Thursday, April 24, 2014

Grilled Chicken Wings

Lots of onion
salt 
pepper
a lot of paprika
chicken wings

Marinate over night or just few hours. Then grill. Paprika gives it a smoky flavor, enjoy!

Thursday, April 17, 2014

GF Poppy Seed Cake Roll with Chocolate Ganache

Adapted from Natasha's Kitchen

Ingredients
For the Cake:
  • 4 eggs, room temp
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • ½ tsp vanilla
  • ⅔ cup all-purpose flour (I use Pamelas Artisan GF Blend)
  • ¼ tsp baking powder
  • 2 Tbsp poppy seeds
For the Syrup:
  • ½ cup hot water
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 ½ tsp rum extract
For the Frosting:
  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened at room temp
  • ¾ cups powdered sugar
  • ½ cup cold heavy whipping cream
For Ganache: 
  • 8 oz (1/2 lb or about 1⅓ cup of ) semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
You will need:
  • Parchment paper
  • Wire rack – recommended
  • 11×17 rimmed baking sheet
Instructions
How to Make the Cake Roll:
  1. Preheat Oven to 350˚F. Line the bottom of a large an 11×17 rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Beat 4 eggs with ½ cup white sugar on high speed for 5-7 minutes or until thick and tripled in volume. Fold in ½ tsp vanilla.
  3. Whisk together ⅔ cup flour with ¼ tsp baking powder and 2 Tbsp poppy seeds, then fold the flour mixture into the batter. Fold together with a spatula (not with the mixer) scraping from the bottom to make sure no flour pockets are left. Fold just until all of the flour is incorporated. Don’t over-work it since the volume of the eggs helps it rise.
  4. Spread batter evenly onto your prepared baking sheet. Bake at 350˚F for 13-15 min or until top is golden.
  5. Once the cake comes out of the oven, remove it from the baking pan, place a sheet of parchment or wax paper over it and roll the cake roll loosely (rolling it while it’s still warm helps prevent cracks). Let the rolled cake cool to room temp, then you can remove the backing and lay it flat again keeping the same side up as before so you are rolling in the same direction after it’s frosted.
How to Make the Glaze
  1. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine ½ cup hot water with 1 Tbsp sugar and stir to dissolve. Stir in 1 ½ tsp rum extract then set aside to cool to room temp while you work on the frosting.
How to Make the Cream Filling:
  1. Beat 8 oz softened cream cheese with ¾ cup powdered sugar until smooth (1 min).
  2. While the mixer is on, beat in ½ cup cold heavy whipping cream. Turn the mixer up to high speed and continue to beat 3 minutes or until cream is thick and spreadable. Refrigerate frosting until ready to spread.
How to Make Chocolate Ganache:
  1. Bring heavy cream to a simmer on the stove top, stirring occasionally. Just as soon as you see a simmer, remove from heat and poor over chocolate chips, swirling the bowl to make sure all chips are covered.
  2. Place lid on chocolate chips to trap the heat and let sit
  3. undisturbed (no mixing) for 5 minutes. Remove lid and swirl the chocolate chips with a whisk starting in the center and working outward until smooth. It will turn into velvety ganache right before your eyes and you’ll get excited.
  4. Once it’s velvety, let it sit uncovered at room temperature (70˚F) for about 15 minutes before pouring it over your cake. It was perfect for glazing the entire surface of a cake roll after 15 minutes (it should coat a spoon nicely when ready for cake coverage – set your timer!).
  5. Important Note: Keep in mind, the longer ganache sits, the thicker and more of a frosting it becomes
Assembly:
  1. Brush the top of your unrolled cake roll (the side that will be the inside once it’s rolled up) evenly with the syrup. Let it soak it up for 5 minutes.
  2. Spread your cream filling evenly over the top of the cake and start rolling your cake from the same side as before, keeping a tight(-ish) roll without squeezing out the frosting.
How to Glaze a Cake:
  1. Place cake on a wire rack over a rimmed platter or rimmed baking sheet. Pour your ganache evenly over the top of your cake until desired coverage is reached. You can lift up the wire rack and re-use the chocolate ganache that drips onto the platter.
  2. Refrigerate the finished roll until ganache is set (at least 1 hr is best).

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

GF Black Forest Cheesecake Cupcakes

Black Forest Cheesecake Cupcakes
Ingredients
    Crust
  • 12 Trader Joes GF "Joes" Oreos type cookies
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp salted butter, melted
  • Cheesecake
  • 4.5 oz (3/4 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 12 oz. cream cheese, softened well (1 1/2 8 oz. pkgs)- 8oz will do too
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • Topping
  • Store-bought (canned) or homemade cherry pie filling*
  • 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
  • 2 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • Finely chopped or shaved chocolate, for garnish (optional)

  • For the crust:
  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a mixing bowl, using a fork, blend together crushed Oreos and butter. Divide mixture evenly among 12 paper lined muffin cups, adding a heaping 1 Tbsp to each. Press crumbs into an even layer. Bake in preheated oven 5 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool while preparing filling.
  • For the cheesecake filling:
  • In a mixing bowl, whisk together 2/3 cup granulated sugar, cocoa and salt until no clumps of cocoa remain. Add cream cheese to a mixing bowl and pour sugar mixture over cream cheese, then using an electric hand mixer set on low speed, whip mixture just until smooth. Mix in eggs one at a time, blending just until combined after each addition and adding in vanilla with second egg. Pour in melted chocolate and mix just until combined, then add 1/4 cup heavy cream and sour cream and mix just until combined. Forcefully tap bowl against countertop, about 30 times, to release some of the air bubbles. Divide mixture among muffin cups (over crust layer), adding about a slightly heaping 1/4 cup to each. Bake in 325 degree oven 17 - 20 minutes until centers only jiggle slightly. Remove from oven and allow to cool at room temperature 1 hour, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours.
  • For the topping:
  • In a mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer, whip 1 1/4 cups heavy cream until soft peaks form then add 2 1/2 Tbsp sugar and whip until stiff peaks form. Pipe or spread the heavy cream into an even layer over cupcakes then pipe a rim around edge over that layer (or if spreading whipped topping, just create a small well into the center). Spoon a heaping tablespoon (about 2 tbsp) Cherry pie filling into the center of each. Store in refrigerator in an airtight container (I preferred to let them rest about 10 minutes at room temp before serving. Also, preferably add topping within 2 hours of serving.).
  • *I considered making it homemade but finding and pitting the right type of cherries didn't seem worth the hassle so I just used canned. I used about 3/4 of a 21 oz can.
  • Recipe Source: Cooking Classy