and my favorite thing to use it in are muffins! I have a great muffin recipe and love to make super giant muffins...you know the ones you buy at Starbucks or any other cool coffee place. Today's muffin mixture was my own concoction. The yogurt I had was flavored with apples and quince (never heard of this fruit until this yogurt, for more information...search wikipedia). The original muffin recipe I have, calls for berries, but since I didn't think this flavor of yogurt would go well with berries, I substituted pears instead. Adding a couple teaspoons of cinnamon and some oats to the whole thing, it turned out to be a really nice combination of flavors and smells. So if you are like me and don't like to waste any food, or if you just happen to have some extra yogurt sitting in the fridge, might I suggest that muffins are the way to go! Fresh and hot out of the oven these muffins are a winner! And this was a brilliant way to get my wonderful husband to eat something that he wasn't fond of from the beginning.

Until my next post try some new combos of food...you might just find the next best thing!
Barefoot and Baking in the kitchen

Frosty and icy weather is perfect for baking!

Everything has a shade of blue due to the frozen state.

 Fresh, warm, yummy muffins straight out of the oven

See the cracks...this means your muffins have baked
perfectly!

Yummy goodness!

 Six large muffins...perfect for a small group of friends
or you can freeze them as well.

Recipe for muffins ( I substitute the berries if I don't have any, also I use flavored or plain yogurt)

2 eggs
2 dl yogurt or sour cream
1dl butter or margarine (softened)
5 dl flour
1.5 dl sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
2-3 dl berries or cut up pieces of fruits
1-2 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
1.5 dl oats (optional)

Whisk the eggs and sugar together. Mix in the yogurt and butter, then add the berries/fruit bits. Batter will be lumpy. Blend in dry ingredients and mix thoroughly, batter should be thick. For large muffin form, 2-3 tbsp. of batter in each. For small muffin form 1-2 tbsp. of batter. Bake at 300F or 225C for 15-20mins. Muffins should look cracked on top.
Have fun!

Favorite Chocolate Cake

Greetings from a very white and snowy Sweden. I read on CNN yesterday that 49 of the 50 States in the U.S. have snow on the ground...seems like a lot of places are getting hit with this wintery whiteness. I like this time of year, but after spending most of my days very cold, I am ready for spring to come soon. As it does, baking helps warm me up, both from the heat of the oven and the work I put into it. For today's endeavor I decided on what I would say is my favorite chocolate cake. It's one that I have done several times and have blogged about it before. Even though it's nothing new, it's delicious taste will melt in your mouth. Tomorrow's recipients of this scrumptious cake will have satisfied their taste buds with each passing bite. Since I think this cake is so yummy, it's hard for me to not want to eat the creamy, smooth batter up completely. But since I know those indulgences result in bloated stomach aches within the hour...I have refrained...mostly. =) I cannot help lick a little bit of the left overs and make sure that it's something I would feed others, which I will have you know is partly an excuse in order to taste this rich, divine chocolate goodness. To give it an even more appealing taste and pleasure to the customers, I add a creamy frosting, drizzled on top!
 
Until my next post, delight your taste buds a little bit more.
Barefoot and Baking in the kitchen

Here is the recipe for the Dark Chocolate Cake:
Ingredients:
2 cups boiling water
1 cup cocoa powder
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp.baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup butter (softened)
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp.vanilla

In a medium bowl pour the boiling water over the cocoa and whisk until smooth. Let cool. (could be up to 20 minutes)In another bowl sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in vanilla. Add flour mixture and cocoa mixture alternately. Put in round pan and bake for up to one hour at 175 C or 300 F
For frosting I mix powdered sugar, butter and a little milk. I drizzle it on top, so my measurements are not always the same. You don't want to make it too thick or too runny...just in the middle somewhere. Good Luck!

Creamy Lemon Goodness

Greetings from my kitchen! Today was a day off for us here in Sweden, so my husband and I have been taking it quite easy and relaxing. We just returned from a scrumptious lunch with my husband's boss and his wife and several others. After eating all the delicious food, I hardly feel like baking, but tomorrow sixteen people are expecting something mouth watering. For today's baking endeavor I have decided on Creamy Lemon Bars. Being the baking nerd that I am, I am signed up to received two recipe emails from Martha Stewart daily. I even have a Martha Stewart folder in my email box to help keep track of it all...a sign of a real nerd I know. However, time after time I get awesome ideas from this lady and I am proud to say that nearly 100% of the time I have succeeded. This time I am trying a rather easy recipe. It consists of only 6 ingredients and the portion says it's for 16...I am hoping so since I only have enough for one batch. Here's hoping! Lemon cakes, bars, cookies, etc. are amongst my favorite desserts. With their tangy, citrus zing I love the sense my taste buds experience when I bite into something lemon. Perhaps it's the effect of being forced to eat lemons when I was baby...thus producing entertainment for the onlookers, whatever the cause, I thoroughly enjoy lemon flavored things. If you like lemon things as well, be sure to try this super easy recipe.

Until my next post, let your taste buds experience the goodness of life!
Barefoot and Baking in the kitchen

Sugar, butter and salt mixture

Smooth and silky

Only 6 ingredients for this delicious treat

Adding the flour

At first this mixture will be crumbly

After a little while of mixing, you can pick
it up and press it together to form the crust

Press into the pan and poke with a fork all over

Egg yolks













Eggs and condensed milk

Lemon juice added, I just used concentrate instead
of real lemon juice from lemons. I think it works
the same

Nice and creamy look

Readied crust

Filling and crust ready to be baked

Oven time!

Creamy Lemon Bars Recipe

Ingredients

Makes 16

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 3 lemons)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line bottom with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides; butter paper.
2. Make crust: Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy. Add flour, and mix on low just until combined. Press dough into the bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of prepared pan; prick all over with a fork. Bake until lightly golden, 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Make filling: In a large bowl, whisk together yolks, condensed milk, and lemon juice until smooth. Pour over hot crust in pan; return to oven, and bake until filling is set, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan.
4. Refrigerate until filling is firm, about 2 hours or up to 3 days. Using paper overhang, lift cake onto a work surface; cut into 16 squares, and dust with confectioners sugar.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Creamy Lemon Squares - Martha Stewart Recipes