Vanilla Extract

Salted Caramel Sheet Cake

April 11, 2020 by Dana

Sheet Cakes are my new thing! I used to think they were boring, however lately I have realized that is just not so. This Salted Caramel Sheet Cake is anything but boring, and the perfect treat for a Birthday or special occasion.

Yesterday was my husband’s Birthday. It started as just “one of those days” where everything goes wrong all at one time. We started the day with no power due to a bad storm the night before. We figured by the time we woke up that the power would be restored, however it wasn’t. Next I decided I would go out to the grocery store to pick up a couple things we needed and our van wouldn’t start. When it rains it pours! Finally at about 5 Pm we had power and I thought great, I need to at least bake him a cake.

Totally on the fly I thought, Salted Caramel! He loves peanut butter but we didn’t have any on hand so this was the next best thing I could think of. I used my favorite Vanilla Sheet Cake base. Then I made some American Style buttercream with a hint of cream cheese while the cake was baking. At the end I boiled some sugar and made a homemade caramel sauce to put in the buttercream and top the cake. We had vanilla ice cream on hand as well, which was a perfect addition. At the end of the day we got to sing Happy Birthday to him and he got to enjoy a big piece of cake despite not having power most of the day.

Salted Caramel Sheet Cake Tips and Tricks

For the Vanilla Sheet Cake base, I use my favorite cake mixing and baking method. This calls for a cup of boiling water at the end. Do not fear, the boiling water will not cook your eggs. This helps yield a super moist cake.
I always use Watkin’s brand Vanilla Extract. You guys, trust me when I say this is the best vanilla extract I have found.
American style buttercream is basically butter and powered sugar. I always add a hint of cream cheese to my icing to add flavor. This will take your desserts from fine to amazing! I also added 2 Tablespoons of the homemade caramel sauce to the icing and it gives just a hint of caramel which is what I was looking for.
Cooking homemade caramel sauce is not as hard as you would think. You just boil sugar (without stirring) until you see it starting to turn an amber color. Then you add your heavy cream and butter and you are done. If you have never made homemade caramel sauce before my best advice is do not walk away from it. It can go from good to burnt very quickly. I was mixing my buttercream while my caramel sauce was cooking, however once I saw some color I stopped my buttercream and focused all of my attention on my caramel sauce.
I always use parchment paper to line the bottom of my sheet cake pan. This makes it easy to lift the cake out once it cools to icing and cut. I put my parchment paper right on a cutting board and use a large chef knife to cut the cake. After each cut, I wipe the knife off to ensure the next cut is clean and pretty.

Homemade Caramel Sauce

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: Add sugar to a heavy bottomed pot. Add water to pot and mix to combine sugar and water. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil, do not stir. When sugar is completely dissolved and clear, raise heat to medium high. Cook until sugar starts to turn from clear to amber in color, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat immediately. Stir in heavy cream, butter, and vanilla extract. Your mixture will bubble up when you add these ingredients, just keep stirring. When the caramel is cool enough to give it a try, stir in a dash of salt at a time until you’ve reached your desired taste. If your caramel is lumpy, give it some heat and stir until it is smooth.

Recipe adapted from Fifteen Spatulas. For a full caramel tutorial with pictures, go check out Fifteen Spatulas recipe!

Salted Caramel Buttercream

2 sticks unsalted butter
1 (8 ounce) block cream cheese
2-3 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons homemade caramel sauce
dash of salt to taste

Directions: Place room temperature butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream on medium speed until smooth. Do not use cold butter and do not microwave your butter. Microwaving will cause hot spots that could cause your buttercream to become lumpy. Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Add vanilla extract and homemade caramel sauce.

Brioche French Toast

April 11, 2020 by Dana

One thing that the 2020 Quarantine has brought my family is more delicious breakfasts together. Where we used to only have the weekends to sit down together as a family for breakfast, we now have everyday!

I posted my Summer Berry Stuffed French Toast recipe a while back, and that is a bit more complicated of a recipe. If you are making French Toast for a crowd, I would totally go with the Stuffed French Toast. It is way over the top and has gotten rave reviews from my friends. If you are making French Toast for just your family to enjoy, then this Brioche French Toast is for you! It is a classic French Toast recipe that my kids and husband all love. We like to serve our French Toast with a sprinkle of powdered sugar, real maple syrup, and whipped cream.

Brioche French Toast Tips and Tricks

There isn’t anything particularly amazing or different about this French Toast recipe except the bread choice. I have tried to make French Toast with several different types of bread, and some have failed. My biggest fail was trying to make French Toast with sprouted grain bread. Obviously, sprouted grain bread is healthier than any white bread however let me just say it does not yield a French Toast worth the cooking time. Hard and eggy tasting is what I got. My kids didn’t want to touch it with a 10 foot pole and neither did I!

After that I learned my lesson. If I wanted to make French Toast, then I should use the bread that yields the best end product and enjoy it. A friend of mine mentioned using a Brioche loaf for a French Toast bake, so next time I was at the grocery store I picked one up. My friend was so right, Brioche is the perfect bread for French Toast for a few reasons:

The bread is very moist to begin with so you get a fluffy inside.
It has a bit of a sweetness to it already.
It is easy to slice up yourself for the perfect not too thick but not too thin slices.
With a hint of brown sugar and egg, the outside cooks into that perfect crust we all love.

For cooking, I use a cast iron skillet or my outdoor flat top grill. Both of these options yield the same result.

*We have found Brioche loaves at all of the grocery stores we shop at. They are in the bakery section, not the bread isle. We have always found that they are wrapped in clear white cellophane and usually have a liner on the bottom of them. Ours have never been sliced which is perfect.

Ultimate Red Velvet Cupcakes

April 8, 2020 by Dana

The Ultimate Red Velvet Cupcake recipe is right here, you guys! I’ve seen a ton of complicated Red Velvet cake recipes but here is the truth: When I am baking I like to keep things simple. This Red Velvet recipe is just that, SIMPLE. No random mixing techniques or weird ingredients. A straight to the point and easy recipe that yields a delicate, flavorful cake. This is what we are all after when we bake, right?

Before we just into the recipe, I’ve been sharing quarantine updates so here we go!

We are in our third week in quarantine. This is honestly the longest I’ve been in the same house with my husband for as long as I can remember. I’m always with the kids all day because I am a stay at home Mom, so this isn’t entirely different then my normal life with them except we aren’t doing school drop offs and pick ups. My husband normally works long hours and goes to bed early so our new schedule is so different than our normal lives.

Today was the first day we literally could not figure out what day it was. For some reason I was thinking it was Friday. He was thinking it was Tuesday. It is in fact, Wednesday. He wins for being closer but we definitely had a good 5 minute discussion about what day it actually was. HAHA If that doesn’t sum up the third week of quarantine I don’t know what does!

The kids are completing their first week of at home learning today. Apparently they are still getting an Easter vacation from Thursday to Monday. How nice of the school, right?!? At home learning has been pretty good this week. Nothing too scary to report. I will admit, I do miss packing lunches a little bit and keeping on top of homework when they get home from school. I do also wish on these beautiful days we are having that we would be taking them to baseball practice and getting some fresh air at the park! I guess it is the little things I am missing the most. There are so many positives of this whole experience though and I feel they out weigh the negatives for sure. We are keeping a positive outlook over here!

Ultimate Red Velvet Cupcake Tips and Tricks

I am again, using a cup of boiling water at the end of this recipe. This makes for a very moist and delicate cake. The boiling water will not cook your eggs, I promise. I also use this technique in my Vanilla Sheet Cake recipe.
You need a whole heck of a lot of red food coloring to get these cupcakes to the right color. Do not freak when you see that you will be using almost an entire bottle of red food coloring, this is not a typo! When you are mixing, you will see exactly why you need so much.
The buttermilk in this recipe not only develops extra flavor, but also makes the texture nice and light. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, regular milk will work just fine.
The cake flour (also known as pastry flour) can be found in the baking isle near all the other flour options. I use Wegman’s brand pastry flour. I also suggest King Arthur’s Brand Cake Flour (sold in a box).
I do not like a sickeningly sweet cream cheese icing. I used about 3 and a half cups of powdered sugar in my recipe, however you can add more depending on your own taste.

Cream Cheese Icing Recipe

1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature)
2 (8 ounce) blocks of cream cheese (room temperature)
3-4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I use Watkin’s brand)

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment add your butter and cream cheese. Make sure these ingredients are room temperature! Cold cream cheese will yield a lumpy icing. I do not suggest microwaving these ingredients to soften.
Mix butter and cream cheese until smooth, scraping down your bowl several times to avoid any lumps.
Add 3-4 cups powdered sugar (or more to taste). Add vanilla extract.
Place cream cheese icing in a piping bag and pipe icing on top of cupcakes. I used a Wilton #307 tip for piping.

Recipe adapted from Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Cake Recipe.

Heath Brownies

April 6, 2020 by Dana

Attention! They may not have chocolate chips at the grocery store right now, but they have Heath chips. If you love a decadent, fudge brownie base with little bits of toffee throughout and a big scoop of ice cream on top, then these Heath Brownies are just for you.

Speaking of grocery stores, I went to Wegman’s today. My home away from home. My happy place. They don’t beat Target, but man they are pretty close. There were many items I could not get (Covid-19 hoarding), and I’ll be honest, I was a bit disappointed. I REALLY wanted Jasmine Rice. I REALLY wanted yeast. The produce section wasn’t what it normally is. There was no sanitizing wipes or cleaners at all, and toilet paper was scarce.

What I can say, is that all the workers at Wegman’s were doing a fantastic job. They were smiling, and moving about their day as if nothing was going on in the world. They are braver then myself, and I have so much respect for the essential workers there who are putting their own lives in danger to serve the community.

Wegman’s was taking a couple extra precautions to try to keep customers as safe as possible. Hand sanitizer was located at the entrance. The cashiers had plexiglass barriers to prevent customers from getting too close or coughing/sneezing/breathing on them, and they had a security guard at the front of the store. It was definitely a different shopping experience but again, I am just Thankful I am still able to get what I need for my family.

Heath Brownie Tips and Tricks

I love a fudgy, decadent brownie. Some brownies are cake-like, and while they have their place in the world, these brownies are not cakey. They are moist, dense, and loaded with chocolate flavor. For this reason, I am using an 8×8 baking pan. You really only need one brownie (or even a half!) to satisfy your chocolate dreams.
I always line my baking pan with parchment paper. It is totally fine if it isn’t perfect. You will want some paper to go up the sides so you can grab the paper and lift your brownies out to cut. This is perfect for two reasons. You don’t cut up the bottom of your pan, and your brownies can be cut perfectly. If you have kids, this is even better so that your kids can’t go butcher the whole pan trying to get one brownie out. If you are serving them at a gathering or party this will also enable you to cut perfect brownies.
I lift my parchment paper and brownies right out of the pan and place them onto a cutting board. I use a large chef knife to cut them. Instead of dragging your knife through the brownies, I suggest placing your knife on top and cutting down. After each cut, use a cloth with hot water to wipe your chef knife off. This technique will get you perfect brownies!
The Heath baking bits can be found in the baking isle of most grocery stores. They are in the same section as the chocolate chips. Heath Brownies would obviously not be a thing without the Heath baking bits.

Vanilla Sheet Cake

April 3, 2020 by Dana

We are in unprecedented times people. What am I doing to take my mind off of all the scary things going on in the world, you ask?

I am cooking and baking! I have been lucky enough to keep a stock of flour, sugar, butter, and other baking items on hand. I know some grocery stores are not able to stock these items, so if you have them consider yourself lucky! Cooking and baking (and photographing food) is something that I have always loved, but these past couple of weeks it has kept me sane and moving. I’ve absolutely loved spending time in the kitchen.

My hope is to continue posting recipes I have made in quarantine and talk about what my family is experiencing and the things we have been doing to keep ourselves busy. 🙂

Let’s Talk Vanilla Sheet Cake!

Ok, I’ll admit that I am not a huge fan of icing round layer cakes. The Instagram videos make it look really easy, however in my experience, it can be frustrating. We have all seen the Pinterest and Instagram fails and I have been there.

It takes a level of skill and understanding to make a layer cake look perfect. For most home bakers, we haven’t spent the time perfecting those skills because we aren’t making dozens of cakes a day.

Here is where the sheet cake comes in! You can practically put icing on a sheet cake with your eyes closed and it looks wonderful. Add some sprinkles and perhaps a few rosettes, and you have a semi-professional looking cake without all the hassle and tools it takes to put together a layer cake.

This particular recipe is a home run! I adapted this recipe using my favorite chocolate cake recipe (coming soon) and I had no idea how it was going to turn out. The results were one of the best cakes I have ever made. This vanilla cake tastes VERY similar to something that comes out of a box, I would argue way better. It is moist and not lacking flavor. That is exactly what I am looking for with any cake recipe.

Vanilla Sheet Cake Tips and Tricks

Ingredients. I know I just explained that some grocery store shelves in the baking isle are empty but I would NOT use old ingredients. Have you ever tasted a baked good and thought you could taste “something else” in it too? It was probably because ingredients were sitting next to spices and were OLD. If you don’t remember when it was purchased, then toss it and get some fresh ingredients.
Using Pastry Flour (cake flour) will give you a delicate, moist cake. I used Wegman’s brand pastry flour because King Arthur was not stocked. My top pick is always King Arthur though.
Good quality Vanilla extract is also very important. I have a brand, Watkins, that I 100% recommend over any other brand for taste alone.
I always use butter over oil in baking recipes. Oil is lacking flavor and although it can make the texture of some baked goods better, it does not add flavor so I avoid it all together. The original recipe I adapted from suggested 1/2 cup oil so I replaced it with 1 stick of unsalted butter.
When you line your sheet cake pan with parchment paper, don’t worry if it isn’t perfect. When your cake is cooled and you remove it from the pan, you can always trim the edges. Simply place your cake on a large cutting board and use a large chef knife to trim any edges that are uneven.
POURING IN THE HOT WATER: What sets this cake apart from most all other vanilla cake recipes is the use of boiling water at the very end. This yields an extremely moist cake. The first time I made a cake like this I kept imagining the boiling water cooking the eggs in the batter, however that did not happen.
ICING THE CAKE: Do not try to ice a cake that is still warm. I have been tempted many times myself, but don’t do it! Your icing will melt all over the place creating a huge mess. I plopped all of my icing right in the middle of the cake and used an offset spatula to move the icing around. When getting close to the edges, don’t worry if you aren’t right at the edge with your icing. Nobody will notice and it can become a hassle trying to get it perfect.
CUTTING THE CAKE: One thing that will also make your sheet cake look beautiful is cutting it properly. Put away the butter knives! You will get a nice and precise cut from a large chef knife. I also avoid “running my knife though” the cake. You want to insert the knife and press down instead of running it sideways. When you run it sideways you will grab cake crumbs and tear up your cake, making it look ugly. We eat with our eyes first so cutting it nicely is important. After each cut wipe off your knife. This also ensures with your next cut you will not tear up your cake.
DECORATING THE CAKE: I used a mix of rainbow sprinkles and flat round Wilton Sprinkles. I could not find a link to the flat sprinkles I used. I also used a piping bag with a large star tip to make the rosettes.

Vanilla Icing Recipe

I will start by saying, I love using cream cheese in icing. It will set apart your cake from all others and create a deeper flavor. By mixing butter and cream cheese, you develop a beautiful American style buttercream with a hint of cream cheese to make it really pop. It doesn’t stand out as cream cheese icing, however it doesn’t taste like sickeningly sweet American style buttercream using powdered sugar to sweeten it. It is the perfect balance and will not disappoint.

Recipe:

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
8 ounces cream cheese (I prefer Philadelphia brand)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar (more to taste)

Directions: Soften cream cheese and butter ahead of time. Temperature of these items matters as you do not want lumps in your icing. Once the lumps are there, they are hard to get out.

Cream butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add vanilla extract, and powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time. As I mentioned, I am not a fan of sickeningly sweet American style buttercream, so you may want to add an additional cup or two of powered sugar depending on your taste.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

August 18, 2014 by Dana

When the words “whole wheat chocolate cupcakes” come out of my mouth you are probably envisioning a dry, cardboard-like cupcake that was better left un-eaten. SO not the case here people! I would never suggest a dessert recipe that my family hasn’t thoroughly enjoyed, and these cupcakes are no exception. They are dark chocolate, moist, and have the creamiest cream cheese icing in the world that goes perfectly with the chocolate. This is my go-to chocolate cupcake recipe, and being whole wheat is just a bonus. No flavor is compromised here because if I’m eating the calories that come packed in a cupcake…. it better taste delicious!

I love a cupcake that tastes like it came straight from a high end bakery. One that uses whole, real ingredients and yields a product far superior to cake mixes and trans fat laden whipped topping. There is something so much tastier about a product that comes right out of your own oven, and looks beautiful! These babies are truly classic and satisfying. If your sweet tooth is over powering your brain take a few minutes out of your day and treat yourself, your family will love you for it! 😉

My secret ingredient in these: coffee! Coffee is going to do two things in this recipe. 1) Give your cupcakes a “dark chocolate” flavor and 2) give your cupcakes a light, fluffy texture. I didn’t even tell my husband I put coffee in these and guess what? He didn’t know because you can’t taste the coffee. It is simply there as a flavor booster and acid. Acidity in baking makes things lighter and fluffier so it is always a good thing (just like the buttermilk in your pancakes). When I make cupcakes I always include something acidic for this reason.

My other secret ingredient: orange zest in the cream cheese icing. I learned this trick almost immediately in pastry school. I can vividly remember the day… we were making Danish. Our instructor presented us with the option of using a filling she made and when I tasted it I just about melted. It was one of the best fillings I had ever tasted! I just had to know what was in it and she filled me in. Zest, zest, zest! ZEST! Orange zest will kick up the flavor of a cream cheese icing and take it to a whole ‘nother level! I mean a whole ‘nother level you’ve never known before! You have got to zest them oranges baby because that is the key to the *in Oprah voice* best EEEEVVVVEEEERRRR cream cheese icing!!!! So gimmicky of me, yet so true. Please excuse my gimmicky food blogger talk… because… you know that’s not my style! 😉

*Recipe measurements adapted from Death By Chocolate Cupcakes by Sally’s Baking Addiction.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Tarts

April 21, 2014 by Dana

Yesterday was Easter so we had a big celebration at my sister-in-law’s house. It was a wonderful day! We had beautiful weather here in Pennsylvania and a delicious meal. They grilled some fresh salmon and we had a really nice variety of side dishes to go along with it. For someone trying to eat unprocessed food there were lots of options and it was nice to see a meal without all the additives at someone else’s home!

I made some mini-desserts to take… including these delicious Whole Wheat Chocolate Tarts. I had a very hard time finding a recipe with whole ingredients so I adapted my own using this recipe from Martha Stewart. They turned out fantastic! As with all of my dessert recipes, I like to mention sugar is still sugar! Although this is a less refined version that doesn’t mean I’m going to go crazy with it because I think that it is “better”. I switched out the all purpose flour for whole wheat pastry flour and the regular sugar for a pure cane sugar. I also used a higher quality cocoa powder as opposed to the standard Hershey’s brand. Sometimes you get what you pay for and in this instance I would rather support a company that doesn’t use a ton of additives and unknown ingredients in their products. Although Hershey’s cocoa powder has only one ingredient, the rest of their products are all filled with questionable ingredients. Here are links to these products.

I also used this wonderful mini-tartlet pan to get a really nice looking shell. It is super easy to use and your end product looks like something straight from a professional bakery. If you have ever wondered how specialty bakeries make their mini products so eye appealing, it is the use of pans like this one.

I filled these chocolate tarts with Mascarpone cheese. I did two varieties of Mascarpone in the shells, one was plain and the other had a hint of coffee in it. The Mascarpone really helps make these delicious because it is creamy and smooth without the use of any additives or extra flavorings. It is simple and allows for the chocolate and fruit to shine and really make this dessert. Sometimes less is more when it comes to sugar in desserts and this is one of those instances.

Whole Wheat Hummingbird Cake

April 16, 2014 by Dana

As I mentioned before it was my husband’s birthday. I made him a chocolate tart and fresh mint ice cream on the actual day then I made this cake to take to my in-law’s house. I know sometimes people feel like whole wheat equals a really dense end product but if you choose the right ingredients to substitute for the refined stuff your cake will turn out fantastic!

I took the recipe I found here and made a few switches to ensure I was using the best ingredients I possibly could for the cake. I was not able to find a recipe online that used whole wheat flour so I had to adapt my own and pray that for the effort I put in, my husband would enjoy it. I have to say he loved it and I would definitely make it again using the exact same recipe. The cake itself is pretty sweet because of the banana and pineapple so I went for an icing that wasn’t overly sweet and it was the perfect combination. I hope your family enjoys this as much as we did!

*I used Bob’s Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour. Since discovering this product I use it for most of my baking. It has worked well for cakes, muffins, and pie crusts and is a great alternative to bleached, enriched white flours. If you can’t find it in your local grocery store here is a link to get it online. I also linked the mascobado sugar which is a great alternative to standard white sugar. Although sugar is still sugar and I don’t suggest over-doing it because it is “healthier,” this is an unrefined and pure ingredient.

Recipe Rescue “Cinnabun Popcorn”

April 8, 2014 by Dana

Sometimes I am so utterly shocked when reading ingredients in packaged food that seem so harmless. I will never understand how the food industry takes something simple and turns it into a cocktail of dangerous chemicals and unhealthy fats. Microwaveable popcorn is no exception. The sad part is most people don’t read the ingredients because they think its obvious… corn and butter. Once I started recognizing harmful ingredients in packaged foods I stopped letting my children eat microwaveable popcorn. It wasn’t a staple in my pantry but unfortunately it is in many homes. This unsuspecting highly processed popcorn has got to go! Luckily for us it is so incredibly easy to make your own that tastes even better then some of the packaged stuff.

What’s in the Packaged Stuff and Why is it Dangerous?

Ingredients:

Popcorn Bag Contains: Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popping Corn, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Less than 2% of: Cinnamon, Salt, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Butter, Color Added, Sucralose. Pouch Ingredients: Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Sugar, Less than 2% of: Natural and Artificial Flavor, Caramel Color, TBHQ and Citric Acid to Preserve Freshness.

Hydrogenated Oils: Highly processed synthetic fats. Cheap to produce and extend shelf life. Raise levels of bad cholesterol (LDL). High levels of LDL can result in heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and heart disease. These scary fats are the 2nd ingredient and appear twice on the list!
Artificial Flavor: This is a huge unknown and the reason I do not eat packaged products with this ingredient. It could be anything but it isn’t called artificial for no reason. Also appears twice on the list.
Sucralose: Fake sugars that just wreak havoc on our bodies. This surprises me because nothing on this package makes claims of being “diet”. Just another reason to read every ingredient.
Carmel Color: Controversial color additive. Commonly found in sodas, and may be linked to cancer.
TBHQ: tertiary butylhydroquinone….. enough said!

How to Make Your Own

Making microwave popcorn is so simple. As with other products I have found, I can’t believe I have gone my whole life without knowing you don’t need their chemical laden bags to pop popcorn in the microwave. All you need is a brown paper bag! Yes… those brown paper lunch bags pop popcorn the same way the prepackaged ones do. Thank goodness for Pinterest on this one! When I started popping my own I realized it was fun to come up with new combinations of toppings and my children gobbled it up like it was something really special. This Cinnabun recipe was a favorite all around. I prefer a topping that is not completely overpowering so I went on the lighter side, however you can easily add more if you find you want more sweet goodness.