All posts from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

I am an end piece kind of girl.
It’s the perfect piece. Three out of the four sides are covered in frosting. One day I want to make a cake that has frosting on the bottom as well. But for now I must settle with the end piece. I’ve been known to wrestle a kid to the ground (yes, as an adult…hangs head in shame) to get the end piece. Only exception being if it’s their birthday cake…then I’m nice…that time.
I was the one who always went for the large and gaudy frosting rose that topped the cake as well. I love me some frosting. And in all of the frosting world, cream cheese frosting is what makes me…hmmm, no comment.
Many joke that you could put cream cheese frosting on top of cardboard and they would eat it. I’m not sure I’d go that far, but truth be told, that circumstance has never come up , so I can’t really say.
The best thing ever about my mom’s carrot cake was the cream cheese frosting. It was always piled high, and being the awesome mom that she was, she would make extra frosting so we could spread more on to our cake piece. Hmmm, why am I fat? Oh yes, I remember.
It is ice cream season and it is a little warm. Though if I was smart I would not have made this ice cream. Since you have to bake a cake in order for it to work. So the whole avoiding the oven thing didn’t really work out.
It starts with a sweet cream base, that you make into ice cream. I couldn’t decide for the longest time if I wanted to add the cream cheese frosting before or after the freezing process. I went with after because I figure that might leave some frosting bits and that might be yummy. Then of course you throw in carrot cake. I chose to make a full carrot cake, cream cheese frosting and all….because I like me some overkill.
It’s pretty darn awesome. How  could it not be….I could have even thrown cardboard in there and been fine.

Is that even legal Cream Cheese Frosting Carrot Cake Ice Cream
Ice Cream Base (see below)
Carrot Cake (I used this one)
Cream Cheese Frosting (see below)
Ben & Jerry’s Sweet Cream Base
 2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup half &half
Pour cream into mixing bowl. Whisk in sugar a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 more minute. Pour in half and half and whisk to blend. Pour in to ice cream makers and freezer according to manufactures directions.
 Cream Cheese Frosting
2 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Using a stand mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese together on medium speed  until smooth, about 3 minutes.
Scrape down the sides and add vanilla and 1/2 cup of powdered sugar.  Beat for 1 minute on medium.
Add another 1/2 cup of sugar, beat, and then scrape down sides. Repeat until all the sugar is used up.
Keep frosting in mixing bowl.
Remove ice cream from freezer and let it get a little on the soft side, but still holding shape. Add it to the bowl that already has the cream cheese frosting in it.
Using the paddle attachment, beat on medium speed until the two are combine.
Chop up pieces of carrot cake. How much you use is up to you. Fold into ice cream base.
Pour into a freezer safe container and freeze until solid. Enjoy.

Glad to see so many of you agreed with me in the last post, and if you didn’t that’s cool too. But one thing several people said, and I agree, is that sometimes being a good baker is a curse.
You can’t ever just bring store bought cookies to a party and be done with it because you had a busy day. People look in horror at you when you do that. It’s perfectly fine that they always pick up the Albertson’s fruit platter, but God-forbid if you slack out. And it’s not even just that it can’t be store bought. I have people actually get disappointed when I “just” bring cookies or brownies. “I was hoping for something from your blog”. Well, those cookies or brownies were probably on the blog. Somewhere in these people’s minds the ability to bake means you also have the time to bake, which as you know is well, NOT THE CASE!
Recently I’ve been strolling though the beginning of this here blog. Most of my current readers have really only been with me over the last two years (with some die hard exceptions of course). So many of the quality recipes from way back in the day have long been forgotten. We flashback to this unusual style cobbler that I made back originally in 2006. I was intrigued by the fact that you roll it up and cut it like cinnamon rolls and then poor simple syrup over the whole thing. It looks scary dreadful when it goes into the oven and you get a little worried, but then it comes out awesome. Over the years I have made a ton of these. While staring at my flat of blackberries I decided it was time for you to get reacquainted with this cobbler.
This is a slightly different version of the original one I made. I used my mom’s peach jam instead of sprinkling cinnamon on the inside of the rolls. I personally love the taste of peaches and blackberries together so I thought it would be a nice pairing, and it is.

Why Do I Always Think I Can Eat a Whole Flat of Blackberries Before they Spoil Blackberry-Peach Jam Cobbler
4 ounces unsalted butter, divided
1 cup water
1 cup plus 2 TBSP granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 TBSP cornstarch
2 TBSP brown sugar
3 cups fresh blackberries (about 1 pound)
5 TBSP Peach Jam (preferably homemade)
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a medium sized bowl, toss blackberries with cornstarch and brown sugar. Set aside.
In a 10-inch glass pie plate or baking dish melt 1/2 stick (2 ounces) butter in oven.
In a small saucepan combine 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar and heat over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is completely dissolved.
In a food processor pulse together flour and remaining 1/2 stick butter (cut into dime size pieces) until mixture resembles fine meal. Add cream, vanilla, cinnamon and salt, and pulse just until a dough forms.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and with a floured rolling pin roll into an 11- by 9-inch rectangle.
Brush peach jam on top of dough evenly and scatter blackberry mixture evenly over top.
Beginning with a long side roll up dough jelly-roll fashion and cut into 1 1/2-inch thick slices. (Slices will come apart and be messy…really messy).
Arrange slices, cut sides up, on melted butter in pie plate or baking dish. Pour sugar syrup over slices, soaking dough, and bake cobbler in middle of oven 45 minutes. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over cobbler and bake 15 minutes more, or until golden.
Serve cobbler warm with ice cream…vanilla is the best.
Serves 6 normal people, or 2 Peabody’s.
Adapted from: Gourmet June 1996 Denise Maguire: Saint Petersburg, Florida

Well, I haven’t gotten much hate mail in awhile so clearly I am being too politically correct as of late. So to rectify that, I shall bring up a topic that my friends and I were discussing the other day.
We were watching Top Chef and they all had to make a pie. The immense fear that was in the eyes of the contestants was too funny to me. It’s the fear that they all seem to get when they tell them they have to make a dessert. Now don’t get me started on the whole you know they do a dessert every season just memorize a recipe thing that I go off on every season, that was not the discussion my friends and I got into. The discussion topic was this….is it better to be a great cook or a great baker?
So I think we can all figure out where I stand on this one, but here is why…most people who can bake  seem to be okay in the cooking department as well. But I have met way too many a chef who is an awesome cook but can’t bake or make desserts to save their life (there are always exceptions I know). I am an excellent baker (though I have several sever disasters under my belt ) and a decent cook. I used to belong to a supper club in Arizona. Every single member was  a chef except for me. When it was time for the meals to be allocated (we did it from just pulling out of a hat) people would throw hissy fits when they got stuck with bread or desserts. But the two bakers of the group always just took whatever we got and rolled with it. And for the record, every single one of those chefs would just bring bread or dessert from their restaurants.
Then there is the convenience of being a baker. It’s so much easier to bring someone a loaf of bread then say a rack of lamb or crock of chili. Doable yes, but awkward and usually needing refrigeration.
So what do you think? Better to be a great cook or a great baker?
Speaking of great baking…I present my 3am idea….cinnamon rolls topped with NY style crumb cake topping. Not sure how this craving came about, but it did. Oddly enough, I could not find a recipe for that idea , so I had to make one of my own.
This was such a poor choice to make. I seriously could not stop eating these. Lucky for me there was hockey that night and I could give them away. See, again, with the portable baked goods (plus one for the bakers).
This ends up being more like pull apart bread  or a cake than that of individual cinnamon rolls. But the messier the better, eh?

Baking is Better NY Style Crumb Cake Topped Cinnamon Rolls
 
For the brioche dough:
1/4 cup warm water (filtered preferably)
1/2 cup plus 2 tsp. granulated sugar, divided
1 1/2 tsp. dried yeast
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
8 TBSP unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into dime sized pieces
For the filling:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
3 TBSP butter, softened
For the NY Style Crumb Topping:
2/3 cup granulate sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. ground cimmamon
16 TBSP (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and still warm
3 1/2 cups cake flour
Place warm water and 2 tsp. of  the sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Sprinkle yeast on top and mix with a whisk until yeast is dissolved. Let stand for 5 minutes while yeast blooms.
Add remaining sugar, vanilla extract, milk, flour, and salt. Using the hook attachment, mix on low speed for 3 minutes to start bringing dough together. Switch to medium speed and slowly drop pieces of butter into dough. Mix for 10-12 minutes. Dough will be wet and sticky and will have good elasticity when stretched.
Pull dough from bowl and onto a floured surface. Using extra flour on your hands, form dough into o a ball. Place dough in an oiled, medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Proof in a warm room, 70-75F, for about 2 1/2 hours. Dough will almost double in size.
In a small bowl, whisk together the sugars and cinnamon. Set aside.
On a flour dusted surface, roll the dough into a rectangle about 12 inches wide and 16 inches long, with a short end toward you. Spread butter using your hands (messy but works best) across the dough leaving a1-inch strip bare on the side farthest from you.
Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture evenly across surface. Press down the sugar into the butter.
Starting with the side nearest you, roll the dough into a cylinder, keeping the roll as tight as you can.
With a bread knife(or chef knife), using a gentle sawing motion cut the log into rounds a scant 1/2 inch thick. These are going to be smaller than your average buns because we are adding a crumb topping to them.
Spray baking spray into TWO 9-inch Spring form pans (you can just use a cake pan, but it is MUCH easier to remove using the spring form).
Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up (there will be almost no space between rolls). Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
20 minutes before the dough is done rising, prepare the crumb topping.
Whisk sugars, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a medium bowl to combine. Add flour and stir with a  spatula or spoon until the mixture resembles thick crumbles; set aside to cool to room temperature, 10-15 minutes.
Once cinnamon rolls have risen, split the crumble topping in half. As best you can evenly crumble topping on top of the cinnamon roll dough. Do this for both pans.
Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes.
Let cool for 10 minutes and top with icing.
For Icing:
Sift 4 cups of powdered sugar into a bowl. Add 6 tablespoons to 1/2 cup of warm milk, briskly whisking until all the sugar is dissolved. Add the milk slowly and only as much as is needed to make a thick, smooth paste.
Brioche recipe from Macrina Bakery and Cafe Cookbook by Leslie Makie
Icing recipe from The Break Baker´s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart

Summer finally hit the Seattle area. Apparently in the next few days it’s going to hit hard. Which is what happens when all the Seattle people start wishing and a praying for the sun and warmer weather too hard, the weather over compensates.
I decided on our first full day of sun that I would embrace it and go out for a walk. I hate shorts but felt that the neighborhood should be punished and I would expose them to my pasty white Canadian legs. No seriously, I bring white to a new level. It’s like I always say, I’m so white I don’t absorb the sun, I reflect it.
So I grabbed the pair of shorts that I was the longest pair I could find that would still be considered shorts and a tank top, lathered up in sunscreen and headed out. When the sun is out, the people come out. So often you run into neighbors, and sometimes one you haven’t met. Like today. Today I met a neighbor I hadn’t met.
A perfectly fine gentleman who spent a large amount of time staring at my shorts while talking to me. I just figured he was looking at the ASU Hockey logo at the bottom of them. Apparently not. Apparently my fresh from the dryer shorts had a stowaway on them. Underwear. The bad news is that it was well, underwear, desperately clinging to the side of my shorts going for a joy ride. I guess the good news is that my neighbor now knows I have great taste in underwear.
Since it is Summer, nothing says Summer like a good ol’ ice cream sandwich. In this case a cookie one. A snickerdoodle cookie one. I have several people write me asking me that since I make all things snickerdoodle how come I don’t just have a cookie recipe. Truth, it’s one of two recipes I’m not allowed to give out. So this one is similar to what my family recipe is, minus a key ingredient that I wont say. But these ones are pretty good. I use nutmeg in mine which not everyone enjoys, but I sure do. Please note that you will need to make a DOUBLE batch of the cookies for the sandwiches.
For the ice cream I just made a caramel ice cream based and finely crushed up some snickerdoodles. So these are very snickerdoodly (yes, that is not a word…is now).
Thanks for all the well wishes for my birthday. Crazy Cocker Spaniel did great at the Beerfest, and as you can see by the last picture I had a good time too.

Show Em’ What You Got Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sandwiches
Snickerdoodle Cookies
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
2 eggs
2 3/4  cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
for rolling the cookies in:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
Heat oven to 375ºF.
Mix 1 1/2 cups sugar, the butter, and eggs in large bowl. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls( I made mini ones, using a mini ice cream scoop). Mix 1/4 cup sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.  If making minis bake for 6-7 minutes.
****You will want to make a double batch. ****
 Adapted from Betty Crocker
Caramel-Snickerdoodle Ice Cream
1 vanilla bean
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
8 large egg yolks
15 regular sized snickerdoodles or30 mini
Split vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Scrape seeds into large saucepan; add bean.
Add sugar and 1/4 cup water and stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil without stirring until syrup turns deep amber color, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 8 minutes.
Remove from heat. Add cream (mixture will bubble vigorously). Stir over low heat until any caramel bits dissolve, about 4 minutes. Add milk; bring to simmer. Whisk yolks in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk caramel mixture into yolks. Return custard to saucepan and stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens and leaves path on spoon when finger is drawn across, about 5 minutes (do not boil).
Strain custard into large bowl; refrigerate until cold.
Process custard in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Fold in crushed snickerdoodles. Transfer ice cream to covered container and freeze until firm.
Adapted from Epicurious.com

Once again, my ability to stop time has failed, and my birthday has rolled around again.
I’ll admit that 37 was not quite the year I thought it was going to be, it had a high learning curve, but then I guess you need those every now and then.
This year I will be celebrating in an unorthodox capacity…I’m going to Beer fest. I actually already went to one a couple of weeks ago, but this is the big Seattle one and I didn’t really have any plans. We are making the controversial (read most likely regret later) decision to bring the dog. My husband cringed at this idea, but it’s my birthday so he has to go along with it. Don’t worry, Crazy Cocker Spaniel won’t be doing any beer sampling. She will however most likely be annoying people and trying to jump and lick on them. Which some people like to get jumped…and licked, just not usually by animals.
I don’t usually bother with a cake for my birthday. Since my husband’s birthday is three days after mine we make cake for him. Unfortunately for me though, he likes BOXED yellow cake with STORE BOUGHT icing. Oh the horror. But as a good little wife I make it. I do however want a birthday treat of my own.
So when I ran across a recipe that encompassed all the food I love (except no bacon darn it all) I almost fell over. Pumpkin. Love that. Cheesecake. Love that. Bread Pudding. Duh, love that. But a Pumpkin Cheesecake Bread Pudding…are you F*ing serious with that. They were.
It was about as awesome as it sounds. Next time I might add a little more spice to mine but other than that, oh my. And now that I’ve made one, I see many more Cheesecake based Bread Puddings in my future. Watch out hips…here it comes. I topped mine with some butterscotch sauce that a friend of mine brought back from Oregon. You can use a caramel sauce just fine.
Hope everyone has a great Canada Day (those celebrating it) and I hope you all enjoy my birthday (July 2nd)…have a beer, it will be like you are with me.

Birthday Girl Pumpkin Cheesecake Bread Pudding
14 to 16 1/2 inch slices brioche
2 8-oz packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
6 eggs
1 15-oz can pumpkin
1 cup milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
For the topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 TBSP unsalted butter, melted
Preheat to 350F. Set rack in middle. Spray a 9-x-13-inch oven proof glass (I used metal) baking dish with baking spray.
Combine the cream cheese and sugar in a bowl and mix until smooth.
Combine eggs, pumpkin, milk, heavy cream, salt, and spices in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment,. Beat until smooth. Add cream cheese mixture and combine.
Pour 1/2 cup custard in bottom of baking dish. Tilt and swirl dish until bottom is completely covered with thin layer of custard. Layer 6 slices of brioche on top of custard. Pour half of the remaining custard over brioche. Add remain brioche and custard in layers.
Use a knife to cut 8 slits though layered pudding. Cover the top of pudding with plastic wrap and press down gently with your palm. Let stand 15 minutes. Remove plastic wrap and sprinkle brown sugar over top of pudding. Pour melted butter over sugar.
Place baking dish on a rack in a large meal pan. Pour hot water from glass forming a water bath. You want to go half way up the side. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until top is nicely browned and the custard has risen to top of baking dish. Check water bath occasionally and add more water if needed. Do not let the water evaporate from the water bath.
Carefully remove baking dish room oven and water bath. Allow pudding to cool on rack 1 hour. Serve slightly warm or cold. Store covered with a paper towel and plastic wrap in refrigerator.
Adapted from Heirloom Baking with the Brass Sisters by Marilynn Brass and Shelia Brass

I will admit that I am not one to hang out with women all that much. The vast majority of my female friends tend to fall on the tomboy side of life. So when Sex and the City came out years ago on HBO I didn’t watch it. I went years having my friends go on and on about it. So when we finally got HBO, I sat down and watched the series over a few months. I also saw the first movie.
It was alright.
I just don’t relate to any of the characters. In fact, when people ask me which character am I, I always tell them Jennifer Hudson’s character. I think Louise? Her I could relate too. A thicker gal. Poor. Living with roommates. Educated but can’t really find a job. But still wants to be fashionable. This was my girl. And the fact that she squealed with delight over her LV purse. Which I also did. I also petted mine for days like it was a cat or something, but that’s just me.
So when the second movie came out, I was asked to go out with a bunch of girls to go see it. Okay, why not, I’ve come this far right? I had a great time. I actually enjoyed the movie. But I think that might have been artificially enhanced by the fact that the movie place we went to allowed cocktails. You had to be 21 or over to get into the place as well. Which I love and now only want to go to those types of movies. Imagine going to the movies where there are no kids or teenagers….and beer is on tap. And they bring you replacement beer throughout the movie! Heaven.  Everybody else had cocktails though. Just me and the token two guys at the movie were having beer. Needless to say, I think cocktails could have helped me enjoy some movies that I thought were subpar.
The same week I saw the movie I received a copy of The Perfect Finish (disclaimer…I got my copy for free, from the publisher). I was particularly interested in this one because it was written by the pastry chef for the White House. It seems that as of late all the cookbooks seem to be from some TV celebrity (I use that term loosely), so it was nice to get something written by a pastry chef.
Now my one concern though is that when it is done by a pastry chef, it can often become very technical. Those kind of cookbooks tend to scare off the average home cook by using big fancy words. Boo on big fancy words I say. The good news is that this cookbook is good for your average and above average baker. It gives the ingredients in both standard measure like the states people love as well as in metric, which everyone else (especially those of us who weigh their ingredients) love. There are plenty of recipes that I want to make from this book. The Walnut Layer Cake with Apple-Caramel Filling and Calvados Cream Cheese Icing will so be made come this Fall. The Candied Bacon Peach Cobbler will also be made once the peaches are how I like them. But what caught my eye this time around was the Fresh Coconut Cupcakes with Orange and Rum. Which I immediately decided should become Pina Colada Cupcakes. And so it was done.
These were made into minis because I was thinking cocktail party. And bite size just seemed the way to go. Though you probably want to use fresh pineapple, don’t. You need the juice from the can for the icing.
Oh and for all you Sex and the City fans, I will answer the other question SATC people always ask me…Aidan…all the way!!!
And if you’re not following CCbP on Facebook and want to….here.

Pina Colada Cupcakes
Coconut Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut, pulverized  into a powder in the food processor
10 TBSP unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 TBSP rum
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup sour cream
Position rack into the center of the oven and preheat to 325F.
Grease a 24 cup muffin tin with baking spray.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, coconut, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, vanilla, and rum until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition.
Add one-third of the flour mixture, followed by one-third of the sour cream. Beat on low speed until just combined. Repeat twice.
Using a spoon or piping bag, divide the batter evenly among the muffin tins. Bake for 13-16 minutes until the cakes are golden and the tops bounce bake when pressed. You can use a cake tester or wooden skewer to see if it comes out clean. Let cool in the tins on rack.
Cake recipe adapted from The Perfect Finish by Bill Yosses and Melissa Clark,  W.W. Norton & Company Inc.
Pineapple-Coconut Buttercream
 
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
6-8 cups powdered sugar (this will depend on the consistency you want)
1/2 cup crushed pineapple
Juice from the can of pineapple
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut, pulverized into powder in the food processor
2 tsp rum
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl.
Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the pineapple, coconut,  and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes.
Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. and mix thoroughly.

One of the most often emailed question is “if I did it this way, do you think it would turn out?” And my usual response is, “only one way to find out?” Now granted if they ask can I use skim milk instead of heavy cream and I know it wont turn out then I tell them right away. But if they just want to get a little creative, I say go for it.
And that is how this little gem of breakfast treat came about. I wanted some french toast. Only problem was that the only kind of bread I had laying around was not the kind that would have made for very good french toast. But what I did have sitting out on the counter was a loaf of angel food cake that I had made to help us up the large flat of strawberries I bought (why do I always think I can eat a whole flat of strawberries in time). I stared at it and thought…it’s shaped like bread, why the heck not. So I sliced it up, dipped in the ol’ egg and milk batter and threw it in some butter. And WOW! That was soooooo good. The only problem is that it is so light, that like rice krispy treats, you almost didn’t know you ate it. Which is good that you have a light breakfast but bad because you eat the whole loaf…well half. Okay, whole. Who am I trying to kid?
I wasn’t even going to post the angel food cake recipe (most people have one). But when I posted on Facebook that I made french toast out of Angel Food Cake, people became highly interested. So I figured, why not put it up.
And speaking of Facebook, Culinary Concoctions has it’s own page on there. The benefit for you is that sometimes I put recipes on there that don’t make it to the blog…so you might want to become a fan of the page.
And lastly a quick shout out to my dad on this rainy and gray Father’s Day. I hope you had a great one Dad. No doubt you spent the day in your chair watching TV while “resting your eyes”!

Wont Know Till You Try Angel Food Cake French Toast
1 loaf Angel Food Cake (you can make or you can buy…I wont tell), sliced like bread
4 eggs
1 tsp maple sugar (or just granulated if you don’t have)
1 cup milk (I used almond milk because of my dairy issue and it was fine)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of fresh nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, extract, and spices until completely incorporated.
Over medium-low heat, heat griddle or skillet coated with a thin layer of butter.
Place the cake slices, one at a time, into the bowl or plate, letting slices soak up egg mixture for a few seconds, then carefully turn to coat the other side. Soak/coat only as many slices as you will be cooking at one time.
Transfer cake slices to griddle or skillet, heating slowly until bottom is golden brown. Turn and brown the other side. Serve French toast hot with butter and syrup. Or strawberries and yogurt. Or whatever you want. 
Angel Food Cake
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cake flour, sifted
12 egg whites (the closer to room temperature the better)
1/3 cup warm water
1 teaspoon orange extract, or extract of your choice
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a food processor spin sugar about 2 minutes until it is superfine. Sift half of the sugar with the salt the cake flour, setting the remaining sugar aside.
In a large bowl, use a balloon whisk to thoroughly combine egg whites, water, orange extract, and cream of tartar. After 2 minutes, switch to a hand mixer. Slowly sift the reserved sugar, beating continuously at medium speed. Once you have achieved medium peaks, sift enough of the flour mixture in to dust the top of the foam. Using a spatula fold in gently. Continue until all of the flour mixture is incorporated.
Carefully spoon mixture into an ungreased tube pan. Bake for 35 minutes before checking for doneness with a wooden skewer. (When inserted halfway between the inner and outer wall, the skewer should come out dry).
Cool upside down on cooling rack for at least an hour before removing from pan.
*Note that I made mine is a steel bread pan. The baking time is about the same, a little less. Check. You can bake in a regular loaf pan as well.
Angel Food Cake recipe from Alton Brown Food Network.com

I was at Costco the other day standing in line. The man in front of me had a large bouquet of red roses. The man that was in front of him in line turned around and asked him how much the flowers were.
His reply, “I don’t know. Whatever the price of I totally f*$#ed up is…I didn’t check the price, it doesn’t matter at this point.”
Ah yes, the I totally messed up, not even sure why, but boy is my wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/person I have and want to continue to have sex with mad at me, please forgive me, flowers. Now I’m not totally sure what the man did. But it had to be bad enough that he wasn’t really caring what they cost but not too bad because he was after all buying them at Costco and not having them sent. Just an FYI, most girls like their flowers sent. Especially to work. Where everyone can see them. Just saying.
Poor men never know quite what to get/do when they screw up. For anniversaries they have a guide. It’s a stupid guide, but a guide nonetheless. And let’s face it, most men need a guide (don’t puff up guys…you know it’s true). I just celebrated my 6th, which means sugar or iron. We gave neither, but he had a guide.
Now someday, perhaps when I am feeling more creative, I will sit down and write one. Probably sell it, make a big profit, tour the nation and neglect my blog. But for now, since this is a baking blog, I will just make one suggestion. If you do a small mess up, nothing says sorry like a nice home baked good. It shows you cared to take the time to make them something. Just make sure to make them something they actually like.
Todays treat is a perfect example of what to bake. It’s pretty easy to make and most people like chocolate. These are called muffins but not really. They are about as healthy for you as eating Nutella for breakfast. Which I do, but just not healthy. These are definitely best when warm and with ice cream. I topped mine off with Ben and Jerry’s Mud Pie Ice Cream which is described as “Chocolate & Coffee Liqueur Ice Creams Swirled Together with a Chocolate Cookie Swirl”. Because I put Kahula in the muffin I thought it would be a great match…it was!
And lastly, our winners.
98.Charlene Says:
June 12th, 2010 at 3:12 am
“Happy 5th Birthday! I am new to the blogging world, but am hooked. I stumbled across your blog while looking for a samoa cheesecake and when I searched, yours popped up. I made it and well there are no words to express how truly sublime this was. I plan to try many more recipes. Here is wishing you all the best and keep your recipes coming because you have a wonderful blog filled with so many exceptional recipes. Enjoy your week-end!”
and
17.Valerina Says:
June 11th, 2010 at 5:32 am
“A very Happy 5th to you and your blog!! Congratulations. I’ve been following your blog for a little over a year now, it’s actually one of the blogs that inspired me to start my own.
My favourite recipe from here are your Snickerdoodle muffins. I think I’ve made them at least 5 times.”
Congrats to our winners! I will be emailing you shortly to get your addresses!
And thanks to everyone who has been a loyal (and heck, not so loyal) reader over the years!

Sorry I F’ed Up Milk Chocolate Chip Brownie Muffins
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup + 2 TBSP unsalted butter
4 large eggs, slightly beaten
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 TBSP Kalhua (optional)
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
6 ounces milk chocolate chips
extra milk chocolate chips for topping
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 12 muffin forms with paper liners.
Melt semisweet chips and butter in top of double boiler over low heat, stirring constantly until melted and smooth. Remove from heat; set aside to cool.
Beat in eggs, sugar, Kalhua, and vanilla. Stir in flour just until incorporated. Fold in milk chocolate chips.
Fill lined muffin cups about ¾ of the way full. Top with 10-12 milk chocolate chips.
Bake 30-35 minutes; do not over bake. A toothpick inserted in center will still have moist crumbs clinging to it. Remove from muffin tin and cool on rack.
Serve warm with ice cream!
Adapted from the Guittard Chocolate Company

Some people have children. I have a dog. A rabbit. And well, this blog.
Yes, in some ways your blog can be like your baby. Especially, if you are like me and really care about what you put out there into the blog world. Just like if I were to have a tantrum having toddler at a restaurant I would feel embarrassed, I get equally embarrassed when someone makes something on here and it doesn’t turn out. Even if it is the person making it’s fault, I still feel bad that it didn’t turn out for them. I mean, a waste of ingredients is still a waste of ingredients.
Just like a child,  I have watched my blog grow over the years. A journal of sorts of my life. Sometimes late at night I like to go back and review what I have written through out the years. I’ve certainly evolved from my blurry, flashy overexposed photos to my signature up close photos that most people comment as “so close it makes me feel like I can reach in a grab it”. My writing has evolved from quick little quips to sharing (and sometimes over sharing) my slightly dull, definitely sarcastic outlook on life (but the good news is my crappy grammar has stayed the same…lucky you). I’ve had weird email from people (still get that). I get fan mail. I get hate mail. I get wonderful care packages from people (still warms my heart). I “meet” lots of people. I’ve been exposed to a variety of porn spam I never knew was possible. But most of all I have received support.
I can tell right now that some of you may be panicking a bit. This kind of sounds like a goodbye. It is not. See, Culinary Concoctions by Peabody turns 5 today. That’s right my baby is growing up. Definitely hard to believe. When I have been telling people lately the common response, is, “I can’t believe it’s been around that long.” It has. Though what they are really saying (because I feel that too) is “crap, I’m 5 years older”.
So in honour of my little birthday I will be giving away two copies of the Macrina Bakery and Cafe Cookbook from Seattle’s local bakery. Today’s recipe comes from there as do many, many other awesome bread recipes. The sandwich bread I make pretty much all the time comes from here as well. And though it is on this blog, it’s so much nicer to have it all in one spot. So if you want a chance to win a copy then you need to leave a comment telling me how long you have read my blog and if you have ever made anything from the blog. I will announce the winner next Wednesday, June 16th. You have until Tuesday, June 15th 8pm (PST) to leave a comment to be entered.
Nothing of course embodies my baking blog than that of bread pudding. And since my blog is like my baby, it got me thinking about my mom. Whenever I was sick my mom would make me cinnamon sugar toast (with the evil crust taken off…oh how dumb we are as kids). It was just white toast with butter and a cinnamon sugar mixture sprinkled on it. To this day if I don’t feel well, that is what I want. That and a 7-UP because that is what we had with it.
This bread pudding is tribute to that. It’s Macrina’s Cinnamon Brioche, which I adapted to be more like my mom’s comfort classic of cinnamon-sugar toast. There is no sauce in the picture with it. I didn’t eat one with it. Though a nice cinnamon anglaise sauce would probably go great.
A special thanks to all the readers who have stuck around through out the years. And thanks to the food bloggers who constantly inspire me in one way or another.
Here’s to many more….
Peabody

 Makes Everything Better Blog Birthday Cinnamon-Sugar Brioche Bread Pudding
Cinnamon-Sugar Brioche
¼ cup warm water
½ cup granulated sugar, divided
1 ½ tsp dry yeast
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
¾ cup whole milk
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
8 TBSP (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture
½  cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
1 TBSP cinnamon
½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
4 TBSP unsalted butter, melted
Prepare Brioche dough:
Place warm water and 2 teaspoons of the sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Sprinkle yeast on top and mix with a whisk until yeast is dissolved. Let stand for 5 minutes while yeast blooms.
Add remaining sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, milk, flour, and salt.
Using the hook attachment, mix on low speed for 3 minutes to start bringing dough together.
Switch to medium speed and slowly drop pieces of butter into dough. Mix for 10 to 12 minutes. Dough will be wet and sticky and will have good elasticity when stretched. Let rest in the bowl for 5 minutes.
Pull dough from bowl onto a floured surface and flatten into a rectangle. Starting with a narrow end, roll dough away from you into a log. Fold ends underneath to form a loosely shaped ball. Place ball in an oiled, medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let proof in a warm room, 70 to 75°F (21-24°C), for approximately 2 1/2 hours (Petra: 3 hours at room temperature, 20°C). Dough will almost double in size.
Line bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 x 4-inch loaf pan* with parchment paper and spread Cinnamon Sugar Mixture evenly on a rimmed baking sheet.
Place dough on a floured work surface and pat it into a 6 x x 2-inch rectangle. Divide dough into 3 equal pieces and roll each piece into a rope approximately 10 inches long. Brush the strands of dough with melted butter, making sure they are thoroughly coated. One at a time, roll the coated strands of dough in the cinnamon mixture. Line the strands up side by side and, starting at either end, braid the pieces. Pinch ends together to form a seal and fold ends underneath.
Lift braid into lined loaf pan. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar. Cover with plastic wrap and let proof in a warm room for I hour, or until loaf rises to fill three-quarters of the pan.
While loaf is proofing, preheat oven to 360°F (180°C)
Remove plastic and place loaf on center rack of preheated oven. Bake for about 45 minutes. Top and sides of loaf will be dark golden brown. The hot loaf will be very fragile, so let cool on wire rack for 20 minutes before removing from the pan. After 20 minutes, lift loaf out of pan and continue cooling on a wire rack. If needed, run a sharp knife around the sides of loaf and invert pan to remove it. (It’s important to remove the loaf from the pan before the sugars cool and stick to the sides.)
Cinnamon Sugar Mixture
Combine ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
From Macrina Bakery & Cafe Cookbook by Leslie Mackie

1 loaf Cinnamon-Sugar Brioche
1 ½ cups heavy cream
½ cup whole milk
3 egg yolks
2 eggs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
½  cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture
½ cup granulated sugar
2 TBSP cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350F.
Make cinnamon-sugar mixture by simply mixing the two together until they are fully incorporated. Set aside.
The night before making the pudding. Cut the Cinnamon-Sugar loaf into rectangular pieces. Lay them out overnight on the counter uncovered, as to get stale.
In an greased but not floured 8-x-8-inch pan, sprinkle as many bread pieces as you can on the bottom.
Mix the egg yolks, sugars, vanilla extract and cinnamon together in a bowl. Then stir in the heavy cream and milk.
Pour the custard over the bread first layer of bread. Pour enough custard over the bread so that when you press down on the bread, the bread is soaked in custard.    Layer again with bread and again pour custard over and push down. Repeat until dish if full and bread pudding is to the top of the pan. Depending on how stale your bread is you may likely will have extra custard. Don’t feel like you have to use all the custard. Sprinkle top with cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Place pan into another pan that will hold a water bath. Bake the bread pudding for 45 minutes to an hour until golden on top. Cool 10 minutes and serve warm.

So the calender says Summer should be coming, but apparently Mother Nature didn’t get the memo. As I sit here and type this out I am wearing sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt and am seriously considering getting a sweatshirt to put on as well. It’s says it’s 61 outside, but it’s damp and cold. We had down pouring-sideways rain when I got up early this morning to go to stick and puck (hockey) which I ended up ditching since there was down pouring-sideways rain…and it was 5am. Though don’t get me wrong, I am loving that Mother Nature is forgetting about Summer. I’m all for it. I just hope she doesn’t make up for it by extending the Summer.
Now for a bit I tried to embrace the coming Summer. I tried to make a more Summery based dessert and I had an epic fail. I mean epic. I’ve never even seen food have the texture I got with my baking fail. And so I figured if Mother Nature wasn’t ready to move on, then neither should I. I should just pretend it is my favorite time of year, Fall, and make something that reminds me of that season. So I did.
This bread comes from Macrina which is a local bakery here in Seattle. They wrote a cookbook. It’s my go to one for bread. If you don’t own it, I seriously recommend it for you. It’s in paperback now so it’s cheap. This bread calls for fresh butternut squash (which I used,) but you can use canned pumpkin if you would prefer for time saving purposes. But as always, fresh is better. The original also uses ½ cup of walnuts and ½ cup of pecans. I’m out of pecans so I used a whole cup of walnuts.
I hope you all are getting the type of weather you are wanting…I know I am.

Squash Harvest Loaf
2 cups roasted butternut squash purée* (or canned pumpkin if you prefer)
1 cup walnut halves
1 cup pumpkin seeds
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups light brown sugar
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
½ tsp nutmeg
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
1 ½ tsp salt
1 cup canola oil
¾ cup buttermilk
*Use about 1 lb 1/2 for 2 cups of roasted butternut squash, a medium-sized squash.
Roasting the butternut squash.
Wash and cut the squash in two halves, remove the seeds and place the halves in a rimmed baking sheet, face up, with 1 cup water in the pan. Cook in a preheated oven at 375 F for 1 hour minimum, until the flesh is fork tender.
Remove and let cool down before scooping the squash out.
Place in a food processor and mix smoothly.
Let cool down and use 2 cups for 2 loaves. Keep the rest in the fridge for 3 days max, or freeze it for future times.
Making the loaves
Place the nuts and seeds on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for 15 minutes (at 375F. If you roasted the squash your oven is already at this. If you used can pumpkin, you need to preheat to 375F). Remove from the oven and let cool down before grinding them, medium. Keep ¼ cup on the side, for the decoration.
Turn the oven temperature down to 325 F.
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a bowl.
Add the seeds, minus 1/4 cup. Mix with a wooden spoon.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the oil and two types of sugar and use the paddle attachment to mix on medium speed, for 4 minutes.
Add the roasted butternut squash and continue to mix for 2 minutes.
Then, add one egg at a time.
Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and add the flour and the buttermilk alternatively, until the liquid is absorb each time.
Transfer the preparation in 2 oiled loaf pans measuring 9 x 5 x 3″, 2/3 to the top.
Sprinkle with the reserved seeds.
Bake in the oven for 1 hour, or until a skewer comes out dry once inserted in the loaf. Remove and let cool for 20 minutes before unmolding on a cooling rack.
Source: Macrina Bakery and Cafe Cookbook by Leslie Mackie

So I am doing my birthday weird this year. See my birthday is in a month (and a day) but I already got my gift, but I don’t get to use it until August. This year it’s a food gift of sorts. See I’m going to the International Food Bloggers Conference. It’s in Seattle, so I don’t have that far to travel. You should come!
And though the conference offers a lot of great things, the one thing I must admit that tipped me over was the people who are going. One in particular in fact. That being Jen of Use Real Butter. I all but jumped from my computer chair when I saw her name on a list of attendees. There are just some bloggers that you have interacted with through the years that you have always wondered what they would be like in person. And considering the fact that every food blogger that I have meet in person has been double awesome than even what they are on their blog, I am sure that Jen (as she would say) is going to rock.
I’m a bit chocolated out right now. And so I went searching for something in the opposite direction. Which usually leads to either vanilla or citrus…today we are doing both. You can never go wrong with a yogurt cake. I have yet to make one that wasn’t nice and moist and this one as you can see is no different. You get a triple dose of vanilla in this cake with the use of the bean, the extract, and vanilla yogurt. You don’t have to use the vanilla bean, but with a cake this simple it really does help.
I added the clementine (orange) glaze in honour of the Flyers. They made it to the Stanley Cup playoffs, but sadly are already down 0-2. So I am trying to send them a little love and support. I would really like to see my favorite player hold the cup up!

Vanilla Bean Yogurt Cake with Clementine Fondant Glaze
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup almond flour
2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean, insides scraped, pod discarded
½ cup vanilla yogurt
3 large eggs
2 TBSP pure vanilla extract
½ cup vegetable oil
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.
Generously butter an 8 1/2-x-4 1/2-inch loaf pan, place the pan on a lined baking sheet and set aside. Whisk together the flours, baking powder and salt; set aside.
Whisk in the yogurt, eggs, vanilla beans, and vanilla. When the mixture is well blended, gently whisk in the dry ingredients. Switch to a spatula and fold in the oil. The batter will be thick and shiny. Scrape it into the pan and smooth the top.
Bake the cake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until it is golden and starts to come away from the sides of the pan; a knife inserted into the center of the cake will come out clean. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then run a knife between the cake and the sides of the pan. Unmold and cool to room temperature right-side up.
Adapted from Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Clementine Fondant Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
4 TBSP freshly squeezed clementine or orange juice
Combine the powdered sugar and the clementine juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over the tops of the cakes and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides.

To say that I am overwhelmed is an understatement. As is my mom. In true fashion of my mom though, it was not so much the monetary donations that moved her (though that is nice too), she was so moved by the comments that people left for her through the American Cancer Society.
“People left such wonderful comments to me…they don’t even know me”.
I kindly reminded her that the kind of do since I spill her secrets on here from time to time. Which I am sure she feels is all worth it now. So thank you, thank you, thank you for all of you who donated!!!! You amazing, amazing people have helped her raise $900!!! $900. In my wildest dreams I didn’t think we would raise so much.
As promised, here is this simple yet insanely good Chocolate Hazelnut Financier with Nutella Ganache. Though this looks simple, there are a couple of steps that make it a little time consuming, but they need to be done. Don’t let that stop you from making it, they aren’t hard, they just take a little time. And when you are done, you will have a cake that will help remind you that life truly is worth living!!!
There is still time to donate, so if you want to help you can go read about it HERE!

Chocolate Hazelnut Financier with Nutella Ganache
4 TBSP unsalted butter
10 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1 ¼ cups heavy cream
1/3 cup Nutella
1 ½ cups hazelnut meal
1 cup almond meal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup powdered sugar
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
7 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350F.
Place oven rack in center of oven. Spray a 10×2-inch round cake pan with pan spray, line with a piece of parchment paper, then coat paper lightly with pan spray.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until solids separate and brown to a dark golden color, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool at room temperature until it reaches 70 degrees F, about 30 minutes. Don’t chill; it needs to remain liquid. Set aside.
Place chopped chocolate and 1/3 cup Nutella in a medium bowl. Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Immediately pour hot cream over chocolate.
Using a spatula, slowly stir in a circular motion, starting from center of bowl and working out to sides. Stir until all chocolate is melted, about 2 minutes. Set aside at room temperature to cool to 70 degrees F.
Sift together almond flour, hazelnut flour, all-purpose flour, powdered sugar, baking powder and salt into bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or use a large bowl and hand mixer. Turn mixer on low speed and mix dry ingredients 30 seconds.
Add egg whites all at once and mix on medium speed 3 minutes.
Add chocolate mixture and vanilla and mix 30 seconds.
Add melted butter all at once. Be sure to scrape in all browned bits from bottom of pan. Mix 30 seconds on medium speed, then turn mixer to high speed and mix 3 minutes more, scraping down sides of bowl well.
Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake for 15 minutes. Rotate cake for even browning and bake 15 minutes more, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes, the invert it onto rack, remove cake pan and parchment and cool completely before decorating and serving.
Nutella Ganache
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup heavy whipping cream
½ cup Nutella
Place chocolate and Nutella in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Immediately pour boiling cream over chopped chocolate and Nutella. Tap bowl on counter to settle chocolate into cream, then let stand 1 minute. Using a rubber spatula, slowly stir in a circular motion, starting from center of bowl and working out to sides.
Stir until all chocolate is melted, about 2 minutes. It may look done after 1 minute of stirring, but keep going to make sure it’s emulsified.
Pour ganache on top of cake and spread to cover.
Recipe adapted from The Secrets of Baking by Sherry Yard