Layers of cream cheese icing goodness! Except that there’s no cream cheese in it. Um, say what?
Cream Cheese Icing is a MUST when making carrot cake, and a HIGHLY RECOMMEND when making pumpkin cake. Last week I baked a pumpkin cake, and went to make the cream cheese icing; however, after looking in the fridge, I realized…there was no cream cheese! Egads! What to do? Well, this was a case for…THE QUEEN OF SUBSTITUTIONS!
The solution? Lebneh, also known as yoghurt cheese! I make my own yoghurt, and grew up eating homemade lebneh (drained yoghurt so thick it functions as cream cheese), so it was an easy thing to pull out some yoghurt cheese as a cream cheese substitute.
The verdict? Yum-city! I was trying to take a photo of the finished cake and the DH was hovering impatiently so that he could have a slice. I asked him just now for his opinion. He said, and this is a direct quote, “It’s very bad; don’t eat it, leave it all for me!” So yeah, it was a hit.
The tanginess of the yoghurt subs in perfectly for the tanginess of cream cheese, and the maple syrup adds a touch of sweetness without being cloying. The cinnamon is a perfect foil to carrot OR pumpkin cake, or frankly, anything you want to serve it with.
And since it’s the holidays, you can feel better about eating this icing, since you know it has the calcium-rich goodness of yoghurt in it!
Let’s get to making some!
SUPER-EASY CREAM CHEESE ICING without CREAM CHEESE
8 oz. lebneh/yoghurt cheese (about the size of a standard cream cheese packet) (recipe in this post)
1/2 c. butter
2 tbsp. maple syrup
3 1/3 c. icing sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Mix all ingredients together until fully blended. Spread on a cooled slab cake, or serve as a dip with cookies. Enjoy the compliments coming your way!
The only downside to this icing? This is more of a slab cake icing than a traditional round layer cake icing. This is due to the yoghurt cheese — if left for several days, some of the whey will continue to drain and cause the icing to be a bit weepy. So bake your cake in a lasagna pan, and ice it once cool. Serve and enjoy!
Or, use it as a dip. I’m planning on bringing a bowl of this icing to a dinner party tonight, along with some homemade graham crackers. How’s that for an appetizer? Naturally, I’ve done some taste-testing with this combo. *can’t talk, mouth too full* *shouldn’t be typing, fingers too sticky*
Next Post: Five Holidays Gifts from the Kitchen and Four Ingredient Strawberry Cranberry Jam
Today’s recipe is one that is super-easy to pull together: Chocolate Marzipan Croissants. I don’t usually use pre-packaged foods but a few weeks ago croissant dough was on sale, and I was recovering from some health issues and was taking things a bit easier. I bought a package of croissant dough for 99 cents and stuck it in the fridge for midnight carb cravings. (What, you don’t have these cravings? It’s just me?)
Speaking of cravings, I always crave chocolate. Plus, chocolate & marzipan are childhood favourites, and almond croissants are a guilty pleasure. So, let’s combine all of those to make delicious Chocolate Marzipan Croissants, but…let’s make them SUUUUPER simple to make!
You use a short-cut — pre-made dough — then add in two ingredients and bake it briefly. That’s right, it’s a 3 ingredient recipe, and made (and baked!) in less than 20 minutes.
Let’s get baking!
Chocolate & Marzipan Croissants
1 package croissant dough
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1/2 pkg. (100 g.) marzipan
Unroll dough into triangles. Roll out marzipan into similar sized triangles and place on top of dough triangles. Sprinkle a few chocolate chips on each triangle and roll into a croissant shape (start rolling the thick end of the triangle towards the thin end). Curve the ends of the rolled dough to make a traditional croissant shape.
Bake for 10-12 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Let cool slightly. Melt chocolate chips over a double-boiler (or in the microwave in 30 s. bursts) and drizzle over the still warm (but not hot) croissants. Serve and collect ooohs and ahhhs!
About to be nommed!
If you like, you can make the croissants fancier by dusting them with icing sugar or sprinkling on sliced almonds (or candied sliced almonds!). Or, decadently, topping with chocolate sprinkles! Mmm…now that would be delicious!
Wasn’t that an easy treat to bake up? Who says that delicious has to be time-consuming? Now, if you want to earn uber-baker cred, you could make your own croissant dough (this recipe is a nice one). If you do, definitely invite me over to help you sample your creations; there’s nothing quite like homemade croissants!
Next Post: Homemade Cranberry Sauce. Three ingredients. A few minutes. Pure Thanksgiving (or Christmas, or…anytime) deliciousness!
Pretty, painted meringue roses that melt in your mouth!
I generally don’t sell my baking, preferring to a) eat it (best part of baking, amirite?), b) bring it to work, or c) have the DH bring it to his work (our colleagues are most appreciative). Recently, however, when someone I didn’t know asked me to do some baking for a themed baby shower, I thought, why not? And baked up these yummy ‘Alice in Wonderland’ themed treats!
What treats did I make? Chessboard Nanaimo Bar Squares, Painted Rose Meringues, and Spotted Mushroom Cupcakes! And honestly, they were so easy to make. Want to make some yourself? Let’s!
Use my nanaimo bar recipe, but use a lasagna pan instead of a square pan. And, before you add the final chocolate layer, cut the giant block of nanaimo bar in half. Then ice one half in chocolate and ice the other half in white chocolate (that’s what the white chocolate wafers & oil is for). When set, cut into squares and arrange in a chessboard pattern. Et voila! Wasn’t that easy?
What a delicious Nanaimo bar chessboard!
As you all know, I like to use real ingredients to create delicious treats…and then consume them when they’re fresh, because why wait to eat yumminess? Which means that when I made the Spotted Mushroom Cupcakes, I didn’t use a cake mix or canned frosting, but mixed up the batter from scratch, along with some vanilla buttercream! I actually used coconut oil instead of shortening in my vanilla buttercream recipe, and that gave the buttercream a coconutty taste — extra yummy! The DH came by the kitchen as I was baking, and tasted the buttercream. His reaction? “MMMMMMMM!” I think that says it all.
Spotted Mushroom Cupcakes
1 batch chocolate cupcake batter (I HIGHLY recommend this recipe)
1 batch of my vanilla buttercream, but using (room temperature) coconut oil instead of shortening
green cupcake wrappers
1 1/2 c. of red candy wafers
1 tsp. vegetable oil
Using the green cupcake wrappers, bake the cupcakes according to the directions. Whip up the buttercream according to the recipe, except use coconut oil in place of the shortening. Using a butter knife, spread icing over the top of each cupcake to create a smooth dome. Place 2 or 3 red wafers on each iced cupcake. Then, place the remaining red wafers in a cup along with the oil and microwave in 30 s. bursts until melted, stirring every 30 s. Once melted, pour into a Ziploc bag, and cut a very small bit off of one corner. Pipe small red dots onto a sheet of waxed paper. Set the waxed paper in the fridge to set. Once the red dots are solid, place two or three red dots on each cupcake. Et voila, your Spotted Mushroom Cupcakes are done!
Coconutty buttercream goodness!
Do you remember the part in ‘Alice in Wonderland’, where the Queen orders her white roses to be painted red? Well, we can do the same, only with roses made out of meringue!
Painted Rose Meringues
1 batch of meringue (I like this recipe, as it creates a very pipeable meringue)
2 cups red candy wafers
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 Wilton 1M piping tip
a piping bag
Mix up the batch of meringue batter. Cut the tip off the piping bag, and attach the piping tip. (If you don’t have a piping attachment, don’t worry, just place the piping tip inside the bag and it will work just fine.) Scoop the meringue batter into the piping bag and twist the top closed. Pipe roses onto a baking sheet. How to pipe a rose? Start in the centre, and pipe a swirl. The 1M piping tip makes the swirl look like a rose! Bake according to meringue batter instructions, or until the meringues are lightly golden on the bottom, and thoroughly dry throughout (I usually break one in half to check the done-ness. And then eat it. Hazard/benefit of the job, right?) When done, remove to a cooling rack and let cool thoroughly.
Mix wafers with vegetable oil, and melt in microwave, in 30 s. bursts, stirring in between each 30 s. When thoroughly melted, pour into a shallow bowl. Dip 1/3 of the roses top down, so that the tops become completely covered in red. Then set these back on the cooling tray (I suggest placing a piece of wax paper underneath to catch all the drips). Take 1/2 of the remaining meringues and dip half of the cookie in the melted red wafers, so that it looks as though someone half-painted a white rose. Set back on cooling tray. Let the candy coating set. If you’re in a hurry, you can place the cooling racks in the fridge to set faster. Once done, arrange the roses on a platter, with some red roses, some white roses, and some half-painted roses. Deliciousness, thy name is meringue!
Wasn’t it easy to make those ‘Alice in Wonderland’ themed desserts? They’re just basic recipes, but with the design slightly tweaked so that they fit with an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ theme. Do you have an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ themed party coming up? Why not try these out? Not only are they delicious, but they’re fun to look at too! If you do bake these treats, be sure to email me some photos! I’d love to post them on my social media channels!
Next Post: Baked Falafel Croutons! Say what? That’s right! An easy way to add vegetarian protein to your salad!
Strawberry froyo: so easy to make that it’s ridic!
Picture this: it’s a super-hot summer day. The heat hits you like a wall as soon as you step outside. But wait, what’s that in your hand? It’s a scoopful (ok, let’s be realistic, it’s several scoopfuls) of freshly made Strawberry FroYo! And even better, it’s healthy, aka guilt-free! Living the dream, folks!
Recently, I got the ice cream maker attachment to my KitchenAid stand mixer. My husband likes to joke that I have a KitchenAid Kitchen as most of my appliances are KitchenAid (ooh, just had a thought — BHAG goal, a sponsored post with KitchenAid! Plus a giveaway. Now that would be a dream of a post to write! Any KitchenAid marketing staff out there who want to make my dream come true?) but given that I have limited kitchen space, getting an attachment as opposed to another appliance just made sense.
So, I had a new kitchen toy to play with, and it’s the dog days of August. Obviously, the only thing to do was…make ice cream! I’ve posted recipes for my super-yummy No Churn Rum Raisin Ice Cream (OH so good!) and my gluten-free Chunks ‘o Brownie No Churn Ice Cream (I’m drooling just typing that out), but I’ve been trying to develop a healthier ice cream that won’t add to my waistline, while still being yummy. What to do, what to do.
And then I was eating my favourite breakfast one day: homemade yoghurt with homemade strawberry jam. I looked at my breakfast bowl. I looked at my new ice cream maker attachment. And then I dumped my breakfast in the frozen bowl and turned on the paddle. BAM! Strawberry FroYo, yo!
In the time it took me to get dressed for work, my frozen yoghurt was ready. OH. SO. GOOD. Especially to eat happily while walking to work. Mmm…dessert for breakfast!
1/4 c. strawberry jam (I make my own, but you do you, boo)
Place yoghurt and strawberry jam in frozen bowl, add paddle, and churn for 20 minutes; or follow instructions for your brand of ice cream maker. And…that’s it! (Told you it was easy!)
Doing its thang: churners gotta churn.
Scoop out, eat it up, and revel in the tartness of the froyo mingling with the sweetness of the strawberries. Ah, summer heaven!
No ice cream maker? You *could* make this without one. You’d just put the ingredients in the freezer in a freezer-safe container, and then stir after the first hour, and every half hour until frozen to your taste. But honestly, that’s a pain in the patootie. This is one of the few recipes that I say you need to have a specific kitchen tool for. If you don’t have an ice cream maker or attachment, I’d suggest making my No Churn Strawberry Ice Cream instead. Not as healthy, but [redacted], it’s tasty!
Next Post: Cake Decorating Basics! I’ve been working on my coursework for the Elite Blog Academy, and this is the result of an assignment a month ago. Learning is fun, but cake is the BEST THING EVER! No, wait that’s chocolate. Ok, I stand corrected: Chocolate Cake: BEST THING EVER!
Too delicious to share! (My waist recommended that I share these, but my taste buds said ‘mine, all mine!’)
Why are these Nanaimo bars extra-chocolatey? Because the bottom layer (that scrumptiousness made of cookies, coconut, and nuts) is made with CHOCOLATE graham crackers! And of course, I made my own (although you could buy store-bought) simply because I prefer to have as fresh ingredients as possible.Oh, and I made my chocolate graham crackers with whole wheat flour, to increase the fibre content. I’m sure that balances out all the butter and sugar, right? M’kay.
I did write in the post title, that this recipe was to celebrate Canada’s 150th Birthday (yes, Canada as a nation is only 150 years old!), but I would be remiss if I didn’t address the fact that Canada is built on someone else’s land: that of the First Nations people. I don’t know what the solution is. Obviously after 150 years, all non-native peoples are not going to go back to the lands of their genetic heritage, but at the same time, we cannot ignore the fact that there are problems with how the First Nations people have been treated, both historically (residential schools) and currently (the appalling state of some of the reserves in the Canadian north). There’s no easy answer, and I have no insights that others do not. Addressing social issues is also not the purpose of this blog, but I felt I couldn’t celebrate Canada (Multiculturalism! Delicious foods like Nanaimo bars!) without acknowledging the First Nations who were the original inhabitants of Kanata.
Now, let’s make us some Nanaimo bars!
Luscious ripply layers!
Extra Chocolatey Nanaimo Bars
Top Layer
3/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 tsp. butter
Middle Layer
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 drop yellow food colouring
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tsp. corn starch
2 tbsp. milk powder
2 1/2 c. icing sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 tbsp. milk
Bottom Layer
1 c. chocolate graham cracker crumbs
1/3 c. ground mixed salted nuts
1 c. coconut (unsweetened)
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. icing sugar
1/3 c. cocoa
1 egg
Make the bottom layer: Mix all ingredients for the bottom layer together. Line a buttered 9×9 inch pan with parchment paper; leave enough parchment paper to overhang the sides (you’ll be using this later to lift the squares out of the tray easily). Press the ingredients into the tray. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Let cool in pan, and set aside (in pan).
Make the custardy middle layer: Blend all ingredients together. Spread smoothly over chilled bottom layer. Put in fridge until firm, or at least an hour.
Make the topping: mix the chocolate chips and butter together in a microwave safe bowl, and microwave in 30 s. bursts, stirring in between each, until thoroughly melted. Mix together and let cool slightly. Spread cooled mixture over the custard layer in the tray.
Chill the squares thoroughly before cutting. Lift entire tray of bars out of pan using parchment paper ends as handles. Place on a flat surface, and cut using a knife dipped in hot water (and then dried). Dip knife in hot water between each cut (and wipe dry after dipping).
And, enjoy a slice of Canadiana!
Can’t stop eating them! Even the chocolate-disliking DH ate them!
BONUS RECIPE:Chocolate Graham Crackers
Want to make your own chocolate graham crumbs? You totes can! I made my own chocolate graham crackers, by using this recipe (except halving it, and leaving out any toppings), and adding in 1/3 c. cocoa, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, and using only whole wheat flour. Once baked and cooled, and I then blitzed the cookies in the blender until they were finely crumbled. Voila, homemade chocolate graham cracker crumbs!
Next Post: How to Make Your Own Banoffee Frappe! That’s right, it’s a frappe with banana, caramel, and whipped cream — so delicious on a hot summer’s day!
