Detox Blonde Macaroons

Coconut is one of my favourite things. Fresh coconut, dried, coconut milk, yum. And I've been wanting to make some variation of these vegan macaroons for too long. They're truly delicious. Lots of coconut flavour, incredibly soft, a bit chewy. Gluten free too! The original recipe had almond extract but I detest that fake almond flavour so just added more vanilla. I gave a bunch away and kept the rest in the freezer, and yes they are amazing from the freezer too. Oh and I made my own coconut butter! (Which is just pureeing unsweetened shredded coconut. Magic.)

I'm sending these to the cookie blog hop.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Coconut Creme Brulee
Coconut Shortbread
Coconut Madeleines
Coconut Lemon Bundt Cake
Chocolate Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

Detox Blonde Macaroons
Adapted from Oh She Glows who adapted from Healthy Hoggin

Yield ~22 macaroons

2 2/3 cups shredded unsweetened coconut (or 1 cup coconut butter)
2 (additional) cups shredded unsweetened coconut
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp kosher salt

1. Preheat the oven to 300F and line a baking sheet with a non-stick mat or parchment. In a food processor, process 2 and 2/3 cups of shredded coconut for about 5-8 minutes until coconut butter forms. You will have to keep scraping down the sides of the bowl. Alternatively, you can use 1 cup of store bought coconut butter.

2. Once you have made the coconut butter, mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

3. Scoop about 1-2 tbsp of dough onto a baking sheet. You don’t have to leave much room in between as they do not spread out. Bake one sheet at a time for 25-28 minutes at 300F. Watch them closely after 22-23 minutes. The bottoms of my macaroons were golden in colour.

4. Allow the macaroons to sit for 30 minutes so they can firm up. If you do not do this, the macaroons will crumble, so this step is crucial! Store in the fridge or freezer.

Cowboy Cookies

I find it hard enough to keep up with all the wonderful blogs out there so I'm not too eager to sign up for Twitter but recently I've found myself kind of wishing I had it. So I can ask questions like "what should I cook for brunch this weekend?" or "what kind of cake should I make to go in a trifle?" Basically the only reason I'd want Twitter is to talk about food even more than I already do. And maybe Abby sometimes.

One can never have enough cookie recipes, am I right? I recently got Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar and have started working my way through it. The first cookies I made from it were these cowboy cookies which are nice and thick and chewy. A fairly simple cookie but so very delicious with coconut, oatmeal, pecans and chocolate chips. These are the kind of cookies to make all the time.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Ginger Spice Cookies
Double Dark Chocolate Cherry Cookies
Monster Cookies
Coconut Shortbread

Cowboy Cookies
Adapted from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

Makes 2 dozen large cookies

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup canola oil
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup nondairy milk (I used unsweetened soy)
1 tbsp ground flax seeds
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup shredded coconut (I've used both sweetened and unsweetened, either is good)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped toasted pecan pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a medium-size bowl, stir together oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat together oil, sugar, brown sugar, nondairy milk, flax seeds, and vanilla. Fold in half of the flour mixture to moisten, then fold in the remaining half. Just before the mixture is completely combined, fold in the coconut, chocolate chips, and pecans.

4. For each cookie, drop 1/4 cup of dough (about the size of a golf ball) onto cookie sheets. The dough will be sticky and thick. Leave about 2 inches of space between each cookie. Flatten slightly with moistened fingers or the moistened back of a measuring cup; repeat dipping in water for each cookie. Bake for 14-16 minutes until edges start to brown. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to wire racks to complete cooling.

Book Review: You Made That Dessert?

Yesterday was the official release date for Beth's (Cookie Pie) baking book You Made That Dessert?, and I was thrilled to be asked to be a part of her online book tour! (Check out the list of other bloggers who are taking part - near the bottom of this post above the recipe.) The book is meant for people who aren't too familiar with baking and don't want to have to buy tons of fancy tools and seek out hard to find ingredients. Every recipe includes a list of required tools (in addition to the ingredients), the prep time, and cooking time. And there are lots of helpful tips throughout the recipes (as you'll see in the coconut rice pudding recipe below), as well as chapters on the tools, the ingredients, the lingo (cut in, fold), and the how-tos (whipping egg whites).

But I think this book appeals to people of all baking levels. I was pleasantly surprised to see that in addition to some staple baking recipes (brownies, gingersnaps), Beth has also included lots of other interesting ones like S'mores Bars, Salty-Sweet Caramel Nut Bars, Rosemary Biscotti, Tres Leches Cake (something I've always wanted to make!), Caramelized Banana Bread Pudding (anyone else completely drawn into food when it says caramelized?), Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie and "New Wave" Lemon Meringue Pie (where you spoon lemon curd into a cup and then put a meringue and a piece of shortbread in it - yum)!

I love the style of the book and I really think there's something to be said for style, font choices and layout of a cookbook. I love that it lists weights for the flour and sugar (as well as saying how many cups). I love all the photos! When my boyfriend saw me flipping through it he said "Ohh that's a nice cookbook". I'm okay with cookbooks that don't have any or many photos but hey I'll admit I'm a sucker for gorgeous food photos! ;) I also love the emergency dessert section.

The recipes I wanted to try out were the coconut rice pudding and the peanut butter and jelly bars. Both were easy to make and yummy! I love how the peanut butter and jelly bars look, and they of course reminded me of a peanut butter and jam sandwich. The cookie part is so yummy and soft. As for the rice pudding, I didn't used to like rice pudding actually but after having it at a local Indian restaurant, I've changed my mind. So I couldn't wait to try out this pudding with my favourite coconut as the star. And it definitely didn't disappoint. Though I think I might have cooked it a bit long because once I cooled it it was really thick. This did not at all interfere with its deliciousness though.

Ahh I'm really tired and forgot to include links to all the other bloggers who are part of this online book tour. =) Check out:

Recipe Girl for cookies and cream cheesecake bars
Culinary Concoctions by Peabody for chocolate-chocolate chip cupcakes
Cookie Baker Lynn for banana snack cake
Two Peas and Their Pod for sour cream coffee cake
The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch for cappuccino biscotti
Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy
Baking Bites

Bunny's Warm Oven for cherry clafouti

Coconut Rice Pudding
You Made That Dessert?

1 cup sweetened flake coconut
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup uncooked jasmine rice
1/3 cup (2.3 ounces) sugar
zest of 1 small lemon (Ashley note: I omitted this because I wanted pure coconut!)
2 14-ounce cans unsweetened coconut milk (shake cans before opening them)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp dark rum or 1 tbsp vanilla extract (Ashley note: I went for the vanilla.)

1. Put 1/2 cup coconut in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped (or spread it on a cutting board and chop it as finely as you can with a chef's knife). In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the rice and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon or flexible spatula, for 1 minute. Stir in the chopped coconut, sugar, lemon zest, coconut milk, and salt and bring to a simmer, about 5 minutes (tiny bubbles will form along the edges and the mixture may steam a little bit, but don't let it boil).

2. Turn the heat down to low and cook, stirring often, until the pudding has thickened (it will be about the same consistency as runny oatmeal; it will firm up as it cools), about 25 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat, pour the pudding into a large bowl, and stir in the rum or vanilla. Cover the pudding with plastic wrap, pressing down carefully so that the plastic lightly touches the whole surface of the pudding. Let the pudding cool for 15 minutes to serve it warm, or let it cool to room temperature and then refrigerate it to serve cold.

3. While the pudding is cooling, toast the remaining coconut: Preheat the oven to 350F. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup coconut in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet (no need to grease the baking sheet or line it). Bake it for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes, until the coconut is golden brown (be careful - the coconut can get too dark very quickly if you don't stir it often and keep an eye on it). Pour the toasted coconut into a small bowl to cool.

4. Spoon the pudding into individual dessert bowls, top with toasted coconut, and serve.

Chewy, Chunky Blondies

As promised, here is a delicious baked good. Actually, this is no ordinary delicious baked good - it's an extremely yummy and perfect blondie. It's filled with toffee bits, chocolate chunks, coconut and walnuts, and is nice and dense and chewy (and a little too addictive). This comes from my favourite baking book, Baking: From My Home to Yours - a book that I would love to just live in. Every time I open it it makes me happy.

The other day I found Abby hiding under her cube and playing with her blue ball toy. She adores the cube and as you can see it's not exactly cube shaped anymore because she plays with it so much. She loves just hitting the top of it with her paw because it goes up and down. Kind of strange but really cute.

If this sounds good, you migh also like:
Monster Cookies
Double Chocolate Coconut Cookies
Peanut Butter Squares with Milk Chocolate and Oats
Hello Dolly Bars

Chewy, Chunky Blondies
Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
8 ounces (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or 1 cup store bought chocolate chips
1 cup toffee bits
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325F. Butter a 9×13-inch baking pan and put it on a baking sheet.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add both sugars and beat for another 3 minutes, or until well incorporated. Add the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing just until they disappear into the batter. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chips, nuts and coconut. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and use the spatula to even out the top.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the blondies comes out clean. The blondies should pull away from the sides of the pan a little and the top should be a honey brown. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 15 minutes before turning the blondies out onto another rack. Invert onto a rack and cool the blondies to room temperature right side up.

Cut into 32 bars.

Coconut Crème Brûlée

First off I want to mention Caitlin's Operation Beautiful. It's about "ending fat talk one anonymous post-it at a time" by "leaving positive messages on the mirrors of public restrooms" like "you are beautiful". How awesome is that? Check out her post to see all of the wonderful notes people have left, and some of their experiences. I want to go leave some notes around too now. I love the positive impact the blog world can have!! Okay now onto the food.

Usually I post about things in the approximate order I've made them, unless there's some particular reason to post about it sooner (like taking advantage of strawberry season, a blog event, or in this case a request from a friend). I made this coconut crème brûlée for a potluck we hosted a couple of weekends ago. Originally I wanted to make this rootbeer float cake but due to the hot weather, thought a cold dessert might be better.

This crème brûlée was rich and creamy (well okay what crème brûlé isn't?) with a hint of coconut. I'd like to try making crème brûlée (I'm getting tired of copy/pasting that!) with all coconut milk (and no cream) for even more coconut flavour next time! I can never get enough coconut. And I've been dying to make earl grey crème brûlée, but I know not everyone loves the flavour of earl grey so I haven't made that one yet. Maybe white chocolate earl grey crème brûlée, mmmm. I know some people think crème brûlée is difficult to make but it's really not. In fact it's one of the easiest desserts to make I think, provided you have some whisking skills!

And now for a photo of Abby, reaching up to get one of her new toys. I love how her little back feet look - it reminds me of puss 'n boots for some reason.

If this sounds good, you might like:
Creamy Coconut Cake
Coconut Cream Pie
Coconut Madeleines
Coconut Shortbread

Coconut Crème Brûlée
Adapted from Caprial's Desserts

I think my ramekin cups are 6 ounces so I got about 10 ramekins out of this recipe. I also found the suggested 1 tbsp of sugar on top too much so scaled it back to 1/2 tbsp.

2 1/4 cups heavy cream
400 mL can (1 3/4 cup) coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla
8 egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 to 1 cup superfine sugar

Preheat the oven to 300F.

Place the cream, coconut milk and vanilla in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and bring just to a boil. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks, granulated sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Slowly whisk 1 to 1/2 cups of the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture to temper it, or bring it up to the same temperature. Whisk in the remaining cream,a nd then strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Skim any foam from the surface.

Divide the custard among six 8 ounce ramekins. Set the ramekins in a shallow roasting pan, and fill the pan with enough hot water to reach about haflway up the sides of the remakins. Carefully set the pan in the oven and bake just until set, about 1 hour. To tell if the custards are set, gently shake one; if it moves as one mass, it is done. Remove the ramekins from the water bath. let cool until tepid, the refrigerate until well chilled, about 4 hours (overnight is even better if you have time).

To serve, sprinkle each custard with 1/2 tbsp of superfine sugar. Using a propane torch (or th ebroiler), caramelized the sugar. Serve immediately.

Roast Banana-Pumpkin Breakfast Bread

I discovered this recipe for roast banana-pumpkin breakfast bread a few years ago on 101 Cookbooks, a while before I had a blog. And over the years I've thought about making it - roasted bananas, rum soaked raisins, coconut milk, pumpkin seeds. It sounded like such a unique and delicious combination of flavours but I was always missing an ingredient. The cookbook the recipe comes from also really interests me but it doesn't seem to be in print anymore - Southwestern Vegetarian. Anyone have this cookbook? I'm just curious if it's as good as it sounds. Regardless I think it's time that I try and track it down!

Well how did this magical banana bread that I'd built up in my head turn out? It was good, but not as good as I had hoped. I thought roasting the bananas would impart something special but it just tasted like regular banana bread. You can taste the rum in the raisins which was a nice touch. If you love banana bread a lot I think it's one worth trying out, just for something a little different.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Banana Crunch Muffins
Mom's Banana Apple Bread
Pumpkin Bread
Pumpkin Pecan Raisin Muffins

Roast Banana-Pumpkin Breakfast Bread
Adapted from Southwestern Vegetarian (found on 101 Cookbooks)

Makes 1 loaf

3/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dark rum
2 ripe bananas, unpeeled
2 cups cake flour (I used 250 grams.)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

Preheat the oven to 325F.

In a small pot, combine the raisins and rum. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then take off the heat and let stand for 1 hour. Strain the plumped raisins and set aside, discarding any remaining liquid.

Place the bananas on a cookie sheet. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes, or until the skins are black and they have started to seep. Remove from the oven, set aside, and let cool.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a mixing bowl. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Turn the machine to low and add 1 egg. Mix until completely incorporated and then add the second egg. Mixing again until completely incorporated.

Meanwhile, squeeze the flesh of the bananas out of the skins and into a small mixing bowl. Add the coconut milk and vanilla and mash together. Add half of the banana mixture to the electric mixer bowl and blend thoroughly on low speed. Add half of the flour mixture and mix until combined. Add the remaining banana mixture, blend thoroughly, and add the remaining flour mixture; mix just enough to thoroughly blend the ingredients. Fold the pumpkin seeds and reserved raisins into the batter and pour it into a lightly greased 9 by 5-inch loaf pan.

Bake in the oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack.

Double Chocolate Coconut Cookies

I used to make cookies all the time but strangely I seem to have slowed down. I guess because I've been making more scones, muffins, and other random baked goods. Well these cookies have been on my "to make" list for a long time. They're soft and chewy with nice crispy outsides. The dough wasn't as chocolatey as I had hoped, and there wasn't enough coconut for me (but is there ever??) They're a good cookie but not a personal favourite - the texture is perfect though. I gave some to my boyfriend to take to work and I was really thrilled to hear that someone liked them enough to email him and tell him how good they were. (He had left them in the lunch room.)

I have one more day of class left, a big presentation, and then 4 exams next week. Then I'm finished my Food Technology program! Can't believe it. The two years have gone by so fast yet it felt like forever at times. Then I start a new program this September to become a public health inspector (environmental healthy officer). Good luck to all the students with their exams and final projects!

I love this photo of Abby! She loves diving into piles of paper (unfortunately that includes my homework that is not so well organized on the floor).

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Coconut Shortbread
Chocolate Dipped Cherry Shortbread
Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters
Intense Chocolate Fudge Cookies

Double Chocolate Coconut Cookies
Adapted from Martha Stewart Holiday Cookies 2005

Makes about 5 dozen.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour (I used 138g for 1/2 the recipe.)
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups white chocolate chunks (about 9 ounces)
1 3/4 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 3/4 cups coarsely chopped walnuts (about 6 ounces)

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Put butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Mix in eggs, 1 at a time. Stir in vanilla.

2. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Mix into butter mixture on low speed until well combined. Fold in chocolate, coconut and walnuts.

3. Using a 1 1/2 inch scoop, drop batter onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly. Bake until set, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on sheets for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.

Coconut Shortbread

These coconut shortbread were one of the best cookies I've made ever. Insanely addictive. Just an absolutely perfect shortbread texture (the slightly crisp kind) and the coconut flavour - oh my. If you're a coconut lover, as I am, then you MUST try these. Must must. These are not cookies to be added to your "one day I'll make these list" that many of us have. They're cookies to be made now, and to be shared because if you keep them in your house you'll eat them all!

I baked these two sheets at a time, and the cookies that were on the top first then switched to the bottom spread more than the ones that were on the bottom first then the top. That's one thing I really dislike about baking two sheets of cookies at a time - the cookies often seem to turn out a little bit different. Could be partially due to my smallish size oven though.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Coconut Madeleines
Creamy Coconut Cake
Coconut Lemon Bundt Cake
Chocolate Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

Coconut Shortbread
Adapted from Bon Appetit March 2004

Makes about 6 dozen.

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (about 3 ounces)
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks, 12 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 325F.

Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until well blended. Mix in salt and vanilla. Beat in flour in 2 additions. Stir in toasted coconut. Gather dough together; divide in half. Put each half in a big ziploc bag and flatten it. Chill at least 1 hour. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.)

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Take the dough out of the bags (you'll likely have to cut the plastic). Roll out 1 dough disk on lightly floured work surface to scant 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into squares that are about 1.5" (or whatever size you want). Poke each cookie twice with a fork. Transfer cookies to prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart.

Bake cookies until light golden, about 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely. (Can be made ahead. Store airtight at room temperature up to 1 week.)

German Chocolate Cake

I've never tried German chocolate cake before but I knew I'd love the coconut pecan caramel filling. The traditional version has a coconut pecan filling and topping, but this version I made has a coconut pecan filling (no topping) and chocolate icing. I'm sure it's good both ways!

Some people have asked what the difference between German chocolate cake and regular chocolate cake is. Cookie Pie provided this information (thanks!): "German's was actually a type of chocolate made by Baker's Chocolate Co., and it was used in the original cake recipe in the 1950s, which was called German's Chocolate Cake. Over time the 's got dropped, and now everyone thinks the cake is German, but it isn't." (Source)

As far as I can understand, German chocolate cake was made with a sweetened chocolate that they called German chocolate. And the coconut pecan filling and topping is also unique to the German chocolate cake.

Everyone really liked this cake including those who don't usually like chocolate cake. As for me, I thought it was good but the cake itself wasn't my favourite. It was kind of "light" whereas I prefer cakes that are nice and dense. Ooo now I'm thinking of making German chocolate cupcakes with just the coconut pecan filling on top. Or maybe a slice of brioche toasted and spread with the filling.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Rich Chocolate Cheesecake
Tiramisu Cake
Elvis Fluffernutter Cake
Chocolate Cinnamon Cake

German Chocolate Cake
Adapted from The Cake Book

Makes one 9-inch cake, serving 12

The original recipe suggests to use the coconut pecan filling as a filling and also on top - if you want to do that then double the recipe. I'd also make a bit extra chocolate icing next time. Also, note that the coconut pecan filling needs to cool for an hour so I'd start making it once the cakes are in the oven, or after you take them out.

German Chocolate Cake
2 cups (228 g) cake flour
1/3 cup (27 g) natural (not Dutch-processed) cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 oz (113 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup (242 g) sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup (8 oz) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar, divided
4 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Chocolate Frosting
3 ounces (85 g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (4 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (113 g) confectioners' sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Coconut Pecan Filling
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (125 g) granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
1/4 cup (2 oz) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup (85 g) sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (63 g) pecans, toasted and chopped

Make the Cake

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Grease the bottom and sides of two 9-inch round cake pans. Dust the pans with flour.

2. Sift together the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk to combine, and set aside.

3. Combine the chocolate and boiling water in a bowl and whisk until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool until tepid.

5. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Gradually add 1 1/2 cup of the sugar and beat at high speed until well blended and light, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium and add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the tepid chocolate and mix until blended. If your mixer has a splatter shield attachment, attach it now. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating it with the sour cream into two additions and mixing just until blended. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and set aside.

6. In a clean mixer bowl, using the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites at low speed until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and mix just until blended. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the whites are fluffy and begin to form soft peaks. Gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time. Then increase the speed to high and whip the whites until they are glossy and smooth and form stiff peaks. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the whites into the chocolate batter one-third at a time. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the tops.

7. Bake the cakes for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their pans on wire racks for 20 minutes.

8. Run a small knife around the edge of each pan to loosen the cake. Invert each cake onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Make the Frosting

1. Put the chocolate in a medium stainless steel bowl and place the bowl over a pot of barely simmering water. Heat, stirring frequently, until the chocolate is completely melted. Remove the bowl from over the pot and set the chocolate aside to cool until tepid.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 30 seconds. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and beat at high speed until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the tepid chocolate a low speed, mixing until blended and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Increase the speed to high and beat until the frosting is lightly aerated, about 1 minute. Use the frosting immediately, or cover tightly and set aside at room temperature for up to 3 hours.

Coconut Pecan Filling

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, sugar, egg yolks, and butter and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the butter has melted and the mixture thickens and bubbles. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 minutes longer.

2. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, coconut, and pecans. Cool for about 1 hour, or until the mixture is spreadable, before using.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks; let soften at room temperature before using.

Assemble the Cake

1. If necessary, using a serrated knife, trim the sides of each cake layer, so that it is straight, not sloped. Place one of the layers upside down on a cardboard cake round or serving platter. Spread the cake with the coconut pecan filling. Top with the other cake layer, bottom (smooth) side up.

2. Using a small offset metal spatula, spread the frosting over the sides of the cake in a smooth layer, filling in any gaps between the layers (there will be plenty of frosting for this; if you have any frosting left over, you can put it into a pastry bag fitted with a medium star tip (such as Ateco #6) and pipe a row of rosettes around the top edge of the cake). Spread the remaining filling on top of the cake. Serve the cake, or refrigerate; bring to room temperature before serving.

Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature before serving.

Coconut Madeleines

Patricia (of Technicolor Kitchen) often posts madeleine recipes that I drool over, like her recent basil and parmesan madeleines. I found this coconut madeleine recipe on her blog and had to make them. These are some of the yummiest madeleines I've ever made and the only madeleines I've ever made that still taste good a few days later. Usually I find you have to eat them on the first day in order to enjoy the slightly crispy edges contrasing with the soft cakey centres. But these had deliciously crunchy outsides, moist buttery slightly dense insides and were the perfect madeleines. I think I might've overmixed them but it didn't seem to effect their taste!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Matcha Coconut Madeleines
Honey Earl Grey Madeleines
Coconut Lemon Bundt Cake
Creamy Coconut Cake

Coconut Madeleines
Adapted from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey found on Technicolor Kitchen

Makes 36.

2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (140g) unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup (140g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
pinch of salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted an cooled
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

In a large bowl, whisk the the eggs, egg whites, granulated sugar, and vanilla together until smooth.

Sift the flour, confectioners' sugar and salt together into a medium bowl, then fold into the batter. Finally, fold the melted butter and
coconut into the batter until completely smooth. The batter should look fairly thin. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. After chilling, the batter should be thick and very firm.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375°F. Generously butter two madeleine pans. Fill each shell mold with about 1 tablespoon of
batter, depending of their size – I filled mine up to ¾ of their capacity, eyeballing it. Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake until the madeleines are firm and golden brown with a small hump in the center, 10-12 minutes.

Transfer the madeleines to a wire rack, popping them out with the tip of a sharp paring knife, and let cool – it's important to unmold them right after the oven because they might stick to the pan once cool.

Creamy Coconut Cake

Coconut is one of my favourite foods/flavours yet I've never made an all out coconut cake until this one. Coconut cake filled with coconut custard cream and iced with coconut buttercream, and topped with more coconut. Mmm coconut. I know it seems like there are a lot of components, but the cream filling and buttercream are made with the coconut custard so it's not as much work as it seems. Or maybe I was just in coconut bliss so I didn't notice.

This cake is definitely a continuation of my love affair with Tish Boyle's The Cake Book. I think I want to make literally every cake in it. I made this cake for Christmas Eve dessert hence the snowman plate (and an indication of my back log of things to post about!)

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Coconut Lemon Bundt Cake
Matcha Coconut Madeleines
Chocolate Oatmeal Coconut Cookies
Coconut Cream Pie

Creamy Coconut Cake
Adapted from The Cake Book

I'll write out the original recipe but I halved it and made a 4 layer 5 inch round cake. I also omitted the 1 tbsp Malibu coconut rum (or dark rum) meant to go in the custard, and I didn't use the rum soaking syrup which was meant to be spread on every cake layer before the custard.

Makes one 9 inch cake, serving 12 to 16.

Coconut Cake Layers
Coconut Custard
Coconut Cream Filling
Coconut Buttercream

Coconut Cake Layers
3 1/4 cups (325 g) sifted cake flour
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup (8 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
6 large egg whites
2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup coconut milk
2/3 cup whole milk
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Grease the bottom and sides of two 9-inch round cake pans. Dust the pans with flour.

2. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk to combine.

3. Mix the coconut milk and milk. Set aside.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium-high speed until creamy, about 30 seconds. Gradually add the sugar and beat at high speed until light, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the vanilla extract. If you have a splatter shield for yourm ixer, attach it now (the milk tends to splash as you add it). Add the flour mixture at low speed in three additions, alternating with the milk/coconut milk mixture into two additions and mixing just until the flour is incorporated. Fold in the sweetened flaked coconut.

5. Bake the cake for 25 to 30 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges. Cool the cakes in the pans on wire racks for 15 minutes.

6. Invert the layers onto the racks and cool upside down completely.

Coconut Custard
1 1/2 cups (360 mL) whole milk, or as needed
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
4 large egg yolks
1/3 cup (66 g) granulated sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Combine the milk and coconut in a medium saucepan, and heat over medium heat until the milk is just under a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to steep for 1 hour.

2. Strain the milk through a sieve, pressing down on the coconut with a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Measure the milk; you should have 1 1/3 cups. If you have less, add a little more milk to make up the difference.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the yolks, sugar and cornstarch; set aside.

4. Return the coconut-infused milk to the saucepan and bring it to a gentle boil. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk about 1/3 cup of the hot milk into the yolk mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan, place over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Boil, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat, scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula, and whisk until smooth. Quickly strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Whisk in the vanilla extract.

5. Set the bowl containing the coconut mixture in a larger bowl filled about one-third of the way with ice water (be careful that the water doesn't splash into the coconut mixture). Stir the custard frequently until it is slightly chilled, about 15 minutes.

Coconut Cream Filling
3/4 cup Coconut Custard (see above)
3/4 cup (180 mL) heavy cream

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, beat the 3/4 cup coconut custard with the heavy cream at high speed until the mixture is light and forms soft peaks. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

Coconut Buttercream
1 1/2 cups (12 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup Coconut Custard (see above)
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

1. In a clean mixer bowl, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and confectioners' sugar at high speed until very light and creamy, about 4 minutes. Add the 3/4 cup coconut custard, vanilla extract, and salt and beat at medium speed until blended and smooth.

Assemble the Cake
1 cup shredded coconut

1. Using a long serrated knife, trim off the domed tops of the cakes so that they are even. Cut each cake horizontally into 2 layers. Reserve one of the flat bottom layers for the top of the cake. Place another cake layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or flat serving plate. Spoon one-third of the filling onto the cake and, using a small offset metal spatula, spread it into an even layer, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edge of the cake. Top with another cake layer. Top with another one-third of the filling. Repeat with another layer and the remaining filling. Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake.

2. Frost the sides and top of the cake with the buttercream. Pat the coconut onto the sides of the cake.

Hello Dolly Bars

I can't remember why but a few weeks ago I got it stuck in my head that I had to make hello dolly bars. I've seen the recipe many times but never really felt like making them. When I first tried them I thought they were okay but nothing amazing, but then they started to grow on me. A bonus is that they're extremely easy to make and will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth. I'm thinking next time I'll add more condensed milk.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Oatmeal Coconut Chocolate Pecan Squares
Chocolate Fudge Souffle Bars
Sweetened Condensed Milk Cake
Quintuple Chocolate Brownies

Hello Dolly Bars
Adapted from Homesick Texan

I used regular graham cracker crumbs instead of cinnamon graham crackers. I also used unsweetened coconut and semisweet chocolate to try and not make it too sweet.

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
398 mL can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9x9 pan by lining it with parchment paper.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Pour melted butter into the pan. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs into pan, and mix well with melted butter to form a crust.

Layer on top of graham-cracker crust the chocolate chips, coconut and pecans. Evenly pour sweetened condensed milk over everything.

Bake in oven for 25 to 30 minutes, top should be light brown. Let cool in pan for at least half an hour, cut into bars and serve.

Banana Crunch Muffins

I finished my last final yesterday!! What relief. That was not a fun week and wow did I eat way too much bad stuff to keep myself awake or try to make myself happier about spending hours and hours studying. I was planning to bake after my last final but now all I want to do is eat healthy stuff.

I made these banana crunch muffins a while ago and had been wanting to make them for even longer. I originally found them on Deborah's site. They sounded so good - coconut, granola, diced and mashed banana, walnuts. Unfortunately they didn't live up to my expectations. They were good muffins for sure, but I think I was most disappointed by the fact that they had no crunch! Deceptive banana "crunch" muffins. Take into consideration my view on banana baked goods too though (not a huge fan).

If this sounds good, you might also like these muffins:
Applesauce-Oat Bran Muffins
Mom's Banana Apple Bread
Pumpkin Pecan Raisin Muffins
Orange Berry Muffins

Banana Crunch Muffins
Adapted from Ina Garten found on Taste and Tell

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 extra large eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 bananas)
1 cup medium-diced ripe bananas (1 banana)
1 cup small-diced walnuts
1 cup granola
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, plus more for sprinkling on top

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Line 18 large muffin cups with paper liners. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the melted butter and blend. Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas, and add them to the flour-and-butter mixture. Scrape the bowl and blend well, being careful not to overmix.

Fold the diced bananas, walnuts, granola, and coconut into the batter. Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling to the top. Top each muffin with a bit of coconut. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan then unmold and move to cooling rack.

Oatmeal Coconut Chocolate Pecan Squares

I saw these bars on Everybody Likes Sandwiches and of course knew I had to make them. Oats, coconut, chocolate, pecans - how could I resist? At first when I tried them I was disappointed that there wasn't more coconut, but then I froze them and started to eat them out of the freezer. A little too often. They're really addictively delicious.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Chocolate Oatmeal Coconut Cookies
Chocolate Fudge Souffle Bars
Chocolate Marble Chunk Cookies

Oatmeal Coconut Chocolate Pecan Squares
Adapted from everybody likes sandwiches

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare an 8x8 pan with parchment paper or butter. Combine all the dry ingredients (oats through salt) in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix together the melted butter, egg and vanilla. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth it out evenly with your hands or a spatula. Bake for 25 minutes and cool. Cut into 12-16 squares.

White Chocolate Coconut Macadamia Nut Cake

One of my mom's favourite cookies is white chocolate macadamia nut so I thought I would try to make it in cake form for her birthday. I'm proud of myself because I took 4 different recipes and put them together to create a cake for her. All of the components were quite tasty on their own, but when I put it all together it wasn't as magical as I'd imagined it would be. Not that it tasted bad, it just didn't have any oh my god this is so good reactions.

I loved the macadamia cake and I once again used 8 inch cake pans instead of the called for 9 inch so I got to experience the wonderful exploding cake phenomenon. Okay well it didn't explode but it definitely baked out of the pan in scary proportions. However this made for a nice delicious muffin like top that I snacked on while putting the cake together. (And I have since purchased 9 inch cake pans, though I've yet to use them.) The icing is the buttercream icing from the yule log Daring Bakers' challenge that changed my mind about buttercream. (Previously I greatly disliked it but after trying this style - Swiss buttercream? - I was hooked.) Instead of adding espresso and rum, I added coconut extract. The macadamia praline was easy to make, and this time I let the sugar melt and caramelize before adding the nuts (as I did when making the pecan praline for the caramel cake with caramel cream cheese frosting). I seem to do that a little more often than I'd like - adding ingredients before they're supposed to be added (in the case of the praline when I did this it resulted in a very grainy praline) or adding them when I'm not supposed to (like when I made key lime pie and added the whipped cream intended for the top of the pie to the egg/lime mixture). Anyway, this all makes me a better baker right...?

The white chocolate whipped cream was an experience. I used Dorie Greenspan's recipe (that was used in one of the first few Tuesday's With Dorie recipes for a black and white chocolate cake). I knew that if I didn't use good quality white chocolate I was risking things not turning out, but I didn't want to go out and buy more Callebaut chocolate so I combined some delicious Callebaut with some okay but not equally delicious Chipits white chocolate chips. Well as you can guess, this did not work out so well. Add on to that the fact that I was impatient and didn't wait for the melted white chocolate to cool enough before adding it to the whipped cream. What I ended up with was not whipped cream, but it did taste good (though it was releasing water - if that makes any sense). I recalled reading on Lynn's blog about how she turned a similar experience into buttercream, so I thought I would try to whip the white chocolate whipped cream like crazy and see what happened. And I did kind of get something resembling buttercream.

Anyway, I'd highly recommend the macadamia cake, I want to try out the white chocolate whipped cream again because I'm sure it's delicious, the macadamia praline was really good, and the buttercream recipe is also amazing though I think the coconut extract didn't quite fit in as seamlessly as I'd hoped.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Elvis Fluffernutter Cake
Bill's Big Carrot Cake
Caramel Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

White Chocolate Coconut Macadamia Nut Cake

Macadamia Cake
Coconut Buttercream
White Chocolate Whipped Cream
Macadamia Praline

Adapted from The Essential Baker, Simply Scones, Perfect Cakes and The Williams-Sonoma Collection: Dessert, Baking: From My Home to Yours

For the Macadamia Nut Cake

1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp all purpose flour
12 oz (24 tbsp, 3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups superfine (berry) sugar
6 extra large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup toasted, unsalted macadamia nuts

To Make the Macadamia Nut Cake

Preheat to 325F. Generously butter the inside of two 9 inch round cake pans. Place parchment in the bottom of the cake pan.

In a large mixing bowl, use the flat beater attachment and beat the butter on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the sugar and cream together. Stop occasionally and scrape down the sides of the bowl. One at a time, add the eggs, stopping to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl after each addition. At first the mixture may look curdled as the eggs are added, but as you stop and scrape down the bowl, the mixture will smooth out. Add the sour cream and vanilla to the butter mixture and blend well.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Combine 1/2 cup of this mixture with the macadamia nuts in the work bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the nuts are very finely ground, about 1 minute. Add the ground nuts to the rest of the dry ingredients and stir to blend completely.

With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in 4 stages. Blend well after each addition and stop often to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the cakes are golden and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cake pans from the oven and cool completely on racks. Invert the pans to remove the cakes and peel the parchment paper off.

For the Coconut Buttercream

2 large egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
12 tablespoons (1.5 sticks or 3/4 cups) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons coconut extract

To Make the Coconut Buttercream
Whisk the egg whites and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Set the bowl over simmering water and whisk gently until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are hot. Attach the bowl to the mixer and whip with the whisk on medium speed until cooled. Switch to the paddle and beat in the softened butter and continue beating until the buttercream is smooth. Beat coconut extract into the buttercream.

For the White Chocolate Whipped Cream

3 ounces premium-quality white chocolate, finely chopped
3/4 cups heavy cream

To Make the White Chocolate Whipped Cream
Put the white chocolate in a metal bowl and put the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Stir frequently to melt the chocolate evenly. Meanwhile, bring 1/2 cup of the heavy cream to a boil.

When the white chocolate is melted, remove the bowl from the pan. Pour the hot cream into the melted chocolate and let it sit for a minute. Using a small spatula, stir the chocolate gently until it is smooth. Let it sit on the counter until it reaches room temperature - it can't be even a bit warm when you add it to the whipped cream.

Working with the stand mixer with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the remaining 1 cup heavy cream only until it holds the softest peaks. Turn the machine to high, add the cooled white chocolate all at once and continue to beat until the whipped cream holds firm peaks. Turn the whipped cream into a bowl, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 6 hours.

For the Macadamia Praline

1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp water
3/4 cup lightly salted macadamia nuts

To Make the Macadamia Praline

Have an oiled or parchment lined baking sheet ready to put the praline on. In a small saucepan, stir together the sugar and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook without stirring for 4 minutes, or until the mixture turns amber and caramelizes. Immediately stir in the macadamia nuts and stir to coat the nuts with the syrup. Immediately scrape the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Cool for 20 minutes or until hardened. Transfer the mixture to a cutting board and chop or break up the praline.

To Assemble

Place one of the cakes on a cake plate or whatever you want to construct it on. Spread the white chocolate whipped cream on top, then place the second layer on top. Ice the sides and top of the cake with the coconut buttercream. Sprinkle the macadamia praline on top.

Coconut Lemon Bundt Cake

My first food blog post from our new apartment! However I still have some things I made from before so I'll be posting about those first. I'm just really happy that our internet is working AND the new monitor is working. Not sure how long it will be working for though as it seems to be kind of busted. I'm going away this weekend for a wedding and I'm feeling some food blog separation anxiety. But I'm looking forward to having more time for food blog things next week. Anyway, now let's talk about food.

I was all set to make the maple pancake loaf from Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More and I'd chopped up the nuts, then went looking for the maple syrup. No maple syrup? Baking tragedy. So I quickly scanned through a few cookbooks and came across this lemon coconut bundt cake. Thankfully lemons and coconut are something I always have on hand, and coconut is one of my favourite things so it seemed like an okay consolation baked good. Well it turned out to be more than that! The smell of it baking made me so eager for them to come out of the oven. Oh and this was the first that I used my mini bundt pans. Suffice it to say, you are not suppose to completely fill the bundt pans. Yes I should know this from making muffins and cakes but when I have more batter than baking pan, I usually end up putting it all in there and hoping it doesn't explode over the sides (and it always does and I always freak out a bit. Maybe one day I'll learn.) So we can call these bundt cakes lemon coconut flying saucers. As it turned out, the explodey parts were delicious because they got hard like really delicious muffin tops.

Lemon and coconut are really such a great pairing, and they were perfectly balanced in this bundt. The cakes were so moist, oh and did I mention that they're vegan? I want to experiment more with vegan baking. So far all of my healthy muffins are vegan, but I haven't tried much beyond that. Well as many vegan bakers out there will not be surprised to hear, these bundt cakes far surpassed many non vegan baked goods. The only unfortunate thing was that they were a bit oily - not that that stopped me from eating them. I bet these would be delicious with white chocolate. The perfect summer afternoon snack!

David Lebovitz was saying on his blog about how you shouldn't zest a lemon onto a plate and then carefully measure it out by putting it into a measuring spoon. Instead you should not worry about exact measurements and just zest directly into whatever it's being mixed into so you don't lose the precious lemon/citrus oil. That's what I tried this time and I have no idea if it really made a difference but the bundt cakes were tasty.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Matcha Coconut Madeleines
Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
Chocolate Oatmeal Coconut Cookies
bill's Coconut Bread

Coconut Lemon Bundt Cake
Slightly adapted from Veganomicon

You can make one 8" or 10" bundt cake, about 12 mini bundt cakes, or 15 muffins. (These are my guesses, except for the large bundt cake, because for me it made 6 muffins and 6 mini bundt cakes.)

Wet
1 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup canola oil
14 oz (400 mL) can coconut milk
1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
zest of 2 lemons
2 tsp vanilla extract

Dry
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease whatever kind of baking pan you're using (bundt pan, muffin tin).

In a large mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Stir to combine.

In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients (not including the coconut). Mix the dry ingredients into the wet in batches, mixing well after each addition. Fold in the coconut.

Pour the batter into the baking pan(s). Bake for 1 hour (check at 30 minutes if using smaller baking pans), or until knife inserted in cake comes out clean. When you remove them from the oven, let the cakes cool on a rack for 10 minutes before flipping the cakes out.

TWD: Matcha Coconut Madeleines

There's something very special about madeleines, so I was really happy that this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was traditional madeleines, chosen by Tara of Smells Like Home. I'm swamped with studying for finals right now but I couldn't resist making them. I adore madeleines and they're a really easy baked good. I chose to do a matcha coconut variation, and they were quite yummy. My favourite flavour is still Earl Grey, but I always want to try out new combinations. And I have to just say that madeleines are really best within a few hours of making them so you get to enjoy their slightly crispy edges and soft warm centers.

As for the signature "hump" that the madeleine is supposed to have - some of mine did and some didn't despite refrigeration of the batter for several hours. Doesn't bother me though because they were still addictively delicious. And I know that some people have problems with them sticking to the pans - I find that if I let mine cool for a few minutes in the pan, they come out much easier. And it seems impossible for me to make madeleines without those tunnels, though I don't feel like I'm overmixing. One thing about Dorie's recipe that's different from other madeleine recipes I've made was that she has you beat the eggs and sugar together for 3 minutes. I'm used to just stirring them together by hand until mixed.

Other things I've baked with tea:
Matcha Cupcakes
Earl Grey White Chocolate Chunk Muffins
Earl Grey Tea Shortbread
Honey Earl Grey Madeleines

Matcha Coconut Madeleines*
Adapted from Baking: From My Home To Yours

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
½ cup sugar
1-2 tbsp matcha**
1/3 cup dried unsweetened coconut
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, matcha and coconut.

Working with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together on medium-high speed until pale, thick and light, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. With a rubber spatula, very gently fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the melted butter. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the batter and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours, or for up to 2 days. This long chill period will help the batter form the hump that is characteristic of madeleines. (For convenience, you can spoon the batter into the madeleine molds, cover and refrigerate, then bake the cookies directly from the fridge; see below for instructions on prepping the pans.)

GETTING READY TO BAKE: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400F. Butter 12 full-size madeleine molds, or up to 36 mini madeleine molds, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Or, if you have a nonstick pan (or pans), give it a light coating of vegetable cooking spray. If you have a silicone pan, no prep is needed. Place the pan(s) on a baking sheet.

Spoon the batter into the molds, filling each one 3/4 full. Don't worry about spreading the batter evenly, the oven's heat will take care of that. Bake large madeleines for 11 to 13 minutes, and minis for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are golden and the tops spring back when touched. Remove the pan(s) from the oven and release the madeleines from the molds by rapping the edge of the pan against the counter. Gently pry any recalcitrant madeleines from the pan using your fingers or a butter knife. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool to just warm or to room temperature.

If you are making minis and have more batter, bake the next batch(es), making certain that you cool, then properly prepare the pan(s) before baking.

Makes 12 large or 36 mini cookies.***

Storing: Although the batter can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, the madeleines should be eaten soon after they are made. You can keep them overnight in a sealed container, but they really are better on day 1. If you must store them, wrap them airtight and freeze them; they'll keep for up to 2 months.

*To make the traditional madeleines, add the zest of one lemon to the sugar (rubbing the lemon zest and sugar between your fingers until moist and fragrant.) Omit the coconut and matcha.
**I used 1 tbsp and it gave the madeleines a very light matcha flavour so next time I'll add 2 tbsp.
***With my modification of the recipe, it made 15 large madeleines.

My note: You can easily modify this recipe to make any flavour you like. I like adding 4 oz of melted chocolate to the batter.

Chocolate Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

There's this place that sells cookies at a university here (Blue Chip Cookies for those of you in the Vancouver area) that are so insanely delicious. Since I didn't go to that university (my university didn't offer anything so tasty) I've only had these cookies a few times, but my two favourite kinds are the "marbelous" (chocolate dough with chocolate and white chocolate chunks) and coconut oat. The coconut oat is this thin buttery super coconuty delicious creation that's somewhere between soft/chewy and maybe a little bit crispy.

A month or so ago I came across these chocolate oatmeal coconut cookies on Deborah's blog who found them on This Week for Dinner. Once I saw them and read the combination of coconut and oats, I hoped hoped hoped that these might just be similar to the wondrous Blue Chip coconut oat cookies. I made them shortly after finding the recipe (which is actually kind of rare, as I'm sure many of you can relate to - saving recipes that you find on blogs that you want to make soon but then not getting around to it until much later if at all).

Well I am extremely happy to say that these cookies did not disappoint! I was ecstatic about how well they turned out. Especially fresh from the oven, all warm and soft with a bit of a crispy edge. These were it! Cookie bliss. The only problem was that I thought I'd prefer them crispy so I started to bake them a bit longer, but the next day they became really quite hard and only a bit chewy. So next time I won't bake them as long. And while the chocolate chips in them were good, I'll make them without next time so I can enjoy my perfect buttery coconut oat cookie. The photos really don't do them justice! And the chocolate chips look really weird.

If this sounds good, you might like:
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Carrot Coconut Cake
Chocolate Marble Chunk Cookies
Coconut Cream Pie

Chocolate Oatmeal Coconut Cookies
Adapted from Barbara Boczany & This Week for Dinner

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
6 tbsp sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup flour
2 1/4 cups oats
1 1/2 cups dried unsweetened shredded coconut
12 oz (2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Beat butter and sugars at high speed until fluffy. Add eggs and beat until blended. Beat in vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Add flour and mix at low speed until blended. Stir in oats, coconut and chocolate.

Drop 1/4 cup of dough about 3 inches apart on large buttered baking sheets. Pat down to 1/2 inch. Bake 15-18 minutes. Cool one minute on pan. Transfer to cooling rack.

Almond Coconut Muffins

I've gotten back into a muffin baking craze. Well a craze in the sense of I always have home baked muffins, and I've been trying to modify muffin recipes to make them healthier but still tasty. I was quite happy with how these muffins turned out (though now it's got me thinking about these most perfect cupcake-masquerading-as-a-muffin banana coconut muffins which I have to make again).

There were three main reasons I loved this muffin. The first because it is quite coconut-y, using coconut milk and dried unsweetened coconut. (And I went to look up the health benefits of coconuts so I could feel good about eating coconut. Coconut oil is quite good for you and regular coconut milk - not light - is too. Dried coconut I'm not sure, but it's so tasty!) I was also really excited about this muffin because it was my first time using "flax eggs" in a muffin recipe. I was scared that I would end up with flat sad little muffins or muffins that had gooey centers and wouldn't cook, but no, you can't even tell that they're made with flax eggs. I'm so excited about using flax eggs in muffins now!

The third and last reason I loved this muffin was because it's a dry muffin! A dry muffin you say? Who wants a dry muffin? Well I've found that many of the healthier versions of muffins end up having "wet" tops the next day. Maybe due to the applesauce used to replace the oil, or other things like water from fresh grated carrots or blueberries (which also happens in recipes that are not as healthy). I was just ecstatic to have a muffin that continued to stay "dry" for the next few days. These are not the moist fluffy kind of muffin - they're more of a dense hearty muffin. I need to do more to play with the ingredients to try and make it healthier too. Maybe replace the olive oil with coconut oil even and see how that works, though I don't know if coconut oil can be used in baked goods like that. Oh and I put craisins in some of the muffins which is what those red things are, for the curious.

Soon I'll post about my other healthy muffin modification (the almond coconut muffin I didn't modify that much): 100% whole wheat blueberry coconut nut muffin. Yes I like to shove lots of things into a muffin.

Almond Coconut Muffins
modified from The Garden of Vegan

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup coconut milk
egg replacer, equal to 2 eggs (2 tbsp flax seeds & 6 tbsp water)*
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup chopped almonds

Preheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, coconut, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in the coconutmil, egg replacer, oil, vanilla and almonds, and stir gently until "just mixed." Spoon into muffin tins that have been lined with muffin cups and bake for 12-15** minutes or unitl toothpick comes out clean. Makes 10 muffins.

*To make flax seed eggs, grind the flax seeds up first in a food processor, magic bullet or something. Then add the water and grind it up a bit more. Now you have a flax egg! (From Post Punk Kitchen.)
**15-18 minutes for me.

bill's Coconut Bread

I must've seen the recipe for bill's coconut bread at least a couple of years ago. Being a coconut fiend, I mentally added it to my list of things to bake. Finally I got around to actually making it recently. As for the results, it wasn't as good as I thought it would be but I'm happy I made it and would try it again with some modifications. It's like a very thick dense loaf mixed with bread - not as moist as a loaf and not as dry as bread. I loved how the exterior was crispy when it first came out of the oven - unfortunately it became completely soft the next day. The addition of cinnamon was interesting and people seemed to like it (in fact my boyfriend I think said that it was the thing about the bread that made it special) but personally I wouldn't put that much cinnamon in next time - maybe I'd add lots of vanilla extract, and extra coconut flakes sprinkled on top before baking? I made coconut nutmeg cookies once and that experience might still be traumatizing me from enjoying coconut with spices.

My loaves always puff up so much in the middle so I must remember to try and make sure the ends and corners have ample amounts of batter (assuming that would help fix it). I do love that this is unabashedly a real coconut bread. I think it would be wonderful made into French toast, and more simply, it's good toasted with some butter. And as for the lowercase b in bill's, it's not a typo - it seems to be typed that way for his show and on his site, etc.

bill's Coconut Bread
Adapted from Sydney Food by Bill Granger found on Baking Bites

2 eggs
1 1/4 cups 2% milk
1 tsp vanilla
350g (2 1/2 cups) flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
225 g (1 cup and a bit) granulated sugar
150 g (2 cups) shredded coconut
75 g (1/3 cup) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 180C /350F.

Whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon. Stir in sugar and coconut. Make a well in the center and pour in egg mixture. Stir until just combined.

Add butter and stir until just smooth, being careful not to overmix.

Pour into a greased and floured loaf pan and bake for 1 hour, or until tester comes out clean.

Cool in tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.