pão e queijo

Awesomelycool (Apple cake)

 

I'm not really sure what made me think of this, but I randomly remembered today that I "made up" a word in fourth grade.  It was "awesomelycool."  I remember seriously believing I made this word up, that nobody had been as clever as me to do so, and that I, myself, was awesomelycool.  I mean, it was such an innovative term, such an expressive adjective, that I couldn't describe it as anything else but awesomelycool. 

And then I had this really annoying classmate, Bill, who tried to convince me I didn't make it up. 

But, I knew I had… (Bill was wrong) I had never heard the word before, or had I?  Such confusion.  Anyways, this apple cake is awesomelycool. 

Apple cake
Adapted from the Joy of Baking
Makes one 8-inch square cake

Ingredients

¾ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1 lb apples (I used a combination of gala, granny smith and yellow delicious)
1-2 TBSP fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tp salt
6 TBSP (¾ stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
½ tsp vanilla exract

Glaze (opt):
⅓ cup apricot preserves or jam

Preheat the oven with the rack in the middle to 350F.  Grease an 8-inch square baking pan. 

Peel, core, and coarsely chop the apples.  Toss with the lemon juice and set aside.

In the bowl of your stand or hand mixer, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.  Add in the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat until well combined.  Fold in the nuts and chopped apples.  If the batter is too thick, add in a tablespoon or two of milk. 

Spread the batter evenly into the greased pan and bake in the preheated oven for 35- 45 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack. 

If making the glaze, place the preserves in a small saucepan and warm over medium heat until liquid while the cake is still warm.  Remove from heat and strain the jam through a fine strainer to remove lumps.  Using a pastry brush, spread the warmed preserves over the cake.

Note: the original recipe recommends keeping the cake in the fridge.

 

Yummy inspiration (Super easy chocolate peanut butter crunchy mounds)

 

This is pretty much all I've eaten today.  Hey, peanut butter is healthy, right?  And cornflakes have iron ;)

I've felt pretty inspired with baking,  but cooking not so much.  This week I made a yucky cream of zucchini soup (how can you mess that up?) and a sort of bland Spanakopita pie that I wasted my precious feta and phyllo on. 

But alas, sweets don't let me down!  These kind of remind me of some crunchy "mounds" we made back in MPH camp when I was like 9.  They're also a fun treat for the Oscar's or the like.  I'm already planning on making a business around them.  Next time I'm going to try chocolate with dulce de leche and chocolate with condensed milk.  And maybe add some sea salt.  Seriously, the chocolate and peanut butter in a hard mound transform the cornflakes.  And they are really quick and easy to make!

Chocolate peanut butter crunchy mounds
Adapted from Savory Sweet Life blog
Makes about 12- 15 crunchy mounds

Ingredients
¾ cup chocolate chips
¼ cup creamy peanut butter
1 ½ cups cornflakes

Microwave (or melt in a saucepan) the chocolate chips in a microwaveable bowl on 30 second intervals until melted and smooth, stirring between intervals.  When melted, stir in the peanut butter until incorporated.  Add in the cornflakes and stir until completely covered.  Using a tablespoon, scoop tablespoonfuls onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.  Cool and let harden in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Hissing (Glazed orange yogurt cake)

I made this cake on Valentine's Day.

 

I haven't gotten around to posting it until now, but, I have a Valentine's Day-related topic to share with you:

A good friend of mine came to visit this week from the States, and we had a blast. Our trip was fun, exciting, I got terribly sick to my stomach, we went to the beach, to the volcano, and to canopy.  It was awesome.  Blah-di-blah. 

Point of the story is, we went on this really cool canopy tour at the foot of a mountain, and what made this tour unique from other canopy tours we had taken (besides the precious scenery), was that we were the only two people on the tour, and the tour guide, a knowledgeable guy from Mexico, took the time and effort to explain a lot of stuff to us on the trip. 

We got to talking, and somehow came to the topic of "hissing."  I had mentioned that when I went to Mexico recently, I hadn't been harassed with kisses, dirty comments, honks, and discomforting looks by men in the street.  His point was simple, and we were totally in agreement: hissing is pathetic.  Is a girl really going to go up to you after you hiss at her and say, "Wow, that was a great hiss.  Why don't we go out so I can hear you hiss at me some more?"  Where do guys get this from and what reinforces their lame behavior? 

Anyways, just thought I'd share.  Here's to a hiss-free world.

Glazed orange yogurt cake
Adapted from Joy the Baker

Makes one 9-inch tube cake

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 TBSP baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 eggs
¾ cup sugar
1 cup plain whole milk yogurt
⅓ cup vegetable oil
1 TBSP fresh squeezed orange juice
Zest of one medium-large orange
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 TBSP orange juice (I used purchased)
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Preheat the oven to 350F with the rack in the center.  Grease a 9-inch round tube pan well. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt until well blended.

In a large bowl (I used my stand mixer bowl), combine the sugar and orange zest with your fingers, rubbing together until the they are blended and fragrant.  Add the eggs and beat until thick and pale yellow.  Add the yogurt, oil, 1 TBSP fresh orange juice, and vanilla.  Stir to combine.  Mix in the flour mixture.

Pour the batter into the prepared tube pan and smooth the top with a spatula.  Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes to cool, then remove from pan and cool completely.

To make the orange glaze, mix together the 3 TBSP orange juice with sifted powdered sugar until well combined.  If you want a hard glaze, wait for the cake to cool completely before pouring on.  If you want the glaze to seep in a bit, wait a just a little after removing the cake from the oven, then prick holes in the top of the cake and pour glaze on while cake is still warm/ hot.

 

Just wanted to let ya'll know…

Ya'll?  That's not really me.  I'm still a Yankee girl.  But it sounds good.

 

Anyways…

I like Mexico.

I love Mexico.

I took 509 pictures on my trip to Mexico.

I love their spicy chocolate.

There's way too much meat, everywhere.

And I LOVE their cajeta (goat's milk caramel).

This crêpe was out of this world:

And their pastries… Oh boy, do I love their pastries!

Mexico is so cultural...

We went to the castle Chapultepec:

 

The city is very developed.

 

I can't wait to go back!