Cake pops!

   We all have this one food that if we could, we would eat it all the time. For some it could be pizza, or doughnuts, or bagels, but for my son it's cake pops, hands down! He knows where all the nearby Starbucks are located and whenever we drive by one, he goes: let's go for cake pops (no matter what time of day, or night, it is)! It's to the point that he got a Starbucks gift card for Christmas from his friend, just so he can get cake pops whenever he wants to (or whenever we are willing to take him to get one)... the kid is four years old and already owns a gift card to Starbucks... the world we live in!
   So it was just a matter of time before we made our own cake pops at home... and I will be honest, they were way better than the store bought ones! We were pretty happy with the outcome!

Ingredients:

*  cake mix (I used Lemon Supreme Cake Mix, Duncan Hines)
*  3 large eggs
*  1/3 cup vegetable oil
*  8 oz cream cheese, room temp.
*  1/2 cup powdered sugar
*  2 tbsp lemon juice
*  chocolate candy melts, different colors
*  sprinkles
*  cake pop sticks

Directions:

1. Bake a cake following directions on the box, let it cool.

2. While the cake is cooling, prepare the frosting: combine cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon juice and mix until smooth and fluffy.

3. Transfer the cake into a large bowl and crumble it until it resembles fine crumbs.

4. Add 3/4 of the frosting and using your hangs mix it with the cake crumbs until it gets moist and can form a ball without falling apart. Add some more frosting if needed.

5. Use a medium ice cream scoop to scoop uniform balls of cake mixture. Roll the cake in your hands to create tight balls, place them onto a plate.

6. Melt 2-3 ounces of candy melts in a microwave, dip the cake pop sticks into the melted chocolate and insert into the cake balls about half-way. Freeze for 15-20 minutes.

7. Melt remaining candy melts in a tall bowl. Remove cake pops from the freezer and carefully dip them into melted chocolate until completely covered. Remove excess chocolate by swirling or gently tapping them.

8. Sprinkle the cake pops with sprinkles immediately (it will harden fast), stick them into a styrofoam block and place them in the fridge until chocolate hardens.

   Don't use the entire frosting at once. Depending on how moist your cake came out, you might need less or more of it, so I would add a little bit of frosting at the time and see how the mixture feels like. You don't want it to be too dry, but you also don't want to add too much frosting and create a mush. You also don't need colorful candy melts, milk or white chocolate will do just fine and as for the decorations, you can get as creative as you want!

Enjoy,
Magda

Happy Easter!

   Happy Easter Everybody!

   Today will be a short post and a short recipe. Short post - because I want to go back to enjoying the Easter with my family as soon as possible and short recipe - because I already cooked bunch of delicious, traditional Polish Easter dishes, so I decided to use a shortcut for the dessert and made some carrot cupcakes using a store-bought cake mix! Yes that's right, you don't always have to harvest your own grain to make your own flour to make a cake from scratch... these cupcakes are still home made and delicious, just a little "easier" and quicker to make!

Ingredients:

* Decadent Carrot Cake Mix, Duncan Hines
* 3 eggs
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil

* 2 boxes (8oz each) cream cheese, room temp.
* 3/4 cup powder sugar
* 2 tbsp lime juice
* food coloring
* egg-shaped M&M's 

Directions:

1. Prepare cake mix and bake cupcakes according to the instructions on the box . Let them cool completely.

2. In a mixer, combine cream cheese and sugar and beat for 4-5 minutes until smooth and fluffy. Add lime juice and beat for 1 extra minute.

3. Separate into two bowls and few drops of different food coloring to each bowl and mix until combined.

4. Frost the cupcakes and decorate with egg-shaped candy.

   Christopher had so much fun making and decorating the cupcakes... or I should say he had fun eating the candy and going crazy on the sugar rush 15 minutes later!!! Justin and I decided to join him, so we ate a couple and then we all ran around the house singing "Let it go... let it go...".

Happy Easter,
Magda

Our Baby is two!

   I can't believe it, but it's true, Christopher just turned two (I swear, this rhyme was not intentional)! He is super funny, has strong opinions and lots to say, he loves to sing ("Let it go, let it go...") and loves to dance. He is really into cooking and baking, he always wants to help in the kitchen, he knows how to grate veggies, he can operate the KitchenAid mixer (supervised!) and he can "measure" dry ingredients (that does NOT mean that all the ingredients are getting into the bowl!)... basically what I am trying to say is that he is one awesome kid! So for his birthday we both made a hazelnut birthday cake with a Nutella frosting and chocolate glaze! He might only be two years old, but he already made his own birthday cake... and then ate a huge piece of it, but it's a different story.
Here is the recipe:

Cake Ingredients:

* 7 oz hazelnuts, grated
* 1/3 cup finely chopped hazelnuts
* 2 sticks of butter, room temp.
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
* 5 eggs
* 5 tbsp milk
* 2 tsp baking powder
* 1 tbsp vanilla extract
* pinch of salt
* 1 tbsp cocoa powder
* 1 tsp cinnamon

Frosting:

* 2 sticks of butter, room temp.
* 7 oz mascarpone cheese, room temp. 
* 1/3 cup powdered sugar
* 1 cup Nutella

Chocolate glaze:

* 10 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
* 1/3 cup butter
* 1 tbsp light corn syrup

Directions:

1. Using a mixer beat together butter and sugar until smooth, about 5 minutes.

2. Slowly add eggs, vanilla extract and milk and mix for additional 2-3 minutes.

3. In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients (including nuts) and slowly add to the batter. Beat together for 2-3 minutes until combined.

4. Pour batter into two 9-inch, round, greased pans and bake at 350F for 30-35 min, until toothpick comes out dry. Transfer onto drying rack and let them cool completely (preferably overnight).

5. To make the frosting, combine butter, mascarpone and sugar and beat in the mixer for 5 minutes. Add Nutella and mix for additional 1 or 2 minutes until smooth.

6. Spread frosting between the cake layers, on the top and on the edges.

7. To make the glaze, combine chocolate chips and butter in glass bowl and microwave in 30 seconds intervals stirring after each time until melted completely, smooth and runny. Add corn syrup and pour over the cake immediately allowing the glaze to run down the sides to completely cover the cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow the glaze to set.

The cake was a hit! The birthday boy enjoyed a huge piece (so as his shirt and table and floor) and demanded another piece the second he woke up the next day (luckily we have enough to last us for ever).

   One very important piece of advice: do not forget about the cake while it's in the oven! Yes, that happened! We were playing with Christopher's train and the cake might have baked for few minutes more that it should... but it all turned out awesome and moist and delicious!

Happy Birthday My Little Man!
Magda

No-butter cake!

   Yes, that's right, not every cake needs to have butter in it (not that there is anything wrong with butter!) and it still can be delicious! I was mostly curious about it and wanted to try something different. Even though the cake is super easy and doesn't require any electric mixers, I did have some help making it from my sous chef. He is almost 20 months old, full of energy and enthusiasm for cooking, and is great with stirring the pot, especially a pot of flour! We tried to follow the recipe, but to be honest I'm not sure how much flour went into the cake itself, because I saw some on the counter, some on the floor and some in my shoes, but the cake turned out awesome so clearly you don't need to be too precise!
Here is the recipe for a blueberry-lemon yogurt cake:

Ingredients:

* 3.5 cups all purpose flour
* 3 tsp baking powder
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 2/3 cup vegetable oil
* 4 large eggs, room temp.
* 2 cups granulated sugar
* 2 cups plain Greek yogurt, room temp. 
* 3 tsp vanilla extract
* juice and zest from two lemons
* 1.5 cups frozen blueberries (do not thaw)

Glaze:

* 1/2 cup powdered sugar
* juice from half a lemon

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt.

2. In a separate bowl combine eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, oil, lemon zest and lemon juice. Whisk everything together until smooth.

3. Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix with a spoon. Gently fold in frozen blueberries (leave few for the top) and transfer into the rectangular baking dish lined up with buttered foil.

4. Sprinkle with remaining blueberries and bake at 350F for 50-55 minutes (until toothpick comes our clean).

5. When the cake cools a little, in a small bowl combine powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth and drizzle over the cake.

   Moist, lemony, fruity and flavorful! The glaze is optional, but I really recommend adding it because it makes this cake out-of-this-world delicious! Christopher was so impressed with his own work that he actually learned two new words: "cake" and "CAAAKE" - when I gave him too small of a piece!

Enjoy,
Magda.

Cheese of cake

   Cheesecake is probably one of my favorite desserts. Rich, creamy and indulgent, how can you not like it? But for somebody who loves cheesecake so much, I have a dark secret - I NEVER made one by myself! Can you believe that? I mean, never until now! I always thought that it was tricky, required some supernatural powers and took hours! Well, it does take some time, not the prep or cook time, but rather a "cooling time", but other than that it is super easy! I can not believe I was so scared to make it. As a proof, here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

* 24oz cream cheese (3 bricks), room temp.
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 lemon, juice and zest
* 2 tsp vanilla extract
* 2 eggs, room temp.
* 5-6 tbsp strawberry preserve, recipe can be found here
* 10 graham crackers
* 5 tbsp melted butter

Directions:

1. Break the graham crackers into a food processor and process until they form fine crumbs. Drizzle in melted butter and pulse until the crumbs are evenly moistened.

2. Press the crust into the foil-lined 8x8 pan and bake at 350F for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool while making the filling.

3. Decrease the oven temperature to 325F.

4. In a standing mixer, beat the softened cream cheese, slowly add sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, lemon zest and lemon juice. Beat everything for 2-3 minutes until smooth and fluffy.

4. Pour cheese mix onto the cooled crust, randomly distribute the strawberry preserve on the top and using a knife swirl the preserve to create a "marble pattern".

5. Bake at 325F for 45-50 minutes. Gently remove the cake from the oven (it will still be "jiggly" and wet, but it's OK), let it cool completely and then refrigerate for at least 3 hours before cutting into it.

   Doesn't it look pretty? And it tastes pretty good as well! Perfect balance of sweet with some salty and acidic notes. Lemon juice and zest is really a key here, it just makes it so fresh and vibrant. You could use any kind of fruit preserve, or you could just skip it all together, I'm sure it would be delicious no matter what!

Enjoy,
Magda

Brown or blond?

   That is the question! If it comes to cakes or sweets in general, it's always "blond" for me! Yes, that's right, I do not like brownies, I do not like chocolate cake, I do not like anything chocolate! This is why I was very excited when I found the recipe for these delicious "blondies". I was even more excited about the fact that they are Banana Blondies, because I am so tired of making banana bread every single time I have leftover overripe bananas! And it happens a lot with my two boys who demand that I buy a lot of bananas because they will for sure eat them all! Yeah, right!
   Anyways, the "cake" is really delicious, dense and moist (like a brownie would be), very flavorful and has a nice crunch from the nuts. Quick and easy recipe using the ingredients that can by found in the average pantry.

Ingredients:

* 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
* 1.5 cup packed brown sugar
* 2 eggs
* 2 tsp vanilla extract
* 3 bananas, mashed
* 2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:

1. In a bowl combine sugar and salt, add melted butter and mix together.

2. Mix in eggs, vanilla, bananas and baking powder. Slowly add flour and mix everything together.

3. Stir in walnuts and transfer into a rectangular baking pan. Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and the inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool before cutting.

   If you don't have walnuts, you could also use pecans, macadamia nuts, or even hazelnuts. You could even skip nuts all together if you wanted, but I think they add a lot and make the cake way better. I also tried it with different dried fruits and decided that walnuts and cranberries was my favorite combination.

Enjoy,
Magda

Guess who's back, back again...

Magda’s back, tell a friend...

   Can you believe that it’s been 16 months (!!!) since my last blog post? Life got really busy in the Morgan family, a little boy named Christopher came and changed everything!

   Yes, that's right... I couldn't resist to show off my beautiful boy(s)! Christopher not only changed the way we see the world or the way love, but he also changed the way we live, sleep or eat! Basically, we don’t sleep and we eat whatever is easier, faster, more convenient and whatever Christopher doesn’t want to eat himself! And I think it’s time to change it (I’m talking about our eating habits). He is big enough (almost 15 months) that he doesn’t need non-stop attention and mommy has some free time to relax in the kitchen and do what she loves – cook! Extra bonus – Christopher gets to taste all different things, develop his palate to hopefully become an adventures eater in the future.

   So to get everybody’s attention back, I’m starting with a delicious fruit crumble bars that are not only perfect with mommy’s and daddy’s coffee, but are also healthy enough for the little munchkins to eat! Not too much sugar and lots of fruit! Here is the recipe:

Crust:

* 1.5 cups all-purpose flour

* 1.5 cups whole wheat flour

* 2/3 cup granulated sugar

* 0.5 cup slivered almonds

* 1 tsp baking powder

* 2.5 sticks of cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

* 2 large egg yolks

* 2-3 tbsp ice-cold water
* pinch of salt

Berry Filling:

* 2 cups frozen blueberries

* 2 cups frozen raspberries

* 4 tbsp lemon juice

* 3 tbsp all-purpose flour

* 0.5 cup granulated sugar

* 1 tsp cinnamon

* 2 tbsp vanilla extract

Directions:

   1. Crust: whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry cutter, cut in the cold butter,  slowly mix in egg yolks and cold water. The dough should be really crumbly. 

   2.  Take half of the crumble and press into the prepared pan (13x9). 

   3. Filling: stir together fruit (no need to defrost), lemon juice, flour, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla extract until combined. 

   4. Evenly distribute the fruit on the top of the crust. 

   5. Add almonds to the remaining crust and sprinkle over the fruit. 

   6.  Bake at 375F for 40-50 minutes until golden brown

   I am not a fan of very sweet desserts, so I really cut down on sugar in this recipe, but if you like your desserts to be coma-inducing sweet, feel free to add more.

I’m glad to be back and I can’t wait to post recipes regularly again.

See you soon,

Magda

Pumpkin season.

   Just when I was about to write that I love fall and all fall-signature dishes... it started to snow! I guess it is December already so I shouldn't be so surprised, but I am not ready for winter yet! So I will pretend that I didn't see any snow flakes outside and I will blog about pumpkin season... and my pumpkin bread! Every single year during the fall I make lots and lots of pumpkin dishes, either soups, or sauces or cupcakes... or breads! This one is really quick and easy, you can make it in no time and enjoy it for a while ... or share it with a friend, because it makes 2 loafs.

Ingredients:

*  1 15oz can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix!)
*  3 cups all-purpose flour
*  4 eggs
*  2/3 cup vegetable oil
*  1 2/3 cup white sugar
*  2 tsp vanilla extract
*  2 tsp baking soda
*  1/2 tsp baking powder
*  1/2 tsp salt
*  1 tsp cinnamon
*  1/2 tsp ground ginger
*  pinch of nutmeg
*  1/2 cup chopped pecans
*  1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, eggs, sugar, vanilla extra and oil. Mix everything together.
2. Add all remaining ingredients and mix until well combined.
3. Pour into two greased loaf pans (8x4 inches) and bake at 350F for 60-70 minutes, until the tooth pick comes out clean.
4. Remove loaf from the pan, place on the wire rack and let them cool for minimum of 30 minutes before cutting.

   Works each time, I promise! Perfect for breakfast, dessert, or for coffee with a friend!

Enjoy,
Magda

Summer flavors!

   Summer is almost here, that means it's time for delicious fruit cakes and desserts! It was my boss's birthday a few days ago and since he has a sweet tooth, I knew he would appreciate a cake as a gift. He is very health conscious and always trying to eat right, so I decided to make a fruit cake. Not that it has fewer calories than any other dessert, but at least he could have his serving of fruit with it! It's a super easy cake which requires almost no skill and no work... highly recommended. 

Ingredients:

*  1 stick of butter, room temperature
*  1 cup sugar
*  2 cups all-purpose flour
*  2 eggs
*  1 cup buttermilk
*  1 tsp vanilla extract
*  2 tbsp lemon juice
*  2 tsp baking powder
*  pinch of salt
*  1 cup berries (I used blueberries)

Directions:

1. Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy.
2. Add eggs (one at a time) and beat some more.
3. Add buttermilk, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and pinch of salt. Mix everything with the spoon - it will look weird but don't worry.
4. Add flour and baking powder, mix everything together until it forms a smooth and dense batter.
5. Transfer into greased square baking pan, top with blueberries (push them gently into the batter) and bake at 350F for 50-55 minutes until golden brown.

   Not too dense and not too dry, the buttermilk keeps it moist and a little bit tangy. You can use any berry you like, raspberries, strawberries... anything. Perfect for an afternoon break with a cup of tea or coffee!

Enjoy,
Magda

Happy Easter!

   How is everybody spending this Easter? I wish I could be in Poland and spend it with my family because there is nothing better than Polish Easter. Lots of traditions, lots of eggs, and lots of kielbasa... it doesn't get any better than that! But just because I can't be it in Poland doesn't mean that we won't have traditional holidays with lots of eggs and kielbasa (vegetarian experiment is OVER!) and great friends. Oh, and Babka too! It's a traditional Easter yeast cake that can be made hundreds of different ways. This time I decided to make a lemon version of it... delicious! Here is the recipe:

Leaven:

*  2/4 cup warm 2% milk
*  3/4 oz dry yeast
*  2 tbsp sugar
*  1 cup all-purpose flour

Dough:

*  3 cups all-purpose flour
*  3/4 cup sugar
*  2 eggs
*  3 egg yolks
*  1 stick butter, melted
*  pinch of salt
*  zest from 2 lemons

Icing:

*  1 cup powdered sugar
*  juice from one lemon

Directions:

1. Make leaven: in a bowl combine yeast with warm milk and let it stand for 2-3 minutes. Add sugar and flour, mix to combine, cover with kitchen towel and let it stand in warm place for 1 hour.
2. When leaven rises add remaining flour and sugar, eggs and egg yolks, salt and lemon zest. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes.
3. Add melted and cooled butter and knead the dough until all butter is absorbed and dough is shiny and elastic.
4. Transfer into greased bunt cake pan, cover with kitchen towel and let it stand for 1 hour.
5. Bake at 345F for 30 minutes, remove from the pan and let it cool down.
6. To make icing combine powdered sugar with lemon juice, mix until smooth and runny and pour over the cake. Let it set.

   There is no better smell than a yeast cake! Yeast and lemons...even better. There are few staples on the Easter table in my house... previously mentioned eggs and kielbasa, zurek (sour rye soup), dessert and... tulips! I can't imagine Easter without these beautiful flowers! They just scream Spring to me!

Happy Easter,
Magda.

Dirty Cupcakes!

   No, I did not drop cupcakes on the floor to make them dirty! I put dirt on them on purpose! But, not your regular dirt... it's a delicious Oreo dirt with some nasty worms sticking out of it. Last weekend I had some friends over for a Halloween dinner and since we decided not to dress up for it, I made my dessert wear a Halloween costume. Since I made the entire dinner from scratch, I decided that it's OK to take a little shortcut for the dessert and I used a store bought red velvet cake mix. As long as you add your own twist to it, it's perfectly fine... at least that's what I keep telling myself! Here is the recipe for Red Velvet cupcakes with raspberry cream cheese frosting (makes 24):

Cupcakes:

*  store bought Red Velvet cake mix
*  3 eggs
*  1/3 cup vegetable oil
*  1 1/4 cup water

Frosting:

*  16oz cream cheese
*  1 cup powdered sugar
*  1 cup raspberries
*  1 tbsp lemon juice
*  6 Oreo cookies, without white filling, finely crushed
*  24 gummy worms

Directions:

1. Combine cake mix with eggs, oil and water and beat everything with hand mixer. Transfer batter into 24 cupcake liners (about 3/4 full), and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
2. Cool cupcakes completely before frosting.
3. Beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice and raspberries until smooth.
4. Frost cupcakes with the cream cheese, cover with Oreo dirt and place a gummy worm on top of it.

   It's a funny looking and delicious dessert. The raspberry cream cheese frosting is one of my favorite and pairs perfectly with red velvet cake. Who said silly food is only for kids... adults (I'm not sure if we qualify) can have lots of fun with it too!

Happy Halloween,
Magda

Summer staple.

   Well, there are many dishes that can be summer staples, and I'm sure each of us have our own. I actually have a different staple each weekend and love all of them. But somehow during Memorial Day weekend I always think about grilled meat and cornbread. Grilling seems like an obvious choice, but I have absolutely no scientific explanation for the cornbread ... it's just what I associate with this Holiday. It's not only super tasty, but also super quick and easy, so it won't keep you in the kitchen when you want to enjoy time with your friends and family. To make it extra flavorful and summery I added mint and lemon thyme. Here is the recipe:

*  1/2 cup butter
*  1/3 cup white sugar
*  2 eggs
*  1 cup buttermilk
*  1/2 tsp baking soda
*  1/2 tsp baking powder
*  1 cup cornmeal
*  1 cup all-purpose flour
*  1/2 tsp salt
*  2 tbsp chopped lemon thyme
*  2 tbsp chopped mint

1. Melt butter in skillet, remove it from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended.
2. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and baking powder, and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, salt, and herbs until well blended, pour batter into the prepared pan (I used 8 inch square pan) and bake at 375F for 30 minutes.

   I wish you could smell my kitchen when I was taking it out of the oven. Mint and lemon thyme is such a great and fragrant combination, it just makes you want to hug the cornbread and never let it go! Add some home made strawberry preserves and you are in heaven!

Enjoy.
Magda.

Happy Easter!

   I hope everybody is enjoying the Easter Weekend! We are almost ready, just a few more strokes of the duster, a few more eggs to boil, and we are good to go. We are planning to sit back, relax, and enjoy the weekend with friends and family. Polish Easter food is all about eggs, kielbasa, and yeast cake called "Babka" (yes, that means "grandma", but what can I say, we love our grandmas)! It's not the quickest cake to make because it requires a lot of patience to let the dough rise (twice) while the yeast is doing it's job. But don't get discouraged because it's all worth it and the final result is very unique and delicious Oh and it makes your entire house smell like the Holidays too. Here is the recipe:

*  1 package dry yeast
*  1/4 cup warm water
*  1/4 cup warm milk
*  1/2 cup sugar, divided
*  1/4 cup butter (room temp)
*  3 eggs
*  2 1/2 cup flour
*  1/4 teaspoon salt
*  1/2 cup dry raisins and cranberries

   Dissolve the yeast in water; stir in milk and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Set aside for about 30 minutes, or until bubbly. Using an electric mixer, beat butter with the remaining sugar. Beat in eggs, flour, salt and yeast mixture until smooth and elastic. Cover and let rise for about 1-2 hours or until doubled. Stir in raisins and cranberries, put into greased tube pan, cover, and let it rise for about 45 minutes. Bake at 350F for 30 - 40 minutes until well browned. Take it out of the pan immediately and let it cool on a wire rack. When it's cooled, top it with a vanilla glaze (I use a store bought glaze), sprinkle with some cranberries, and it's ready to enjoy.

   The smell of baked yeast is just amazing. It feels like home and even if you never had it when you were growing up, there is something about it that just makes you feel like a small kid in your mom's kitchen. It just makes the Easter a little bit more special, even though I am thousands miles away from home.

Happy Easter.
Magda.

Nuts for coconuts?

   Last Christmas my aunt sent me the best Christmas card ever.  Rather than adding a picture or a letter she inserted a recipe for a delicious coconut cake. How cool is that? So simple, but yet so thoughtful. I am a little bit embarrassed that it took me three months to finally make the cake, but I guess it's better late than never. Justin is not too crazy about coconut in general, so I took it as my personal challenge to change his mind. It worked just great, the cake turned out delicious, Justin had a huge piece of it, and didn't mind the coconut at all! Here is the recipe:

*  2 cups toasted sweetened coconut
*  2 cups all-purpose flour
*  1 cup butter (room temp.)
*  6 eggs
*  0.5 tsp salt
*  1 tsp baking powder
*  1.5 cup sugar
*  2.5 tsp almond extract

   To toast the coconut spread it thinly in a shallow baking dish and bake at 350F for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently until it's a little bit brown. Do not leave it in the oven for too long because it browns pretty fast. After it's done, set it aside to cool down before mixing it into the cake. In a large bowl beat the butter until creamy and then gradually add sugar while beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs (one at a time) and almond extract, mixing well after each addition. Remove the bowl from the mixer and using a big spoon stir in all dry ingredients and coconut. Transfer the cake batter into a baking pan and bake at 325F for about one hour.

   It's delicious on its own, but I decided to "dress" it up a little bit with drizzle of chocolate. I melted a few pieces of chocolate with 2 tbsp of milk and an orange zest and drizzled it over the cake. It's yummy, super coconuty, and super rich, so it's the best when served with a scoop of refreshing fat free raspberry sorbet!

 

   Do you see how fluffy the cake is? The almond extract and toasted coconut is just a perfect marriage of flavors and make this desert super tasty. I'm sure everybody will love it.

Good luck.
Magda.

Valentine's Day dinner!

   I hope everybody had a great Valentine’s Day yesterday! For us it’s just another day, no different than any other, and I just use it as an excuse to have a nice dinner with my husband (oh, and flowers are not bad either). By “nice dinner” I absolutely don’t mean going out to a fancy restaurant. We have no desire to fight with all those crowds, waiting for a table, and looking for a parking space (where is the romance in that?). What we do is cook a scrumptious and delicious dinner, open a bottle of wine, and watch a movie. You can’t get that in any restaurant. We usually cook our favorite dishes from different restaurants and last year we had sushi, so this year I decided to make a French onion soup and lettuce wraps, and for a dessert we had a red beet cake with raspberry frosting (this is going to be a long post).

French onion soup ingredients:

*  6 large onions (thinly sliced)

*  ½ stick of butter

*  olive oil

*  2 cups beef broth

*  1 cup dry white wine

*  1 tsp dry thyme

*  2 tbsp soy sauce

*  salt and pepper

*  French baguette

*  Gruyere cheese (or any other that melts nicely)

   Heat butter and olive oil in a Dutch oven on medium heat and sauté onions for about 30 minutes until caramelized  (they should be browned but not burned). Add wine and cook for 1-2 minutes and then add all the remaining ingredients (without bread and cheese), some water, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer everything for about 20 more minutes. You can prepare the soup earlier (even few days ahead) and when you are ready to serve it ladle it into an oven proof cups, put a slice of toasted French baguette on the top, sprinkle it with the cheese, and broil in the oven until nicely melted, browned, and bubbly.

Lettuce wraps shopping list:

*  iceberg lettuce

*  ground turkey

*  onion (chopped)

*  2 cloves garlic

*  Shitake mushroom

*  water chestnuts (chopped)

*  red bell pepper (chopped)

*  1 tsp grated ginger

*  1/2 cup chopped cilantro

*  olive oil

*  1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

*  2 tsp Teriyaki  sauce

*  sesame seeds

   Sauté onions and garlic with some olive oil, add meat, and cook until no longer pink. Add the remaining ingredients (besides lettuce) and cook for 10-15 minutes so all the flavors can combine. Gently peel the leaves from the lettuce forming small “bowls”, scoop the meat into them, sprinkle with some more cilantro and sesame seeds, and serve!

   And last but not least: dessert. I got this recipe from my Mom and it’s definitely something different: red beet cake. What you will need is:

*  4 eggs
*  2 cups all-purpose flour

*  1 cup sugar

*  1 cup grated beets

*  1 cup grated carrots

*  1 cup grated apples

*  ½ cup chopped almonds

*  1 cup dried raisins or cranberries (or both)

*  1 cup vegetable oil

*  1 tsp cinnamon

*  2 tsp baking powder

*  2 tsp baking soda

   Separate egg whites from yolks and beat the whites until stiff. Slowly add yolks, sugar, and flour mixed with all other dry ingredients. Add fruits, veggies, and nuts, mix everything together and bake at 350F for about 50 minutes. It’s good to go by itself, but what I do is cut in half and spread with simple frosting. To make the frosting I just mix fat-free cream cheese with Confectioner’s sugar and fresh crushed raspberries. It wouldn’t be a Valentine’s Day dessert if it wasn’t in a shape of a heart and shared with a significant other/friend/pet (circle which ever applies), would it?

   All that combined with a bottle of a great Pinot Noir and a Johnny Depp movie equals fantastic evening!

Hope you had as much fun as us.

Magda.

Do you have a sweet tooth?

   If you do, you are going to love this recipe, and if you don't... well, if you don't I bet you that if you try it you will love it anyways! Oh, and if you are a carrot eater you will love it as well. I think everybody knows by now what I am talking about, yes, you are right I am going to show you one of my signature desserts: a carrot cake with a citrus cream cheese frosting! Man, just writing about it makes me want to have a bite. This cake always works and never disappoints! The recipe for a cake calls for:

*  2 cups all-purpose flour
*  1 1/4 cups oil
*  2 cups grated carrots
*  1/2 cup raisins
*  3 eggs
*  1 cup sugar
*  2 tsp baking powder
*  2 tsp baking soda
*  1/2 tsp salt
*  2 tsp cinnamon
*  2 tsp cocoa

   With a hand mixer, mix sugar, oil and eggs until creamy. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cocoa, mix everything together, and add carrots and raisins. Transfer into a baking pan and bake at 350F for about 35-45 minutes (a toothpick will tell you when it's ready). You need to cool it down after it's baked, cut it in half, and spread with cream cheese frosting. What you will need to make it is:

*  16 oz. fat-free cream cheese (2 blocks)
*  Confectioner's sugar (as much as you need to make it as sweet as you like)
*  juice from one orange
*  orange zest
*  lime juice (from half a lime)
*  1 tsp vanilla extract

   Mix all the ingredients together (with hand mixer) and here you go... the frosting is ready! Chill the cake in a fridge for couple of hours before serving.

   There was not a single time that this cake didn't come out right. It always works and it's super yummy! I'm sure you will love it. Oh, and it will satisfy your sweet tooth like nothing else!

Enjoy.
Magda

If you are Polish you know your szarlotka!

   A long time ago, during our wonderful trip to Poland, I posted picture of a szarlotka (apple cake) I made. I think it's high time to post some more pictures and, more importantly, give you a recipe for it! It's one of the most popular desserts in Poland, Americans have their brownies and we have our szarlotka. It's not the quickest cake ever, because you have to knead some dough, but it's not that bad, and it takes only few minutes to do it. Before I take care of the dough I make the apple filling and that's when my wonderful husband comes in, somebody needs to grate those apples and I don't want to lose my nails!

Ingredients for filling:
6-7 apples
1 cup of dried cranberries and raisins
sugar (according to your liking)
cinamon

   Grate the peeled apples and cook them with sugar, dried fruit, and cinnamon for about 10 min while stirring the whole time (they really like to stick to the bottom of the pot).

   You can prepare them even couple of days earlier and store them in the fridge until you are ready to bake a cake. Speaking of cake these are the things you will need:

3 cups of flour
2 sticks of unsalted butter
1 cup of white sugar
1 packet of vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
4 eggs
fresh orange zest.

   Combine flour with baking powder, sugar, and orange zest, add butter and cut everything with a knife until it's mixed. Add eggs and knead the dough using your hands (yes it requires to get dirty!). Divide the dough in half, freeze one of them and roll the other one on the baking pan and bake for 5-6 min (don't let it brown). Spread the apples on the top of it and grate the frozen half of the dough on the top of apples.Grating the dough can be challenging because it's not too frozen and it's just melting in your hands, so what I discovered is that freezing small pieces of it helps a little. Bake at 350F for about 45 min (until the top is brownish).

   Either the recipe calls for a little bit too much of everything or my baking dish is not big enough, but I always end up with leftover dough. But this is absolutely no big deal because there are plenty of things you can do with it. This time I just rolled it out and cut out different shapes with my Christmas cookie cutters, brushed them with eggs, sprinkled with sugar and poppy seeds, baked until golden brown and voila, delicious cookies are ready! No dough will be wasted in my house!

   The orange zest gives the cookies a really fresh, citrusy, and Christmasy flavor. To be honest I was a little bit surprised how good they turned out, who knew! All you need is a glass of milk and you are good to go!

Have a sweet day.
Magda.

Don't go bananas!

   Or better yet: don't waste bananas! I'm sure most of us buy too many of them once in a while and let them sit until they turn brown, soft, and are good for nothing! I had three of them, way riper than they should be, staring at me from the fruit basket, slowly turning into a perfect fruit fly attractant! I never throw away any food unless it's absolutely necessary, so it was high time to get creative and make some banana bread. Oh all right, it might not be the most creative dish, and probably not the most surprising considering over-ripened bananas, but it was definitely very spontaneous! I wish you could see Justin's face when he saw me taking my hand mixer out! Like a five-year-old on Christmas morning! Spikey also knew that something good was going on because he sat next to Justin with his huge cute ears up staring at me the entire time without even one blink! I love to make my boys happy.
   Well, but lets get back on track with the banana bread. I know I say it a lot, but the recipe is super easy, you will see. All you need is 0.5 cup of butter at RT (room temperature for all non-science people), 1 cup of white sugar, 2 eggs, 2 cups of all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1.5 cups of mashed bananas (I used three big once). Cream the butter and sugar until smooth, then beat in eggs and bananas. Add flour and baking soda stirring just until combined. Transfer it to the pan and bake for 45-60 min at 350F or until the toothpick comes out dry.

   Every time you open the oven to check on it, it smells so unbelievably good that you just want to eat it right away, despite the fact that your mama told you not to eat a hot cake! Clearly nobody listened to mama tonight, because the second my banana bread was cool enough to touch it (none of us seemed to care about the hot steam coming out) it was sliced and half gone!

   All the Christmas decorations, the smell of spices, and baking definitely makes it feel like the holiday season is on in the Morgan's household. I'm loving it already and it's only the beginning!

Take care,
Magda.

Husband in the kitchen.

   Justin may not be the best cook, but the few things he does make are awesomely delicious! If I'm late from work or I don't feel like cooking, he steps right in and prepares one of his signature dishes for us. Today was one of those days when I had to stay a little bit longer at work, but when I got home I could smell my favorite healthy version of the Reuben sandwich! Rather then using corned beef he makes it with smoked turkey breast, fat free Thousand Island dressing and sauerkraut on whole wheat toast bread. The only splurge we allow ourselves is Swiss cheese.

   Man that sandwich is yummy! I could eat it every day!
   After this light and almost calorie free dinner we had some room for a sweet dessert. Last Friday I promised my  friends in the lab I would make a cake and surprise, surprise Justin absolutely supported the idea! I love when people like to eat my food, that's exactly what it is about, sharing my passion and making others happy! But I got so busy on the weekend searching for a paint colors for our bedroom (anybody wants to come and paint it for us?) that I almost forgot about the cake. Since I didn't want to break a promise I decided to make the quickest and easiest cake ever. I don't even know what to call this cake, but it's quite tasty!

   All you need is 4-5 apples, cut into small cubes and mixed with 1.5 cup of sugar for about 30 min. After the apples release some juice add 2.5 cups of flour, 1 tsp of baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon, 2 tbsp cocoa, 4 eggs, 4 tbsp of vegetable oil, 1 cup of walnuts, and 0.5 cups of raisins. Mix everything very well and bake at 350F for about 30-40 min, or until the toothpick comes out dry (you know the trick!).

Try it, I'm sure you will like it!

Magda