Triple C Treats

Brownie Cream Cheese mini-Cupcakes

These delectable bites are tiny enough to gulp down in one bite. They're not too sweet and the cream cheese adds a little bit of saltiness so if you like sweet and salty, this is the cupcake for you.

The recipe said it makes 5 dozen but I was only able to squeeze out 4 dozen of these little beauties. 

I found this recipe in a Fine Cooking magazine.

Ingredients:

For Brownies

1/2 cup unsalted butter

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate

4 large eggs, room temperature

1/4 tsp table salt

2 cups granulated sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 & 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Cream Cheese Topping

6 oz cream cheese at room temperature

3 tbsp granulate sugar

1 large egg yolk, room temperature

1/2 cup semi-sweet mini-chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350˚F
Line your mini cupcake pans with paper liners


Brownie Batter

Combine the butter and chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over simmering water or in a microwave and heat, stirring frequently with a rubber spatula, until the butter and chocolate are melted and smooth. Set aside.

With a stand mixer (use the whisk attachment) or a hand mixer, beat the eggs and salt in a large bowl on medium speed until very foamy, about 2 minutes. Continue beating while gradually adding the sugar. Beat until thick and pale, about 3 minutes. With a large rubber spatula, scrape the chocolate mixture into the eggs, add the vanilla, and fold until the two mixtures are just barely incorporated. Add the flour and continue folding until just incorporated. 

Scrape the batter into a 1-gallon heavy-duty zip-top bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible and seal.

Cream Cheese Topping

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar with a wooden spoon until smooth and creamy. Add the egg yolk and mix until blended. Pour in the chips and mix until blended. Scrape into a 1-quart zip-top bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible and seal.

Assemble and Bake

Snip off 1/2 inch from one corner of each bag. Fill each lined muffin cup about two-thirds full with the brownie batter and then top with about 1 tsp. of the cream cheese mixture.

Bake the three trays in the center of the oven until the brownies are puffed and a pick inserted in the brownie comes out just barely clean, about 20 minutes. Let the brownies cool in trays on racks for 5 minutes before carefully lifting the liners out of the tins and transferring them to racks to cool completely. Be sure the tins are completely cool before lining and filling them with the remaining batters.

Store at room temperature or freeze in an airtight container, separating the layers with waxed paper.

Méli-Mélo of baked goods

Here are some pictures of various baked goods I've made throughout the years. I'm feeling somewhat lazy tonight so I won't bother writing the recipes. Maybe I'll add them later. Just thought it was about time I added another post so here are a bunch of pictures for your enjoyment (or your mouth's)!

Lemon Meringue Pie

Caramel Crème Brûlée

Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Swirl Brownies

4 Tier Cinnamon and Chocolate Cake

Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

Hazelnut-Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Bowtie Cookies with Apricot Preserves

Apple and Pomegranate Tarte Tatin

A tarte tatin is a French dessert that was first baked in 1880. It is basically an upside down tart where the fruit is first caramelized in butter and sugar before being baked. The traditional tarte tatins are usually made with apples but today a wide variety of berries and other fruits are used. 

Here I have used golden apples and reduced pomegranate juice.

The pomegranate syrup which is added to the apples adds a nice tartness that balances all the sugar and butter.

Make sure you have plenty of extra apples (or any other fruit you're using). They tend to shrink while cooking. Just add more fruits as necessary. 

The crust was deliciously flaky because of the sour cream. I find the best crusts always have some sort of cream in them. 

The best way to eat it is as soon as it comes out of the oven with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Yum! 

This was the first time I had attempted to make this and it was a grand success! It was gobbled up within the day.

Recipe to come.

Spring Flowers!!!

So sorry for not posting a lot these days. I haven't baked in the past 2 months :O 
Mostly because we're trying to eat healthier and the weather has been so nice so I like to spend a lot of time in the sun while I can. In honour of the 20 and plus degrees we're having this week here are some cupcakes that I decorated as flowers for my brother's wedding last year!

I got this idea from this great book and all you need are small marshmallows and coloured sugars.

I coloured the sugars myself by shacking food colouring and sugar in a mason jar.

Then you cut the marshmallows diagonally and you toss them in the sugar. Only the sticky part (the part you cut) will have sugar glued to it and it will look like small petals. Once you iced the cupcake, you just place the petals on he icing and they will stick there perfectly. It takes 22 marshmallows for a regular sized cupcake.

It's Snowing!

We thought Winter was over and Spring was in the air. 
Were we ever wrong! Snow came tumbling down and we had to switch back to boots :(


Ischl Tarts

For these cookie sandwiches, there are 2 doughs. The bottom cookie is a spiced dough and the top is a normal sugar cookie dough.


Ingredients: 
1 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 egg yolks
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cloves
2-1/4 cup all purpose flour
Jam


Spiced Dough


In a small saucepan, melt 1/2 cup of butter over medium heat until butter turns light brown (about 12 minutes). Remove from heat and poor into a medium mixing bowl.
Chill until butter solidifies (45 min)
Then, beat the chilled butter with an electric mixer for 30sec. 
Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar + 1 egg yolk + 1 tsp Vanilla + Cinnamon + ground cloves + 1/8 tsp salt.
Beat until combined and then add 1 cup of the flour and mix until combined.
Cover dough and chill for 1 hour.


Plain Dough


Meanwhile, beat 1/2 room temperature dough with an electric mixer for 30sec.
Add remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar + 1 egg yolk + 1 tsp vanilla + 1/8 tsp salt.
Beat until combined and add 1-1/4 cup of remaining flour and beat in until combined.
Cover dough and chill 1 hour.




Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Roll each dough to 1/8 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface.
Cut out shapes with a cookie cutter and for the Plain Dough, Cut out 1/2 inch shapes in the cookie (So you will be able to see the jam once you assemble the cookies). 
Do not cutout those shapes in the spiced dough.


Place the cutouts on cookies sheet about 1 inch apart.
Bake about 8 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Spread about 1 tsp of jam on the bottom of each Spiced cookie and top with plain cookie. 
Sift powdered sugar on cookies before serving.

Vegetarian pizza

I posted earlier in the year my homemade bacon and pepperoni pizza. Well here's one for the non meat eaters (you know who you are). 

Blue cheese

Pear

Basil

Just brush the pizza dough with a generous coating of olive oil. Then, scatter thin slices of fresh pear and dollops of blue cheese. Sprinkle some fresh basil and finish off with lots of freshly ground pepper (and a pinch of salt). 
You can also add thin slices of red onion if you want. If you slice them thin enough, they caramelize in the oven.

A Break from these Carbs (Part 3)

photo from here

I've realized I've only posted once this month but I haven't really had time to bake since it was midterm season so here is a little something I had to write a couple of years ago for English class. It's a description about my ride home on the bus through Mile End and Parc x. Enjoy.

Description

              I love riding the bus. It is much better than the stuffy and dark metro. I always try to sit by the window so I can see outside. There is always a line up to get on the 80. I watch people with their hoods up and their scarves around their face. I smile as I see a dog waiting outside for its owner. Its nose on the ground searching for whatever animal was there last night. Men in big, furry, black hats walk across the street as if they’re late. You can almost hear the heels of their leather shoes go “toc-toc-toc” on the sidewalk. The bakeries and butchers pass by in a blur one after the other. As people get on and off the bus with their bags, the smell of Fairmount bagels floats around our heads. My stomach growls with hunger. Bikes zoom past us and in and out of cars unafraid of the traffic. The streets go by me one by one; Bernard, Van Home, Beaubien. I’m almost home.

            As I get off the bus, the air hits my face and my eyes water with the cold. I must walk ten minutes to get home and I’m impatient to escape this cold. I pass many food stands outside. Oranges, bananas and avocados line the sides of the streets. My eyebrow goes up as I walk past. It is too cold for fruit outside. Car horns honk as I run across the street on a yellow light. I fiddle with the lock. It takes a couple of minutes for me to unlock the door and I burst in. I feel my fingers once more. 


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