SOCIAL MEDIA

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Music is Life - Miike Snow

Sometimes my husband is a DJ. Of course, this is one of the qualities in him that makes me swoon. I love bounding around the kitchen while he mixes up some radical jams as i create some kitchen magic. When he does you can feel a little buzz of creativity in our house.

Miike Snow has been a big listen in our house for quite sometime. So when Bulent found this song he immediately played it for me over and over again and then showed me this video.

Enjoy!


Friday, April 22, 2016

Cinnamon Blondies

I love cinnamon. The smell of cinnamon, the taste of cinnamon, anything (sweet or savory) with cinnamon in it. In fact, my next food post may be my Arabic Rice, which I swear,  is the reason my husband loves me, and guess what - yeah, cinnamon - main ingredient.

But for today, have these Cinnamon Blondies. 


That ooey gooey cinnamon ribbon in the middle cannot be topped. But if your on a diet, keep on moving because these ARE NOT waistline friendly. They are as rich as rich can be. Moist, flavorful, delicious. And if you love cinnamon like I do, a good quick cinnamon fix. I should call them Cinnamon Crack Blondies because you become quickly addicted and cannot stop at one.

Of course, I searched the 'ol Pinterest and came across Sally's Baking Addiction for a recipe that was quick and easily adaptable. But I did not use Sally's recipe as she had it. Oh no, you know how I love to make mischief and appropriate someone's good idea and mold it to suit me, right?

Ingredients for Cinnamon Blondies:

2 1/3 C flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
Pinch salt *see note
3/4 C salted butter, softened
3/4 C packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
Scant 1/2 C white chocolate chips (optional) **see note

Ingredients for Cinnamon Ribbon:
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 C granulated sugar

Directions for Cinnamon Blondies:
  1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray an 11x7 metal baking pan with Pam Baking. Alternatively, you can line the baking pan with parchment leaving enough overhang on the sides to easily pull the blondies out of the pan and cut. (This is the method Sally uses, but I'd rather not incur the hassle or the mess).
  2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. 
  3. Beat the butter on high speed in a large bowl until creamy. 
  4. Add sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl as needed. 
  5. Beat in the eggs and vanilla on high speed, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. On low speed, beat in dry ingredients until just combined. 
  6. With a large wooden spoon or rubber spatula, fold in the (optional) white chocolate chips.
  7. Spoon half the batter into pan. It will be a relatively thin layer, but try to spread it across the pan evenly. 
  8. Make your cinnamon ribbon mixture and sprinkle on top of bottom layer, reserving enough to cover the top as well.
  9. Spread the remaining batter over top of bottom layer that has been sprinkled with the "ribbon mixture." 
  10. Sprinkle the top with remaining cinnamon-sugar.
  11. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
  12. Cool completely.
*Just a pinch - literally. You already have salt in the butter.
**The white chocolate chips make these sweeties too sweet for me. I do not love a cloying mouth feel so all the subsequent times I have made these, I simply omit the white chocolate chips altogether. Feel free to do the same.




Saturday, April 2, 2016

Toast and Jam Bundt Cake



For Easter I set out to make a great cake. I found an extraordinary white cake recipe here at Add A Pinch. Robyn actually calls it "The Best White Cake Recipe {EVER}!" And I have been making it for about a year, ever since I found this excellent resource. 


I use the EXACT recipe Robyn has on Add a Pinch. If you sway from it, it simply wont turn out how you want it. It won't rise just right, or it will be overly dense and not moist or any other combinations of imperfect. I make this when I entertain so perfection and excellence are my aim. You will not be sorry. On a side note, I am not a baker. As you've seen here at P&P, I can cook like a boss (I have quite a tribe of awesome cooks who guide me every step of the way - Mom, Berrin, Amy, Tara and Muberra) but a baker I am not. Nevertheless, this cake has never done me wrong!

Toast and Jam Bundt Cake
Ingredients
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
  • ½ cup vegetable shortening
  • 3 cups granulated sugar
  • 5 eggs, room temperature
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup whole milk, room temperature
  • ½ cup buttermilk, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup jam, jelly or preserves (I like seedless Strawberry, but Amy suggests Lilikoi (Passion Fruit) curd. I looked high and low for Passion Fruit Curd. If you have some time before you make this cake, you can get it for yourself here or here). I, too, will use it next time. The Passion Fruit is a crowd pleaser in my house and I think it makes for a more exotic cake. 
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350ยบ F. Prepare a bundt cake pan with nonstick baking spray or coated well with shortening or butter and floured, taking care to remove all excess flour.
  2. Cream together butter and shortening until light and fluffy with an electric mixer. Slowly add sugar one cup at a time, making sure to fully incorporate each cup before adding another. Add eggs one at a time, making sure to fully incorporate each egg before adding another.
  3. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Pour milks and vanilla into measuring cup and whisk together with a fork. Add to butter and shortening mixture alternately with milk mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.
  4. Gently stir all ingredients until well combined. Stop mixer and scrape down sides and bottom of bowl, making sure to have all ingredients mixed well.
  5. Pour 2 cups of batter into pan, evenly distribute the jam on top of the batter you've put in the pan. Then continue to pour the remaining batter into the pan. But do not overfill pan or you will have some overflow.
  6. Bake for 90 minutes (turning bundt pan several times while baking) or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. 
  7. Remove and allow to cool a bit in the bundt pan (about 10 minutes), then cool completely on a wire rack.
  8. Frost cake with Strawberry Cream Cheese Buttercream (as pictured above - recipe follows) or a lemon glaze (as pictured below).


Srawberry Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 package cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup Strawberry Jam
  • 2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar 
  • Heavy cream to thin to desired consistency
Instructions
  1. Beat butter and cream cheese together until well combined
  2. Add in the Strawberry Jam and continue to mix
  3. Add the confectioners sugar 1 cup at a time
  4. If consistency of frosting is too thick, add the heavy cream until it is thinned to a texture/consistency that you are happy with.