Coffee

Hi, there! Today is my turn to share with you my coffee recipe. I hope you like it. I know I did. =)

When Ann suggested coffee for this week's theme the first thing that came to mind was Tiramisu. So tiramisu it is. :) There's tons of tiramisu recipes out there, but  when I came across a Martha Stewart's recipe that claimed itself easy tiramisu, I knew I had to try it. 

I think they should rename it to easy AND delicious tiramisu.  I know it's not the traditional italian tiramisu but it's great anyway. Perfect for those moments when you are craving for tiramisu and don't want to spend 2 hours in the kitchen. This recipe is definitely a keeper. ;)

Adapted from here

1/2 cup strong coffee, cold

300g cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

2/3 cups sugar

200g soft ladyfingers

Cocoa powder for dusting, or milk chocolate shavings

1. Beat cream cheese, heavy cream and sugar until light and fluffy.

2. Cut ladyfingers in half and arrange them around a springform*, sugar side facing out. This step is optional, I wanted to give the tiramisu a more sophisticated look. You can make it in any dish you desire.

3. Spread some of the cream cheese mixture on the bottom of the pan - around 1 cup.

4. Dip ladyfingers, one by one, in coffee - no more than 3 seconds or it will fall apart; and arrange them over the cream.

5. Add more cream on top. Repeat layers, ending with cream.

6. Refrigerate. Dust with cocoa powder or chocolate shavings before serving. 

*Oops, I don't know the size of the pan I used. But it's a small one, the size of a dessert dish. ^^

~Serves 8.

Coffee

Don't you just love walking into someones home, or even being in your own home, and smell freshly baked cookies that just came out of the oven? That's how it is at my place now, as I just finished baking Mocha Truffle Cookies-yes, you read correctly, Mocha-Truffle-Cookies...it tastes as divine as it sounds. Now I have to admit, that I baked these last minute because my last batch was a disaster. When I was making the dough, I knew there was something off about it, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was, even my mother who checked out what I was doing, commented that the dough looked unusually dry. It wasn't until I started baking the first batch that I realized that I totally forgot to add sugar. Perhaps the missing sugar is partial to the crumbly effect of the dough, but I was also suspicious of the large amount of flour ( 2 cups) that the recipe calls for. When I re-did the recipe, I included all the ingredients accordingly-even the sugar, however I cut the flour to 1 1/2 cups. The texture was perfect, the cookies came out great, and I'm loving the smell of my home.

-Ann

Mocha Truffle Cookies*

1/2 cup butter/margarine 

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 tablespoon instant coffee

3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour (I advise you use 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions

1. Melt butter with 1/2 cup chocolate chips in a large sauce pan. Remove from heat and stir in coffee crystals.

2. Cool five minutes and combine sugar, eggs, and vanilla with coffee mixture.

3. In a medium bowl mix flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Stir into coffee mixture, then add remaining 1 cup chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoonful onto lightly greased baking sheets. (I used parchment paper.)

4. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes. Cool 1 minute before removing from pan to cool on wire rack.

*I wrote down the recipe years ago and didn't put the authors name, so I have no idea where I got it from, but I did not create this recipe...even though I kinda wish I did.

Time for Change

Over the past few weeks, we have made a few changes on Oh So Sinfully Delicious in order to keep it fresh, current, and as original as possible. One of our major changes is the overall design of the blog which came from Ana's discovery of Shabby Blogs. Since we cannot meet up and bake together ( if you were not aware before, we live in two different countries), each week we select a feature ingredient and bake something with that main ingredient. Yes, there is the chance that we may bake the same thing, or something very similar, but so far that has not happened yet. It's something different, but it works for us. We are still making significant changes in order to improve the aesthetics of the blog as well as to keep you more engaged in our entries. We have decided to split our entry into two parts, so on Mondays I (Ann) will post a recipe and on Wednesday Ana will post hers.

We are also trying to make our blog more visually friendly by adding more and bigger photos, as well as open up and add photos on Flickr. Although we have been posting for eight months now, we really have not introduced our selves, so we are planning to create a biographical page, so you can know more about us. The changes that we are making are experimental and as we fiddle around with our blog, we are totally open to suggestions on how to make OSSD a better blog. Thanks for your support!

-Ana & Ann

Apple

Hey Ya'll. First I want to start off by saying it's officially spring, yaaaaaaaay!!!!! The sun is setting later, plants are sprouting from the earth, and the best part is that the weather is getting warmer...until this Wednesday, when the temp is suppose to dip down and start snowing again-but the point is that technically, spring has arrived!

Below is an Apple Blueberry Crumble recipe that I got from Donna Hay's Modern Classics book 2. Now I have to admit that I am not a fan of baked apple recipes, people who know me, know that I find 'em slimy, so when I made this crumble, I happily shared this with the rest of my family. All I can say is that if you like apple pie, and strudels, you will love this crumble recipe.

-Ann

Apple and Blueberry Crumble

7 green apples (1.2 kg/2 lb 7 oz), cored and chopped (I used macintosh apples cause grannies are way too sour in my opinion.)

1 cup fresh blueberries

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Topping

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup plain (all-purpose) flour

75g (2 1/2 oz) butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Place the apples, blueberries, sugar, lemon rind, and lemon juice in a bowl and stir to combine. Transfer to a large ovenproof dish. To make the topping, place the rolled oats, sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon in a bowl and mix to combine. Spoon the oat mixture over the fruit and bake for 55 minutes or until the topping is dark golden and crisp and the apple is soft. Serve warm with thick (double) cream or ice cream if desired.

~Serves 4

-----------------------------.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~----------------------------

I LOVE fritters. That's why I don't make them so often - otherwise I would be 200 pounds by now. They are on my comfort food list. And perfect for a rainy day with a cup of tea. Or for any day, really. =)

This fritters are so light and fluffy that if I haven't practiced my self-restraint I'd have eaten them all by myself. Luckily I had some helpers/tasters this time. And they all gave thumbs up. =)

-Ana

Apple Fritters

From this amazing website - with step-by-step pics!

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons sugar

2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 large eggs

3/4 cup whole milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons melted butter

2 apples, peeled and diced - Ree sugests Granny Smith but I used Gala apples; you can use Fuji apples, as well.

1. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

2. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with a fork, then add milk, melted butter, and vanilla.

3. Gently fold dry and wet ingredients together until just combined (do not overmix.) Fold in apples. Add enough apples to make a very chunky batter.

4. Heat a couple of inches of canola oil over medium to medium-low heat. When it gets hot, drop a little drop of batter into the oil. If it sizzles immediately and rises to the top, the oil is ready; if it burns quickly, turn down the heat.

5. Drop teaspoons of batter into the hot oil, six or eight at a time. Sometimes they’ll flip over by themselves; sometimes you have to flip them. Just watch them and make sure they don’t get too brown, but cook them long enough to make sure the batter’s cooked through, about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes total.

6. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Dust very generously with powdered sugar or roll them into a sugar and cinnamon mixture.

Serve warm!

**May be heated up the next day in a 350 degree oven for 8 minutes.

Oatmeal

Oatmeal was the ingredient of the week for Ana and I. At first I was feeling for oatmeal cookies, but then I found an oatmeal bar recipe on Canadianfamily.ca. This recipe has a different twist than the typical oatmeal bar/granola by using maple syrup, orange zest and cinnamon. The good thing about these bars is that they taste amazing. They are way better and "healthier" (as in less fattening) than store bought granola bars, but the bad thing is that they are quite addictive, I simply can't eat just one.

This recipe is made for a 9-inch square pan, which I currently do not have, so in order to accommodate my pan, which is 13 X 9 inches I increased the recipe by half, so if instead of 1/2 cup of sugar I used 3/4 cup. Knowing how much of a klutz I am, I wrote down the revised ingredients before I started and made sure I had enough ingredients, and it turned out well.

-Ann

Awesome Oatmeal Bars

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 1/2 cups rolled oats (not quick, instant, or 1 minute oatmeal)

1/2 cup wheat germ or bran (I used bran)

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon finely grated orange peel

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup dried fruit (I used raisins)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325F (160C). Line a 9-inch (2.5L) square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on 2 sides so you can easily lift the baked bars out.

2. In a large pan heat butter, maple syrup and sugar over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Boil for 1 minute; remove saucepan from heat. Stir in oats, wheat germ/bran, vanilla, orange, cinnamon, and salt until well combined. Stir in dried fruit.

3. Spread mixture evenly in pan, pressing down firmly using base of measuring cup. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a deep golden colour. Cool completely in pan or wire rack. Once cooled, use parchment to lift to a cutting board; cut into bars with a large serrated knife. 

------------------------------~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~----------------------------

My plan was to make Apple Oatmeal Cake for this week and I did. But it was a disaster. =( I don't know what happened, maybe the flour listed wasn't enough, maybe I did something wrong, I don't know. All I know is that I had to come up with a plan B, which fortunately I already had. And what a delicious plan B it was. Oh, and healthy, too - oatmeal, bananas and nuts, that's healthy, isn't it?

I tried this recipe a long time ago, when I was still living in Toronto so Ann had the chance to try this cookies., too. She liked them as much aas I did. I think she even asked for the recipe, which I forgot to give her. So hey Ann, here's the recipe for you! Sorry for the (long) delay!

Just a note: these aren't crunchy nor chewy cookies. They are cake-y cookies. Delicious cake-y, soft, taste-like-this-muffins cookies. So good! To make it even better, this cookies don't require a mixer, just one bowl and a wooden spoon. =)

-Ana

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

From here
3/4 cup oatmeal

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup hazelnuts, chopped

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon nutmeg (omitted)

2 ripe bananas

1 1/2 cups flour

Chocolate chips - optional

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Combine ingredients in order listed. It will be runny but that`s okay.

3. Drop tablespoonfuls  onto a greased baking sheet - I didn't greased mine and it was fine. Make sure to leave some space between the cookies because they will spread.

4. Bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on size of cookies, or until the edges are browned. Mine took 15 min. Be careful to not overbake.

Lemon

On my birthday Ana gave me a cookbook called Cakes Galore by Valerie Barrett. It's a wonderfully little book that contains over 100 cake recipes which are categorized into different themes such as old favourites, kids cakes, desserts, and even "healthy"& special diet cakes. So far I've only made one cake from Cake Galore, the Dark Jamaican Ginger Cake, which was a huge hit among my family so I wanted to try out another cake and selected the Lemon & Ginger Cake. It seems that I have new love for ginger, since I have been baking a lot with it recently, but I was curious to try this recipe out and see how it turned out. To top the cake off I used a lemon glaze which I got from a food blogger also called Valerie @ pixie-baker.blogspot.com.

-Ann

Lemon & Ginger Cake

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/4 cups (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup superfine sugar (regular sugar will do)

3 eggs, beaten

3 tablespoons low fat milk

1/2 cup ground almonds*

1 teaspoon ground ginger (I added an extra 1/2 teaspoon)

2 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons finely shredded candied lemon peel (optional, I did not use the candied lemon peel)

*Ground almonds is another flour substitute for those who suffer from glutton allergies, since I am allergic to almonds I just made 2 cups of flour.

Lemon Glaze

1 cup of confectioners' sugar, sifted

2-4 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and line a 10-inch loaf pan

2. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs and milk, then fold in the flour, ground almonds, ginger, and lemon zest

3. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. bake in the oven for 55-60 minutes, or until firm to the touch and a skewer inserted in to the center comes out clean.

4. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

5. In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. The mixture should be thick but pourable. If it is too thick, add up to another 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and whisk again. Pour the glaze on top of the loaf, allowing it to drip at the sides. Let it harden about 15 minutes before serving.

--------------------------------~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.--------------------------------

Reasons why scones are my new favorite baked good:
1. Easy - no fancy techniques required;
2. Fast - less than 30 min!
3. Delicious - du-uh
4. No mixer, blender, food processor, necessary;
5. Perfect for snacks
6. Perfect for breakfast - and lunch, and dinner, and....well, you get my point;
7. No sink full of dishes - yay
8. Did I say delicious already? Oh well, it's true. This one was so moist and tangy and crunchy. Yum!

Reasons enough, right? =)

-Ana

Lemon Poppyseed Scones

Adapted from here. My personal notes are in italics.

2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chilled butter
1 beaten egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream (I used low fat yogurt)
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon zest
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds

Egg Wash
1 beaten egg
1 Tablespoon heavy cream

1. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter pieces are smaller than the size of peas. Stir in the lemon zest and poppy seeds.
2. In a small bowl, stir together the cream, egg, and vanilla. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. It is important that you do not over mix the mixture. Once the liquid is absorbed and the dough is coming together (only a little dry flour in bottom of bowl), then stop.
3. Dough will be a little crumbly — remove from bowl and knead until it holds together. Pat the dough into a 7″ circle that is 1 1/2″ thick. Cut into 8 triangles. Place scones onto a greased cookie sheet (I lined mine with parchment). Brush tops and sides with egg wash. I completely forgot the egg wash. Maybe that's why my scones didn't get brown.
4. Bake at 375F for 15 minutes.
5. Let it cool down a bit and drizzle with Lemon Glaze (check Ann's recipe above). (Optional but highly recommended ;]).