As much as we love to cook savory dishes and bake desserts, we can’t ignore the fact that we need to stay healthy while we are at it. So, what’s the best choice to have it both ways? Hide vegetables in plain sight! I have been looking at the Chocolate Beet Cake recipe for quite a while now… I always wondered if the beet (that is sweet but has a bitterish after flavor to it) would be good for baking. Then I found a recipe by Straight From The Farm. Later on I would see Beet Chocolate Cakes pop on my feeds and decided it was the universe telling me I should bake it. I decided to try the recipe by Pastry Affair, since it calls for cocoa powder instead of chocolate since it’s what I had handy.
This cake will not disappoint, I am telling you, my dad is a chocolate lover. He likes the Chocolate Cake recipe that I learned to make in 5th grade and there is no recipe that can compare to that one… Until this one came along! The only thing I would leave out is the cinnamon. It was what gave it away! We had dinner that night, then time for dessert and after he went through his slice, turned to me and the conversation went something like this:
– “The cake is good, but there’s something different in it”
– ”Yes, keep going”
– “Chocolate, did you use the same?”
– “Yes”
– “Fruit, something fruity… and Cinnamon. Why Cinnamon?”
And that’s where he broke me. Told him that he was right, the cinnamon was one of the ingredients but I could’ve done without it and that the fruity something that he was mentioning was beets. He instantly smiled in surprise, said that it was good and walked away. For me, that’s mission accomplished.
Chocolate Beet Cake
Recipe by Pastry Affair
Yield: 2 9-inch or 1 10-inch cake
Ingredients:
5 medium beets (or enough for 2 cups pureed beets)
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting
Directions:
- Trim stems and roots from beets. Quarter and place in a large saucepan filled with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 50 minutes, or until beets are tender. Drain liquid and remove skin. Place beets in a food processor and process until beets are pureed. Reserve 2 cups puree.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour baking pan(s).
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Beat in vanilla and beet puree.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- Stir into the beet batter until well combined.
- Pour batter into prepared baking pan(s) and bake for 40-50 minutes (longer for the 10-inch cake) or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool in pan before removing to cool completely on a cooling rack. Dust with confectioner’s sugar.
© 2012, The Foodies' Kitchen. All rights reserved.
When you plan a romantic dinner for you and your Valentine (boyfriend, husband, girlfriend, best friend, etc.) you want the whole works: Appetizer, maybe a salad, a main dish and some dessert. Usually you don’t bake a big dessert for Valentines since most recipes give you at least 8 cupcakes or one small cake. Look no further, this is the perfect recipe to share for Valentines!
When I bumped into the recipe on Pinterest (you can follow Helga and myself), I knew I had to do it for our Valentine’s Day recipe collection.
The cupcakes are perfect. They have a subtle Vanilla flavor, so you can top them with your favorite buttercream or frosting. I happened to have some Chocolate Frosting around, so it came together beautifully.
So now you know, you can bake just two cupcakes, for Valentine’s Day, an Anniversary, or that special occasion when you are craving a sweet but not feel like baking a cake!
Valentine Cupcakes for Two
Recipe By: The Comfort of Cooking
Serving Size: 2
Ingredients:
1 egg white
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line a muffin pan with 2 liners.
- In a bowl, add egg white and sugar and whisk until combined. Add in vanilla and melted butter and stir until mixed.
- Add flour, baking powder and salt and stir until smooth. Stir in milk. Divide batter equally between the 2 cupcake liners.
- Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes, or until cake is set.
- Let cool completely, then frost as desired. I used some chocolate frosting that had left over from another recipe and decorated with heart and red lips sprinkles for Valentine’s.
© 2012, The Foodies' Kitchen. All rights reserved.
Chicken Potpie is the ultimate comfort food. It’s warm, it’s creamy, it’s got potatoes and chicken and topped with puff pastry. What more could you want on a cold day? I had made potpies before, but not on ramekins. This individual sized little potpies are great! However, if you will feed them to your hungry husband, be ready to serve him 2.
Chicken Potpies with Puff Pastry
Yields: 6 individual servings
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
1 shallot, finely chopped
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced crosswise
1 cup peas
2 russet potato, peeled and diced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 thyme sprigs
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
5 teaspoons cornstarch whisked with 2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 package (14 ounces) puff pastry, cut into four 4 1/4-inch squares
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Procedure:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Cook shallot in oil in a large pot over medium heat until soft, about 4 minutes. Add carrot, peas and potatoes. Cook until soft, about 10 minutes.
- Add wine; simmer until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add stock; bring to a boil. Add chicken and thyme. Cook for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add cornstarch mixture and cream. Bring to a simmer; cook until thick, about 5 minutes.
- Divide mixture among four 6-ounce ramekins; top with pastry. Brush with egg. Cut a hole into each to vent. Bake on a baking sheet until golden, 12 to 14 minutes.
© 2012, The Foodies' Kitchen. All rights reserved.
It’s Super Bowl time again! We hand picked snacks and appetizers we think you might like to include on your Super Bowl Food Fest menu, we’ll be posting a few new recipes soon!
© 2012, The Foodies' Kitchen. All rights reserved.
We were talking with Helga while these muffins where in the oven, and we agreed on one thing: When you go on a diet, sometimes you get tired of eating just salad and chicken, keeping the carbs out. Sometimes all you need is one slice of bread or a cracker… something that will give you the carb fix you need.
Since it’s healthy week, we’ve been looking for something to post under baking goodies for the week. A few nights ago I finally found this recipe. It doesn’t use butter but apple sauce and has whole wheat flour instead of all-pourpose.
I made the recipe the next day and I have to say I was a little skeptical about how they would taste. Have to say that I am impressed. They are not overly sweet, and don’t have strong lemon flavor, so my mom loved them. However, I would replace the lemon juice with orange juice and add some orange zest to it. Maybe a little vanilla. I’ll let you know how turns out next time I make them. So far, this recipe is a good carb fix when you’re in a diet!
Whole Wheat Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Yield: 12 muffins
Recipe By The Happy Housewife
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375º F and line up 12 cupcake tin with liners.
- Sift dry ingredients.
- Add the egg, milk, apple sauce and lemon juice and mix with a whisk.
- Fill cupcake tins up to 3/4. The muffins don’t grow too much.
- Bake at 375º F for about 16 minutes.
Notes:
- You can substitute the whole wheat flour for white or use half white/half wheat.
- If using white flour use bread flour for higher rising muffins.
- You can add a tablespoon of orange zest to make the muffins have a fruitier taste.
© 2012, The Foodies' Kitchen. All rights reserved.
I had a family Christmas get together last weekend, so I baked cookies from the recipes we have lined up for our Christmas Collection and I also baked this cake. You’re supposed to use fresh cranberries, but this year I didn’t find any at the store so I decided I would use the dried variety, how bad could it be? We don’t have cranberries in Guatemala, but sometimes our local supermarket imports them.
I followed the Cranberry Upside Down Cake recipe from Joy of Baking, but the baking times are way off! The recipe said to bake it for 30-40 minutes, but it was still very wobbly in the middle. I had to bake mine for 1 hour!
If you can find fresh cranberries, use them! If not, you can bake this using dried ones, they still deliver that sweet-tart taste that goes very well with whipped cream and a nice hot cup of strong coffee.
Oh, make sure to look through the pictures. Turns out that the cake is so good, my daughter couldn’t wait for me to take the photograph!
Cranberry Upside Down Cake
Makes 1 9″ Cake
Recipe adapted from The Joy of Baking
Ingredients:
Topping:
5 tablespoons (1/3 cup) unsalted butter
2/3 cup light brown sugar
(2 1/4 cups) fresh cranberries (I used dried cranberries)
Cake Batter:
1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (113 grams) (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Procedure:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter (or spray with a non stick vegetable spray) a 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pan. (I used a spring-form pan, and lined the bottom with wax paper, I recommend you line your pan, whichever you use).
- Topping: Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir in brown sugar. Then, leave it alone! Let it caramelize on its own without moving it, or it will crystallize. Continue cooking for a few more minutes until the sugar starts to caramelize. Remove from heat, and pour into your prepared cake pan. Sprinkle evenly with the fresh (or dried) cranberries.
- Cake Batter: In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then beat in the vanilla extract. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour mixture (in three additions), alternately with the milk (in two additions), ending with the dry ingredients.
- In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar just until the whites hold a firm peak. With a large spatula gently fold the beaten egg whites into the cake batter in two additions. Pour the batter into the cake pan, smoothing the top. Bake in preheated oven for 50 – 60 minutes, or until the top of the cake has browned, starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Start checking your cake at 40 minutes of its baking time.
- Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 15 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan and then invert the cake onto your serving plate.
Note:
- Because of the moisture in the cranberries, and because ovens do vary, the baking time can vary significantly. If you use frozen cranberries (do not thaw) the cake will take longer to bake than if you are using fresh cranberries.
- Serve with softly whipped cream.
© 2011, The Foodies' Kitchen. All rights reserved.
This foodie has been incredibly busy. I got a contract for my design business and I’m working on location, 9-5 during the weekdays and on the weekends I’ve been trying to catch up with everything else. I’ve been wanting to make this Pumpkin Pie for over 6 weeks now! I was so buried in work I even missed Halloween Movie night at Helga’s. So, after a crazy weekend with no running water during the day (renovations at home) I came home to bake! I was so happy to be able to get around the kitchen as I am used to.
I have to confess, last year I baked a Pumpkin Pie, but first I forgot to add the eggs to the filling and then, after it was baked, it cracked! I was devastated… This time I searched all around and found this recipe by Martha Stewart. Now, after reading it I changed the amount of ginger, cinnamon and cloves… and added a bit of pumpkin pie spice. Seems a bit redundant, but trust me is worth it. Last year I tried filling with pumpkin spice and without it and even though the pie was cracked, there was nothing but crumbs of that one!
One last thing: My mom’s stove is propane (not electric). You can guess what happened. Propane ran out by the end of the baking and the crust came out unbaked! It’s an honest mistake, but make sure you do try it. It is pure (half baked) goodness!
Pumpkin Pie
Based on this recipe by Martha Stewart
Yield: Makes one 9-inch pie
Ingredients:
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 cups fresh Pumpkin Puree Pumpkin Puree, or canned
3 large eggs lightly beaten, plus 1 egg for glaze
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
Pate Brisee (Pie Dough)
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425º degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, pumpkin puree, and 3 eggs. Mix together with a whisk – make sure to not over beat to avoid cracks. Add evaporated milk, and combine. Set aside.
- Between two pieces of plastic wrap, roll pate brisee into a 12-inch circle. Fit pastry into a 9-inch glass pie plate; trim dough evenly along edge, leaving about a 1/2-inch overhang. Pinch to form a decorative edge. If the dough begins to soften, chill for 15 minutes.
- Make the glaze: Beat the remaining egg, and combine with heavy cream. Brush glaze very lightly on edges of pie shell. Fill pie shell with pumpkin mixture. Transfer to prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350º degrees and continue baking for 50 additional minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
- This pie is best enjoyed chilled with a dollop of whipped cream.
So you can see how terribly cracked it was after over beating:
© 2011, The Foodies' Kitchen. All rights reserved.
What would a Halloween be without cupcakes? I made a one-bowl cupcake recipe, and as the other two I’ve posted here (Grandma Lucy’s Apple Cake and Easy One Bowl Chocolate Cake) this one was a breeze to make. The only thing I added extra to the recipe was Black food coloring. Last year we used Wilton’s black coloring gel, but since we got Blueish cookies, this year we went on the look for the Americolor Black. In the US, you can find it at your local baking shop or Amazon, and in Guate we got ours at Blossom Cakes. We also got Halloween Sprinkles and little ghosts and bats. The black food coloring makes the batter darker and will make the cupcakes appear black. For decoration, as I didn’t want an overly sweet cupcake, I made a Cream Cheese Frosting with a little bit of orange color gel added to it, so it pops!
This recipe is definitely one that you can make with your kids, as you whisk the ingredients together, and it’s a recipe that is easy for a quick bake on a Halloween afternoon!
Black Halloween Chocolate Cupcakes
A Foodies’ Kitchen Original Recipe
Yield: 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
black food coloring
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350º F.
- Line 12 cups from a 12 cup muffin tin with paper cups liners.
- In a medium bowl, sift and whisk together flour, baking powder, cocoa, sugar and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk and vanilla extract.
- Pour in dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Add the black food coloring to make it darker. It will still look brown because of the chocolate, but you’ll notice it turning darker.
- Evenly distribute batter into prepared pans.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool cupcakes on a wire rack before frosting.
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
Enough to heavily frost 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup cream cheese, room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
orange food coloring or red and yellow food coloring to mix
Directions
- Sift the confectioner’s sugar.
- Using a mixer, blend the butter and cream cheese together until well combined.
- Gradually add in the confectioners’ sugar until fully incorporated.
- Finally mix in the food coloring until you get the desired color. If you’re using gel, add it by bits as a little colored gel goes a long way.
© 2011, The Foodies' Kitchen. All rights reserved.
I have family in Mexico, and my cousin Rosana (who happens to have a dance studio in Mexico called Danzarines, shameless plug) makes The Chocolate Flan cake: an Impossible Cake. Why impossible you ask? You pour the caramel, then the chocolate cake batter and the flan on top, then get it in the oven and when you take it out… You have Cake on top! My grandma Flory (aka pie extraordinaire) absolutely loves this cake, and she always asks Rosana to make it for her. A few months ago we asked her for the recipe, and after getting some great directions and pointers to make it, I went to look for a recipe I could do from scratch too.
After a little research, this recipe by David Lebovitz kept on popping up, and he said that he’d like it with a little more of a chocolate cake layer. So I changed the recipe a bit to get more chocolate… And an extra tip: Bake it in a Bundt Pan! Just make sure to properly grease the pan. Thoroughly. And when un-molding make sure to set loose the cake from the middle too.
An important step in this recipe is after baking, let it cool completely before trying to demold it. If it is still warm, it will collapse.
Make sure to get some sense of adventure and bake this! You won’t regret it. I got great reviews from the family!
Chocolate & Flan Cake
Recipe adapted from David Lebovitz
Serving Size: 8
Ingredients:
For the Candy:
3/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons hot water
For the Cake:
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-process
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup buttermilk or plain whole milk yogurt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Flan:
1 can evaporated milk, 12 ounces
1 can sweetened condensed milk, 14 ounces
4 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC.) Lightly brush or spray an 8-inch (20cm) porcelain mold or cake pan (not a springform pan) with oil.
- For the candy, pour the sugar on a pan and let it melt to a golden brown color, add the tablespoons of hot water one at the time to avoid it hardening.
- Pour the candy to the bottom of the pan.
- Place the mold or cake pan in a larger roasting pan, which you’ll use as a double boiler for baking.
- To make the cake layer, sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, vegetable oil, 1 egg, and vanilla.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients into the larger bowl of dry ingredients, mixing just until combined. Scrape the batter in the mold, over the candy.
- Make the flan layer by blending together the evaporated and condensed milks, the 4 eggs, the vanilla, and salt, until smooth.
- Over the back of a large spoon (like a big mixing spoon), pour the flan mixture over the cake layer, using the spoon to diffuse the custard as you pour.
- Cover the mold or cake pan loosely with foil, fill the roasting pan with very hot water, so it reaches halfway up the side of the mold, and bake for 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out relatively clean.
- Once done, remove from the oven and carefully lift the custard out of the water bath wearing oven mitts, then let the flan cool to room temperature. Then refrigerate the flan until ready to serve.
- To serve, run a knife around the perimeter of the flan, then set a cake or dinner plate overturned on top of the mold or cake pan. Holding both the mold and the plate, flip the two simultaneously and shake gently, until you hear the flan release. Remove the mold. And remaining candy can be poured from the mold to the cake.
Notes:
- Storage: The flan can be kept for up to three days in the refrigerator.
- The flan can be kept for up to three days in the refrigerator, but make sure it’s covered or it will dry out.
© 2011, The Foodies' Kitchen. All rights reserved.
A few weeks ago, there was a family gathering and I offered to bring the dessert… Surprise, right? I wanted something that would be easy to transport (more or less a 90 minute ride), something that wouldn’t need refrigerating, enough for 16-20 people and something that wouldn’t take long to bake. I found this great recipe at MarthaStewart.com and knew it was going to be a winner from the start. This recipe is originally called Busy Day Chocolate Cake, but I made a few adjustments to the recipe as I had to do it over again weeks later. The first time, I doubled the recipe and used Cream Cheese Frosting (link on the notes below the recipe) to make sure it wouldn’t be an overpowering sweetness over the chocolate decadence of this cake.
I made it a few weeks later and managed to take pictures from it- last time there was a mistake with the camera card and the pictures were lost. But, this time around I was good with the pictures. My dad said that he didn’t care much for the frosting, so this time around I left the cake as it was, but I had some chocolate spread around, so I served it with a spoonful of chocolate goodness next to the cake. This recipe is a winner: we also made the test of placing the cake in the fridge so it was chilled- and I can safely assume that this will go heavenly with Vanilla Ice-Cream on the side! Enjoy this recipe! Perfect for a unexpected request to take a cake for school 
Easy One Bowl Chocolate Cake
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Serving Size: 8
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
1 cup sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/3 teaspoon ground Cayenne Pepper
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 cup cold water
Directions:
- Pre-heat oven at 350ºC.
- Grease and flour an 8inch square baking pan, but instead of flour use cocoa – that way, if you bake it on a glass pan, you won’t get any “white” dusty sides to the cake!
- Sift and together all-purpose flour, sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, coarse salt and cayenne pepper in a bowl.
- Make a well in center of flour mixture and add vegetable oil, pure vanilla extract, white vinegar, and cold water. Whisk until well combined.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.
- Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
Note: If you want to put some frosting on top of this chocolate cake, I recommend you use
half of the
Cream Cheese Frosting from the Rhubarb Cupcakes recipe. This type of frosting is neither buttery or overly sweet that will be so overpowering that would kill the chocolate goodness from the cake.
© 2011, The Foodies' Kitchen. All rights reserved.
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