Category: Strange and Yummy

Categories
Desserts with Fruit Easy Baking Frozen Desserts No-Bake Recipes Sort of Healthy Strange and Yummy Vegan Desserts

Deep Thoughts With Sad Shibow [Feat. Avocado Pops]

As you all know, life is rough. As you all also know, I often like to complain about how rough life is. I’m not going to bore you because I’ll seem redundant, and these days if you’d like a refresher on something I’ve said in the past, all you have to do is type some words into the search bar and find your prize. Alls I’ve got to say is that sometimes being an adult is no picnic. Every now and then it’s a ten-course meal at a five-star restaurant. But sometimes it’s just a bowl of cereal from that box of Cheerios you’ve had in your pantry forever.

Wasn’t kidding about those deep thoughts. 😉

Now, let’s be real. Last week was tough on me. In addition to dealing with life’s everyday stresses, I found myself coping with some rather unfriendly behavior from people I believed were in my corner. It was pretty heartbreaking, especially since it involved hurting not only me, but people I deeply love. And no one messes with the loves of Sad Shibow.

So, here I am feeling low thanks to some randoms trying to put together a Bollywood puppet show (Get it? Pulling strings? And I’m Indian? Deep thoughts!) when what do I see on Facebook but Butter Lane‘s latest Blogger of the Week, and it’s…

Sylvapotamus brought to my attention that this says “worldpress.” What the hell, I say, I’ll take it!

Me! You guys, they picked me! Now, this may seem small to a lot of people, and hey, it is sort of small in the grand scheme of things. But to me, it’s huge, and not only because this place has the BEST cupcakes I have ever allowed into my belly. So, what’s the big deal?

Half of the dozen cupcakes we picked up this weekend. You can’t still be wondering why I love this place so.

About a year and a half ago, around my 24th birthday, I was in a not-so-great place, for many many reasons. I was so down that I’d lost the desire to do pretty much anything I enjoyed, including bake. I happened to see something somewhere on the great many internets about cupcake classes at Butter Lane, and decided to woman up and book a class. It was so entertaining and enlightening that it made me finally want to get back into my own kitchen. When my boyfriend recently asked me why I loved the place so much, I told him that it basically made me grateful for things again. So…thank you, BL. DEEP THOUGHTS!

Ok, onto the make-stuff portion. Originally I was going to tell you all about the delicious, easy-peasy cookie dough ice pops I made. While they were, indeed, pretty simple to make, I found them to be kind of gross. This is not the fault of the author of this recipe at all. It is, instead, my bad, for believing that skim milk could, and should, always take the place of whole milk. In life, I’ll usually try to take the healthier route when it comes to my eating habits (I say “in life”  expecting you all to pretty much ignore every buttery post on here for a hot second). I do the whole wheat bread instead of white thing, the no-soda thing, boringboringblah you get it.  I’ve even convinced myself that I enjoyed frozen yogurt much more than I enjoyed ice cream. And while I do like to get my Yogo on every now and then, I recently discovered that I was, to put it as  eloquently as possible, trippin’. Ice cream > fro-yo. Who knows what else I’ve brainwashed myself into believing was right. Wait… so just to check… is steak any good?

Anyway, we’re dealing with another odorous NYC heat wave. Everyone smells like the aquarium (Why doesn’t anyone know what that smells like?!) and I’m super cranky all the time, so obviously you best believe I’m not going near the oven. Oh, and, we did kind of just buy and eat a dozen cupcakes over here, so we need something a teensy bit light. Let’s make avocado pops! Weird enough for you? In case they’re not, check these out!

Now, ya’ll know I’ve been meaning to make these forever, but I guess it got cold again before I could. So…yeah. Let’s just do this.

Avocado Pops (Uh, makes, like, a set number of pops, and that number is determined by what you decide to use as molds)

1 cup of water

1/2 cup of granulated sugar

2 small ripe avocados

Pinch of salt

2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice

I used paper Dixie cups, FYI.

Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Let cool to room temperature. This is known as simple syrup, and can also be used for your boozy mixed drink of choice, should you be 21+ and need such information.

Meanwhile, peel and pit your two avocados, and mash the flesh in a medium-sized bowl until smooth. Add in salt and lime juice, then stir in your simple syrup. You can use a blender or mixer if you’re feeling lazy ;).

Pour into your molds and send into the freezer for at least 5 hours. I filled my Dixie cups about halfway, and ended up with five pops.

The night we first tasted these was an excellent night. There was champagne, an even split of the last Butter Lane cupcake, and a viewing of Blues Brothers (I’d never seen it! It was so awesome!). So, how’d these pops do?

Yes, those are toothpicks, which are actually useless. Do better than Shibow did, kids. Do better.

I loooooooved these things. LOVED them. They’re creamy, tangy, sweet and unbelievably refreshing. I’m sad I only ended up with five, but happy they are super easy, because these are being made again ASAP.

Categories
Cupcakes Grown Up People Desserts Strange and Yummy

Got a Toothache? Me Too! Screw That, Let’s Eat Cupcakes.

A couple of weeks ago, I started to experience a constant, throbbing pain in my jaw. I quickly realized that this was due to a wisdom tooth which has, over the years, been commented on by several dentists and oral surgeons, including one who told me I should undergo a cosmetic procedure to correct my “oddly-shaped head.” Perhaps you can see, now, why I’ve gone so long with these extra teeth in my pie hole.

The above is a photo I took of the x-ray of my mouth (I was bored, jittery and in pain, and I decided to get creative) taken by the loudest, most distracted doctor I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. So here I am guys, letting ya’ll in, inviting you to see right through me. Do you feel that connection? Do you…FEEL it?

Now, I won’t go into all the gory details of what the hell the problem was, but let’s just say I walked out of that office feeling awesome, and leave it at that. Also, my spirits have lifted just a tiny bit since my last crazy-emo post, mostly due to the fact that this very blog got a tiny little mention in Serious Eats, a site that I absolutely love. Hooray for Sad Shibow!

That little tip o’ the hat encouraged me to get to work on a new creation. Armed with a new electronic icing decorator, an amazing-sounding recipe and way more basil than two people really need in one apartment, I started on my Basil-Olive Oil Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing. Just a little tidbit to get all of you grown-ups excited: there’s wine in this recipe! WINE! Don’t believe me? Well, ADULTS, let me show you the exact brand that I used (if you haven’t already, you might want to avert the eyes of any children whom you are trying to shield from the cruel, profane world I inhabit):

Gifted to us at our housewarming by Sylvapotamus, who probably lived up to the name of this wine after checking out the new crib!

Basil Olive Oil Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing (makes 12 cupcakes)

1 cup of extra virgin olive oil

2 ounces of fresh basil leaves

3 eggs

Juice and zest of one lemon

1 cup of granulated sugar

1/2 cup of sweet white wine (And a few little sips for you, my dear 21+ readers)

2 cups of all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

big pinch of salt

In a large bowl, combine olive oil and basil, and let sit for at least an hour. Then strain out as much of the oil as you can– you should be left with about 2/3 cup– through a sieve. Discard the basil leaves (or save them and make basil-infused olive oil!) and combine olive oil with sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest. Then beat in eggs, one at a time, and set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Add 1/3 of this dry mixture to the oil mixture, mixing until fully incorporated. Then add half of the wine, continue mixing, and continue alternating between adding dry mixture and adding wine until all of the ingredients are in one big happy bowl. Scoop mixture into prepared muffin tins, and bake at 350º F for about 25 minutes, until the cupcakes are golden and spring back when touched. Let cool, then make your icing.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting (enough to gently frost a dozen cupcakes)

4 ounces of cream cheese or Neufchâtel cheese

1 cup of confectioner’s sugar

1 teaspoon of lemon zest

With a hand mixer on medium speed, combine all ingredients until fluffy and fully mixed. Using a rubber spatula, piping bag or super-fantastic electronic icing decorator given to you by Sylvapotamus for Christmas, pipe frosting out onto each cupcake.

I'm being really real with you guys. Observe the well-frosted cake surrounded by some pretty shabby-looking friends.

So, verdict? Delicious. Really, really good, especially when warm. Also, these were not too sweet, which I appreciated. The only real downside was that I wasn’t able to detect very much basil. I would still, and probably WILL still, make these again, perhaps infusing a different fruit next time around. Though I guess I should probably take a break from the sweets for a while, given my recent tooth ailment…

…yeah. Fat chance of that.

Categories
Chocolate Cheer Easy Baking Grown Up People Desserts No-Bake Recipes Sort of Healthy Strange and Yummy

Bloody Delicious Red Velvet Hot Chocolate. I Like To Call It Angrysauce.

ROAR! I AM MAD SHIBOW!

That was pretty threatening, no? No? Oh. Ok, well, maybe I should just talk about my feelings. That’s supposed to be helpful. So late last Monday I was feeling achy and then randomly starting shivering really badly. Like, teeth-chattering, can’t-type-real-words badly. I left work, went to bed, woke up 13 hours later, and could barely move. I didn’t have a cold, I thankfully don’t have the flu, but I was pretty much crippled by some crazy demon disease that still perplexes me. I was in a world of pain that left me at home alone for two full, horribly boring and mostly TV-less (The light burned my eyes. Maybe I’m a vampire now?) days…and then it was gone. Seriously. Whatever hit disappeared as quickly as it had attacked, which left me a little freaked. On a possibly related note, any recent Stamos sightings in the area?

Being alone makes you sad. Don’t get me wrong, though, I fortunately had some lovely friends and family checking up on me periodically, but still. I spent a good deal of time laying in bed, getting to know the cracks in my ceiling better, and that really sucked. Being alone makes you sad. It also makes you want to paint your ceiling a different color.

I was more than happy to return to work on Thursday, and then MORE than more than happy when my cousin George surprised me Friday morning at the office with a peanut butter and jelly doughnut from Doughnut Plant. Oh. My. Promised. Land.

This isn't even the top of the doughnut. My brain was too focused on which corner to rip into first to turn this thing over.

So nice, right? George didn’t even know about my mystery illness when he brought me this square-shaped (Btw, the shape makes the distribution of jelly throughout the doughnut more even. Genius.) gift of amazing. It would have made my day anyway, but this was exactly what I needed to turn a bad week right around. Cousin, you RULE.

Things started to pick up soon after that. I succeeded in spending exactly five bucks on my Halloween costume yet again, and partied it up with the Sylvapotamus Saturday night, despite the fact that there was snow on the ground AND IT’S OCTOBER. Ridic. My camera punked out, but I was able to get a few snaps of our respective costumes in anyway:

Sylv was a pink slip!
Yes, I did go for the flapper outfit.

I’m still pretty winded from whatever it was that attacked me last week, and I’m also seeing red from all of the frustration that illness provoked. In honor of that, and this especially spooky holiday, I give you Red Velvet Hot Chocolate with a Cream Cheese Icing Swirl.

Ok, so this is something that I pulled out of the sky. I mean, I am sure it exists out there, and a quick Google search would confirm as much, but I’ll leave that up to you. This, I am going to base on my favorite hot chocolate recipe, with tweaks by yours truly.

Before we begin, I should tell you that this is not your typical hot chocolate, and not just because it’s red. This is a thicker hot chocolate with an almost pudding-like consistency. It’s also quite dark and rich, so if you like your hot cocoa Nestle-style, maybe this is a no for you. It should really be a yes, though. Just sayin’.

Red Velvet Hot Chocolate (makes 1 serving)

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons of skim milk

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder

1/3 tablespoon of cornstarch

1 tablespoon of red food coloring

Combine all ingredients except the food coloring in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the mixture starts to bubble and boil, add the food coloring and stir until blood red. Muahahahaha.

Bloody delicious...

In the meantime, let’s work on our single-serving icing.

Cream Cheese Icing

2 tablespoons of cream cheese

2 tablespoons of confectioner’s sugar

Mix in a small bowl with a hand mixer until fully whipped. Spoon into an icing decorator if you’re a dork and own one (I’m a dork and own one) or just scoop it into your cup with a regular ol’ spoon.

Pour the contents of your bloody saucepan into an appropriate mug–I’d go for an espresso cup if you’ve got one since these are small but potent servings– and top off with your icing.

So even I was a little shocked at how well this turned out. I was really impressed with how much a simple cup of hot chocolate could be enhanced by a little dollop of icing, but, damn, it could. And it was. I know you can’t really see much, but that’s because I own monstrously large cups for some reason, which makes no sense since I am so small I can barely reach the top shelves on any of my cabinets. Maybe I’m compensating. In any case, have a Happy Halloween, and stay out of trouble, kids.

Categories
Cheesecakes Easy Baking Strange and Yummy

Sad Shibow Loves Surprises [Feat. Oreo Cookies]

I love surprises, but I am rarely surprised. Really. Nothin’ gets past Shibow…usually. So when it happens, I tend to really react. Last weekend, Sylvapotamus surprised me with a friends-and-cousins-filled surprise party that was stuffed with pizza, cake and, uh, eventually, whiskey. And then, Pommes Frites. And then, a place called Winners Bar. Maybe that’s all I need to say to convince you all that it was a really fabulous surprise. Thanks to everyone who lied to me about it…you are all excellent human beings.

In addition to that amazing day and night, I received some seriously sweet birthday presents from my lovely friends Atrish, Sofia and Dhanwanti, including a Betty Crocker cookbook, a set of baking pans, AND….

My new Sad Shibow apron!

Yes, I did tear up a little upon receiving this lovely present in the mail. The combination of receiving a gift, receiving it in the mail and having it be one that’s so personal really touched me. And it’s always a surprise to learn that other people actually read and like this blog, even if those people are people that I love. Thank you, you three beautiful ladies. While I’m at it, thank you to everyone who reads and likes/does not hate this blog. Let’s be friends forever.

Was that too gooey and mushy for you guys? Maybe I’m getting sentimental in my old age. Plus it’s been kind of a confusing and hazy week that I guess contributed to me reflecting on all of the awesome in my life. And there’s a lot of awesome. Did you see that apron? Awesomesauce.

I’ve also realized that it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve baked something, which has also probably contributed to my recent moodiness. So, in keeping with the tradition of surprises, I’m making Mini Oreo Cheesecakes. Where’s the surprise, you say? Well, each mini cake has a full Oreo cookie at the bottom. Did I just ruin the it? I’m a loser. Let me make it up to you with a recipe…

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes (Makes 1 dozen)

18 Oreos– 12 left intact and 6 roughly chopped

1 8oz package of either cream cheese or neufchatel cheese

1/2 cup of sugar

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1/2 cup of sour cream

Tiny pinch of salt

So, if you’ve clicked over to the original link (By the way, is “Foodbeast” not an amazing blog name?), you’ll notice that I’ve halved the recipe. This is for two reasons: 1. People still think it’s my birthday and won’t stop feeding me, and 2. I live alone and can’t find anyone to eat 30 of these right now. But these idle hands need to create, so let’s do this.

Chopped Oreos: As with most things in life, these were incredibly messy, annoying, and WORTH IT.

Preheat the oven to 275°F. Line a muffin tin with liners and place one whole Oreo at the bottom of each. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer until fully whipped. Gradually mix in the sugar, scraping the sides of the bowl that are certainly splattered with cheesy, sugary goodness (Yay, aprons!) then add the vanilla. Next, beat in the eggs, one at a time, before finally mixing in the sour cream and salt. Stir in the chopped cookies, and pour the mixture into your mouth evenly into each muffin tin.

Bake for 22-25 minutes (mine took a bit longer), until the sides look set and the center still jiggles a bit when you gently shake the pan. If you’re not gentle, you will burn yourself. It will be worth it, but you will burn yourself. Trust. Cool on a rack for about 10 minutes, then send into the refrigerator for about 4 hours to cool completely.

So, as you can see, I went a little overboard with the chopped Oreos. I probably used closer to ten cookies, and while I’m a huge fan of all things Oreo, I’d recommend chopping no more than 6 for a dozen mini cheesecakes, if you really want to get a proper Oreo-to-cheesecake ratio. Obviously I was still pretty happy with where I went with these, and I think you will be too.

Categories
Cakes Strange and Yummy

For My 25th Birthday, I’d Really Like My Voice Back. And Maybe Some Cake. Actually I’d Settle For Just Cake.

Man, I really like to talk. Like, really. I guess this is one of those “don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone” situations, because my voice has been pretty much nonexistent and/or unrecognizable since Saturday night. I wish I could say it was from doing something fun like finally telling off Stamos or rocking out at an Appetite For Destruction show, but I truly have no explanation for where my voice went. My friend Jeff suggested that this was God’s way of telling me “to shut yo’ mouf.” Indeed, Jeff. Indeed. The other night a friend called to discuss the latest Project Runway and instead of putting my two cents in, all I could do was hoarsely laugh in agreement/frustration. When I woke up this morning I sounded like Gollum. Tomorrow I will probably sound like my dad. I call that progress.

Oh, and, as I write this, I am dealing with a serious bout of inexplicable nausea. I don’t want to go into too much detail about that on a baking blog, because, well, gross, but let’s just say that my fellow commuters are very lucky that I was able to woman up and stay strong during this morning’s rather rocky subway ride. Blech.

So I’m not feeling super fantastic. Plus, I’m turning 25 in a couple of days, so I figured that instead of putting myself to work this week, I’d kick back and gorge myself on sweets made by the hands of other, more experienced bakers, like those of Butter Lane, easily the best cupcake shop you will ever experience. And I’m not just saying that because I recently won a dozen free cupcakes from them for answering a trivia question correctly (OMG. YAY). To get serious for a hot minute, the place pretty much brought me back to my love of baking about a year ago. More on that another time, in a more in-depth post.

This was a birthday present from Sylvapotamus a couple of years ago. It is also possibly the best present I have ever received.

Anyway, I always get a little sad around my birthday. I don’t have a concrete reason for it, usually, but there is this weird, fortunately brief, seasonal moodiness that seems to like to always pop up around the beginning of October. This year it lasted for an hour, during which the emotional half of my brain got, um, emotional, and the zombie half of my brain, sensing Sad Shibow, got ready to bake like crazy. Coffee and doughnuts crazy.

Yes, dear readers, there lives the Coffee and Doughnuts Cake, which, as the creator so brilliantly describes, tastes “like a muffin and a doughnut holding hands.” Um, yes, please. Now, there are a few steps to this cake, including a cinnamon-sugar coating and an espresso glaze. This statement may deter you from making this cake, but I beg you to go into the doughnut-shaped light. Go, and don’t ever look back.

Coffee And Doughnuts Cake

5 tablespoons of unsalted softened butter

2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, or 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose plus 1 cup of whole-wheat flour (I used the latter option which gave the cake a yummy nutty flavor)

1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon of salt

3/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

1/4 cup of vegetable oil (I used canola)

1/2 cup of sugar

1/4 cup of brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup of milk

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

You can use a bundt pan for this cake, but I just used a 9×13″ pan because I like rectangles. Also because I don’t have a bundt pan. Grease whichever pan you decide on with a tablespoon of butter and preheat your oven to 350°F. Meanwhile, in a medium-sized bowl, sift together your flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg, and set aside. In a separate larger bowl, using a hand or stand mixer, beat together the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter, oil and sugars. When mixed, beat in your eggs one at a time.

Before I get to my pictures, let me just say that I neglected to charge the battery on my beloved DSLR. Instead of just giving you less-than-stellar pics of these creations, I decided to finally put the hipster-picture app on my iPhone to use. I think it’s called Instagram, but I like my name better. If you hate these pictures, I’m sorry, it will never happen again [until the next time my fancy camera gives out]. Anyway, here’s what you should have at this point:

Now, with the mixer on low, start putting in the flour mixture, alternating with the milk. Once all your ingredients are in, you can increase the speed on your mixer until the batter is fully combined. Add the vanilla and beat this thang ’til it’s beaten.

Pour the batter into your pan, spreading it evenly. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through to ensure even baking, and then remove and let cool for a good 10 minutes. In the meantime, let’s work on our cinnamon sugar coating.

Cinnamon Sugar Coating

1/4 cup of sugar (I used turbinado which I highly recommend because the crystals are larger and make more of an impact on the tastebuds)

2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon of salt

5 tablespoons of melted butter

Combine all of the ingredients except the butter in a small bowl and set aside. Meanwhile, when your 10 minutes of cooling time is up, start to brush the bottom of the cake with the melted butter. Then invert the cake onto a baking sheet/plate/some other flat surface and brush it all over with melted butter. (Now, what, I ask you, would you NOT want brushed with melted butter?) Sprinkle your cinnamon sugar over the cake and mix in with your fingers. I really enjoyed doing this.

Yeah. I REALLY enjoyed doing this.

Once the cake’s completely covered, send it into the fridge to cool completely, about an hour. Since I am impatient I used the freezer and cut my cooling time in half. I highly recommend this process. Either way, while it cools, you can work on your espresso glaze.

Espresso Glaze

2 tablespoons of milk

2 tablespoons of instant espresso powder

1 cup of confectioners’ sugar

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon of salt

Heat the milk in either a saucepan over low heat or a small bowl in a microwave for 30 seconds. Stir in the remaining ingredients until you have a thick, coffee-scented glaze. Pour over cooled cake, spread evenly, and serve. And serve. And serve.

Now, I’m not going to lie: I was skeptical of this cake. The entire time I was making it I had an eyebrow raised and a backup plan (cookies) ready to execute. I guess the batter by itself didn’t seem terribly special to me, the cinnamon sugar on its own was sort of eh, and that espresso glaze was just incredibly strong. I was afraid this would be a failure. But let me tell you people something, and let me speak honestly because I like you: this finished product is one big pan of YES. After a night in the fridge, it’s an even bigger pan of HELL YES. Make this. Make it for your birthday, make it for my birthday, make it for Columbus Day, whatever. The outer layer has an unbelievable crunch to it that’s reminiscent of a freshly-baked doughnut, while the inside is buttery soft, just like a coffee cake should be. Fascinating, isn’t it? And completely worth the baking time. Make this. Please. If I could, I’d shake each and every one of you into making this, but luckily for you, I have no voice with which to annoy. Does anyone have a lozenge?