TWD: Sweet Potato Biscuits

This weeks Tuesdays with Dorie recipe is Sweet Potato Biscuits on pg. 26. Chosen by Erin of Prudence Pennywise.

These defeated my most basic rule of baking. They required rolling. *grumbles* I suppose it wasn't so bad. Mine didn't rise very much, and I still suck at mixing in the butter with the dry ingredients. All that being said, I'd totally make them again. Even though they were ugly, they tasted really...neat. They were good, bit weird at the same time. I guess that doesn't make much sense, but there it is.


Make em. They're worth it. Even if you have to scrub the counter for an hour to get all the residue off. Oh, and I used a cup of canned pumpkin instead of sweet potatoes. Worked great. Look here for the recipe, or buy the best baking book EVER!

TWD: Allspice Crumb Muffins

This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe was chosen by Kayte of Grandma’s Kitchen Table. She chose for us to make Allspice Crumb Muffins, citing that she wanted a recipe that was easy, didn't require a lot of dishes, and readily available ingredients. I think she did a great job!



These were great (even though I may have forgotten them in the oven about 5 min too long). I wasn't really sure how they'd rise, so I didn't fill them to the top of the muffin cup. Mine didn't rise much at all but that's OK, I think my baking powder is kinda old. Good thing I ran out while making these! They tasted great and that's pretty much all that matters. I also found out that I stink at making streusel which is always good to know. As Kayte wanted, the process didn't take many dishes, and the ingredients were all things I had in the pantry.

These muffins would be perfect for breakfast. In fact, tomorrow before my dreaded root canal, I'm going to eat all 10 that I have left. You know, just in case I can't eat later...yeah...that's why!

For the recipe, you can either buy the best baking book ever, or go to Kayte's blog.

TWD: Split Level Pudding

This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe was Split Level Pudding on pages 384-385 chosen by Garrett of The Flavor of Vanilla.

I love pudding. I love this pudding. It was really easy to make, even though I chose to use a whisk to mix it and not a food processor like the recipe said. Maybe I should get a food processor sometime...

I also chose not to make the chocolate layer. I made a really really chocolatey cake yesterday, and I can't handle more chocolate. Forgive me.

Anyway, to get the recipe, go to Garrett's blog or buy Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan. Its an awesome baking book.



(By the way, how does one make pudding look decent in a picture?)

Reason 500,000 Why I Love Joy the Baker

Root beer float cake...weird name eh?

My root beer loving sister told me it sounded gross.
My root beer loving mom thought it sounded gross as well.
My root beer hating husband ate 2 pieces.
I hate root beer and I think it rocks.
My sister and mom aren't getting a single piece!

Its chocolate. Its great. My only complaint is that the icing is a little much for me, so I only dotted it around the top and let it run down the sides a bit. But I'm not one for icing, so I'm a crazy person anyway. The soda makes it lighter feeling and it gives it a little "hmm?" taste. Did I mention it's super easy? It is.

Here's the recipe. Its from Joy the Baker's website. She's awesome. Go there.

Root Beer Float Cake
(Baked: New Frontiers in Baking)

Ingredients:
2 cups root beer (don’t use diet)
1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs

Preheat even to 325 degrees F. Spray the inside of a 10-inch Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray, or butter generously and dust with flour, knocking out the excess.

In a small saucepan, heat the root beer, cocoa powder and butter over medium heat until butter is melted. Add sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

In a small bowl whisk the eggs until just beaten. Then whisk into the cocoa mixture until combined. Gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture. The batter will be slightly lumpy. You can give it a quick whisk if you like, but don’t over beat the batter or it could cause the cake to be tough. Don’t worry, the batter is very loose.

Pour the batter into prepared pan and cook for 35-45 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking until a sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely then loosen edges with a butter knife and turn out onto a cake plate.

Chocolate Root Beer Frosting

Ingredients:
2 ounces 60% cocoa, melted
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt (I used none, Joy says use 1/2-1)
1/4 cup root beer
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using an electric hand mixer, beat softened butter and cocoa powder. Once combined add the melted chocolate, salt, powdered sugar and root beer. Beat together until smooth. Spread on top of cooled cake. Slice and serve with vanilla ice cream.