Strawberry Panna Cotta

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Sweet Jumbles

Happy Belated Valentine’s Day!

Wouldn’t it have been nice if I had posted a Valentine’s Day recipe on time?  Aaah yes, but I didn’t.  So you are getting it now.  Sorry Charlie.  Seeing as I didn’t do much on or for Valentine’s Day (in fact, I was in my pajamas until early afternoon), in my book this isn’t late because the exact date of the holiday was not relevant.  Consider this an extended Valentine’s Treat.

Whether you celebrated Valentine’s Day precisely on the 14th, or any other day, or no day at all, I hope you felt loved, even if self-love, and ate something sweet.

 

Strawberry Panna Cotta for Two

1 1/2 c sliced strawberries (about 1/2 lb)
3/4 c + 1/8 c buttermilk
3 T sugar
1 1/4 t unflavored gelatin
1/8 c milk
1/8 c heavy cream

  • Puree strawberries, buttermilk, and sugar in blender until very smooth.  Pour into a medium bowl through a fine sieve, carefully removing any solids.
  • Sprinkle gelatin over milk in a small bowl, and let it sit for about 1 minute to absorb.
  • In a small saucepan, bring heavy cream to a boil.  Remove from heat and add gelatin, stirring until dissolved.
  • Whisk cream mixture into strawberry puree and pour into two molds or small dishes.
  • Chill, covered, overnight or at least 8 hours.
  • To remove from molds, dip mold into hot water for a few seconds to loosen gelatin.
  • Garnish with strawberries, or any berry of your choice, on the side.

 

serves: 2
calories: 135

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Tastycakes, Punxsutawney Phil, and the Pittsburgh Steelers

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Sweet Jumbles

Happy Groundhog Day!

This is one of my favorite holidays.  I’m not kidding.  You see, I’m originally from Pennsylvania, and unless you are also from Pennsylvania, you cannot truly appreciate the day.  It’s not that it’s all that noteworthy (though I do think we should have the day off from work!), but it’s quirky.  And I like quirky. 

In fact, one year back in college (which I’ve begrudgingly come to realize was quite a while ago) my friends and I drove to Punxsutawney, PA for an all-nighter of groundhog festivities, culminating in the great prognostication by the oversized rat.  At the time, the event was made even more exciting because the man who pulled Phil out of the hole (aka the “Handler”) was my friend’s father.  I don’t remember if Phil saw his shadow or not that year.  This year he did not see his shadow, so spring should be just around the corner.  Oh please, oh please!

In celebration of Groundhog Day I have decided that it would be most appropriate to bake a treat that celebrates my Pennsylvania roots.

When I was in elementary school, my best friend’s mother would bake homemade Tastycake Kandy Kake bars.  These things were top notch; they tasted like the real thing.  The summer after fourth grade, however, my family moved from this part of the state and I never again had the Kandy Kake bars.  In other words, for the past 25 years I have thought of these delicious treats!  Thanks to the magic of Facebook, last year I reconnected with my childhood friend and not too long ago I got my hands on the beloved recipe. 

Yup, they were as good as I remembered, even with the very minor tweaks I made.  These things are easy and a sure crowd-pleaser.

Crowd-pleaser, you say?  Oh yes.  As in “I will have a crowd over to my house to watch the Superbowl this weekend and I need to feed them.”  And, as in, “I will be rooting for the STEELERS and they, like Punxsutawney Phil, Sweet Jumbles, and Tastycakes are also from Pennsylvania.  Therefore this would be the perfect addition to my gameday menu.”

Eat up.  Respect the Groundhog.  Go Steelers!

 

Kandy Cake Bars 

2 c flour
pinch salt
2 t baking powder
1 c milk
4 large eggs
2 t butter, melted
2 c sugar
2 t vanilla
1 c creamy peanut butter
8 oz milk chocolate
paraffin wax

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.
  • Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda.  Set aside.
  • Mix together milk, eggs, and melted butter until well blended.  Add sugar and vanilla, again blending well.
  • Pour batter into the baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes.
  • Immediately upon removal from oven, spread peanut butter over the cake.  The heat of the cake will make it easy to spread.
  • Refrigerate until firm.
  • In a double boiler, melt milk chocolate (I used Green & Black’s) and paraffin wax (I used 3/8 oz, but precision is not important here).  Pour over firm peanut butter and spread smooth. 
  • Refrigerate to harden.

serves: 25
calories: 243

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Chocolate Mug Cake

Posted on January 30, 2011 by Sweet Jumbles

mug-cakeHave you ever wanted a slice of cake?  Just one slice?  But you don’t have a cake.  And if you made a cake, you’d surely eat the whole entire cake.  And, well, that just wouldn’t be pretty.  And that means a mess in the kitchen to clean.  All you want is a simple piece of cake, is that too much to ask?

Well, my friends, not any more. Continue reading →

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A brief intermission for a Chocolate Commercial

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Sweet Jumbles

ripe-red-orange-yellow-cocoa-pod-held-by-young-asian-hand-farm-cacao-pod-theobroma-cacao-l_380409-72For those of you who regularly read my blog, you know that slave-free chocolate is my “thing”.  I only buy fair trade chocolate and it is one of the primarily causes that I have made an effort to undertake in my daily living and baking adventures.  As a refresher, here’s my introduction to Chocolate and Slavery.

NOTE: Many of the following links and campaigns are no longer active.  Please refer to the link above for more information.  I have opted to retain the blog content below for context only.

Continue reading →

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Finnish Coffee Braid

Posted on January 9, 2011 by Sweet Jumbles

Yesterday was a busy day, but also the perfect day to make some bread since there’s so much “rest” time in the process.  Plus, I love the smell of a bread-baking kitchen, especially in the winter.

I didn’t change a thing on the Finnish Coffee Braid recipe below.  It was perfect as-is.  There is a very distinct orange & cardamom flavor to this dense bread, which I would not suggest fiddling with.  It makes two braids and you can put them both in the oven simultaneously with no problem.  Freeze, gift, or share the extra one and you’re all set.  People will be impressed with the attractiveness of the bread, so you could even use it as part of a centerpiece.

Finnish Coffee Braid
source: Desert Candy

 

2 1/4 t (1 package) active dry yeast
3 T warm water
1 c milk
6 T butter, cut into pieces
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c sugar
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cardamom
grated peel of one orange
about 5 c all-purpose flour
for glaze: 1 egg yolk + 1 T milk

  • Place yeast and water in the bottom of a large bowl and let set
  • Place milk and butter in a saucepan (or microwave safe bowl) and heat until butter has melted and milk is hot but does not boil.  Cool to lukewarm.
  • Add eggs and milk/butter mixture to the yeast.  Add sugar, salt, cardamom, and orange zest, stirring to combine.  Gradually add the flour to make a stiff dough.
  • Turn dough out to a well-floured surface and knead until smooth.
  • Place dough ball in an oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
  • Punch down and divide into two portions, then divide each portion into thirds.  Form each third into a rope about 18-24 inches long.  Braid ropes, pinching together at ends, and form into rings.
  • Place each ring onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover, and let rise for another 1 – 1 1/1 hours.
  • Preheat oven to 350 F.  Brush each loaf with beaten egg/milk mixture, and bake for 35 minutes or until golden.  Cool on wire racks.

serves: 30
calories: 117

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Pumpkin Marshmallows

Posted on December 28, 2010 by Sweet Jumbles

Pumpkin MarshmallowsI write this post as I decompress from several days of celebration, chaos, and cold.  I hope that all of you had a joyous Christmas, and were able to spend time doing what you like with those who you like.  I hope that you got great gifts, whether under your tree or in your hearts.  And I hope that you were filled with treats and the wild abandon of all healthful eating for just one week.  Back to the gym in January, ok?

As for me, my Christmas ended with a blizzard that we’re still recovering from.  We are buried under 26″ of the white stuff.  Side streets have yet to be plowed, cars are under drifts of snow, and the heat in my building is doing an inadequate job.  I snapped this picture of Times Square on Monday night.  (Sorry, just a camera phone shot.)

To make matters worse, the snow on my roof is heavy and melting just a bit, causing a leaky crack in my ceiling.  (We urbanites have flat roofs, you know….)  This would be the perfect time to warm up the house by turning on the stove and using the brand new KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer that I got myself for Christmas.  Oooooh my gosh, YES!  It’s black and shiny and I loooove it.  I know you aren’t supposed to love material things but I do, so there.

In my continuing attempt to stay warm, I made some hot chocolate (cheated with the powdery stuff) with homemade pumpkin marshmallows.  I don’t even usually like pumpkin but these are good.  And I never knew how easy marshmallows are to make.  Don’t be surprised if more, new flavors, pop up sometime on this blog!

NOTE: This post originated in 2010, before Sweet Jumbles Marshmallows was born in 2012. This was, in a way, the first spark. This recipe is not what we use for our seasonal pumpkin pie marshmallows (trade secrets, ya know), but for those curious about the marshmallow-making process this gives a glimpse.

Pumpkin Marshmallows
source: Oven Love

Pumpkin Marshmallows

1 1/2 envelopes unflavored gelatin (0.4 oz on the scale)
1/4 c cold water
1 c sugar
1/3 c light corn syrup
2 T water
1/4 c pumpkin puree
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground ginger
1/8 t grated nutmeg
pinch ground cloves
1/8 t salt
6 graham crackers

  • Line an 8×8 pan with plastic wrap and spray with nonstick cooking spray.  Set aside.
  • Put gelatin and 1/4 c cold water in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Allow it to sit and bloom for 10 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in a saucepan over medium-high heat, bringing it to a boil.  Once boiling begins, do not stir.
  • Bring temperature of syrup up to 250 degrees, or until a drop of syrup dropped into a glass of cold water forms a rigid ball.
  • In a separate small bowl, combine pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
  • With the wire whip attachment, start the mixer on low speed.  Carefully add the boiling sugar mixture to the gelatin.  Increase speed to medium-high and add salt.  Mix until stiff, shiny, and white, about 5-7 minutes.
  • Remove bowl from mixer and fold in pumpkin mixture to combine.
  • Return to mixer and mix for another 3 minutes.  When you are done, if you dip a spatula into the pumpkin and a continuous ribbon runs off the spatula back into the bowl, you’re good.
  • Pour mixture into prepared pan and let sit at room temperature for at least 8 hours.
  • Crumble graham crackers in a food processor to create fine crumbs.
  • Lift plastic wrap to remove marshmallows from the pan and place on a cutting board.  Cut into 1×1 squares using a pizza cutter sprayed with nonstick spray.
  • In a shallow bowl or plastic bag, toss marshmallows in graham cracker crumbs for a nice coating.
  • Eat fresh or store in airtight container for a week or freezer for a month.

makes: 40 marshmallows
calories: 30 per marshmallow

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Rum Raisin Truffles

Posted on December 28, 2010 by Sweet Jumbles

Oh Ina, so annoying but such yummy recipes.  I’m sorry to all you “Barefoot Contessa” fanatics, but I just sit on the brink of a breakdown every time I see her show.  I force myself to occasionally watch since some recipes are worth trying. 

As you have surely noticed by now, the theme as of late has been food gifts.  I made a chocolate basket of sweet happiness for my grandparents this Christmas (including two previous posts), and this is yet another sweet jumble from that gift. 

I had the good fortune of using Havana Club Rum, but since most of my readers have not traveled to that forbidden paradise, I’ll suggest you use any rum of your choosing.  The recipe calls for dark rum, but I say use whatever (excepting a spice rum, of course, that might be a little funky).  The recipe is all in weight, so hopefully you have a kitchen scale.  Sorry, I prefer not to post this way so as not to scare anybody off, but hopefully the approximations I’ve included will make it less intimidating.

Rum Raisin Truffles
source: Barefoot Contessa

75 grams heavy cream (about 1/4 c)
375 grams milk chocolate, divided (about 13 oz)
7.5 grams butter (about 1/2 T)
20 grams raisins (about 1/16 c)
30 grams rum (about 1/8 c)

  • Chop up 175 grams of the milk chocolate into small pieces (about 6 oz).
  • In a double boiler, heat heavy cream until hot to the touch.  Remove from heat and add chopped chocolate and butter, mixing until melted.
  • In a mini food processor or blender, process rum and raisins until finely minced.  Stir into chocolate mixture.  Set aside at room temperature for at least 6 hours or overnight to cool.  It will become almost like a heavy mousse in consistency.
  • Scoop balls approximately 1″ diameter and place on a sheet lined with parchment paper.
  • Chop remaining chocolate and place 3/4 of it in a small microwave safe bowl.  In 20 second increments, heat and stir, repeating until chocolate is smooth and shiny.  Then, stir in the remaining 1/4 of the chocolate.  As it melts, it will reduce the temperature of the chocolate.  It should register 85-59 F on a candy thermometer.
  • With two spoons, pick up each truffle and cover it with the melted chocolate.  (Or use your hands!)  They don’t have to look smooth.  Return to parchment sheet and let them sit at room temperature to harden.  Enjoy!

 

serves: 35
calories: 68 per truffle

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Balsamic Chocolate Truffles

Posted on December 23, 2010 by Sweet Jumbles

I’ve never made truffles before, but there’s one thing I know, and that’s the fact that I like to eat them.  As I continue with my theme of baking treats that are good to give as gifts, I have prepared two different types of chocoalte truffles.  This is the first.  (The second will be blogged shortly.)  I went into this thinking that truffles might be hard to make, but they aren’t!  Yay!

These truffles have a definite balsamic flavor, which I really enjoy.  They’re smooth and creamy with a nice powdered coating.  I happen to have a strawberry balsamic vinegar and a blueberry balsamic vinegar in my cabinet, and I think next time I make these I might experiment further with those flavors.

The original recipe claimed that this made 36 truffles.  I think they meant 36 Tic-tacs, because in order to get 36 these would have to be pretty small.  I got about 15-20 and mine were about 1″ diameter.  Don’t tease me with a little bitty truffle.

Balsamic Chocolate Truffles
source: Giada DeLaurentiis

8 1/2 oz dark chocolate, chopped
1/4 c heavy cream
2 t balsamic vinegar
1/2 c cocoa powder

  • Melt chocolate and heavy cream in a double boiler over hot but not simmering water.
  • Place melted chocolate in a small bowl and add vinegar, stirring well to combine.
  • Cool in refrigerator for 1 hour, then remove from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 2 hours.  The chocolate is ready when it is firm but still moldable.
  • Use a teaspoon your fingers to scoop out the chocolate and shape into balls.  Place on a tray lined with parchment paper.
  • Place cocoa powder in a shallowd dish.  Roll a few truffles at a time in the cocoa powder to coat, and then return to baking sheet.  You may have to coat them twice to get a consistent layer.
  • Store in an airtight container.

Makes: 15-20 of my size, 36 of Giada DeLaurentiis size  😉
Calories: around 73

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Cranberry White Chocolate Bark

Posted on December 23, 2010 by Sweet Jumbles

I still love cranberries.

This is one of those recipes where there is so little involved – in terms of time, effort, and ingredients – that you’re like “hey, why don’t I do this every week?”  And then you think “oh yeah, because my butt will not fit in my chair any longer if I do that!”

So, for this Christmas recipe, enjoy it to your heart’s content.  But please, I beg of you, don’t make it every week. 

Cranberry White Chocolate Bark

12 oz. white chocolate (chips or roughly chopped)
3/4 c dried cranberries

  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside
  • Melt white chocolate over a double boiler (or in the microwave on medium heat in 30-second intervals, stirring after each).  Once melted, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly, stirring occasionally.
  • Add cranberries, stirring to combine.
  • Spread mixture onto prepared pan – depending on how thick or thin you want your bark, you may not need the entire pan.
  • Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes
  • Cut with a sharp knife or break into pieces.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge (as if you aren’t going to eat it all right away!).

 

Makes: approx. 12 oz
Calories: 181/oz

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Candied Orange Peel

Posted on December 22, 2010 by Sweet Jumbles

It’s Christmas week and I finally have time to do the holiday baking that is long overdue.  I spent the last week preparing for, and then performing in, a dance show.  Therefore, all things Christmas got delayed and now it’s crunch time!

My first Christmas undertaking was Candied Orange Peel.  I have no urge to do Christmas cookies this year, so we’re trying new things.  Orange is a Christmas-y fruit, so why the heck not.  Also, this makes a great gift.  There are numerous ways to package this, from a decorative glass jar to an icing bag decorated with ribbon.  I find that homemade gifts are often the most appreciated and this one will definitely be given out this year.

You can easily replace some or all of the orange peel with grapefruit peel as well, so have at it!

Candied Orange Peel

  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

5 navel oranges (or 3 large grapefruit)
3 1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 c water

Instructions

  • Score the peel of each fruit into quarters, cutting just through the rind and white pith.  Pull peel from the fruit, and cut again into 1/4 inch wide strips.  (Refrigerate the fruit for another use.)
  • In a 4-quart saucepan, combine peel and enough water to cover; heat to boiling over high heat.  Boil for 5 minutes.
  • Drain and repeat boiling, two more times, for a total of three blanchings.  Between each blanching, drain and use new water.
  • In 12-inch skillet, combine 2 1/2 c sugar with 1 1/2 c water; cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves and mixture boils.  Continue to boil for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  (If using a thermometer, temperature should read 230-235 F)
  • Add drained peel to syrup in skillet and stir to coat evenly.  Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, about 30 minutes or until peel has absorbed most of the syrup, stirring occasionally.  Remove cover and continue to simmer, stirring gently, until all syrup has been absorbed.
  • On a sheet of waxed paper, place remaining 1 c of sugar.  With tongs, drop peels in sugar a few pieces at a time, coating completely.  Place on a wire rack to dry at least 12 hours.  Peels should be dry on the outside but moist on the inside.
  • Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

makes: about 2 lb.
calories: 95 cal per oz

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