Month: May 2014

German Chocolate Cake

by bepaulin, posted in Baking with Brittany, Uncategorized

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I have been a cake making machine lately! Several years I took a cake decorating class as a birthday gift (everyone got cakes that year). I kind of fell out of it a little. The restaurant I work at sort-of-kind-of got me back into it icing carrot cakes and piping carrots on top, with the occasional special request for different pipe work (our true specialty is pies though, which I don’t think I’ve ever posted a pie on here- whoops I’ll have to get on that). A month ago I found myself with a request to make a 6 layer rainbow gluten-free cake with piped ballet slippers. Then a request for red velvet. Then I stumbled upon a tomato soup cake, perfect to try my mustache cake. Then a bacon rose cupcake bouquet. Then cakes and cake pops for the twins birthday party. And I’ve volunteered to make a Ninja Turtle cake for my nephew Trenton’s birthday next week. I think you get the hint that I have gradually been getting back into cake decorating.

Summers are such a social time, at least with my family and friends, it is. We have a huge family. That correlates to lots of birthdays. Lots of graduations. Lots of things to celebrate in general. Recently my cousin Jacki and her man Chris got engaged. Since she’s home this week from California we threw her an engagement party for us to all celebrate together. My contribution was of course a cake. I rarely do chocolate cakes (I was actually thinking of doing some kind of fruit filled cake), but my sister-the creative party planner- said we needed something chocolatey. Boom, I knew right away I wanted to make a German chocolate cake! My grandpa loved the German Chocolate Cookies my cousin Melinda made at Christmas, so I figured a cake would be a hit. And it was! They said it didn’t even taste gluten-free, which I think is always a compliment because I’ve had people tell me, “I’m glad I don’t have to eat gluten-free (like it tastes bad).”  I liked that the frosting on a German chocolate is easy to work with. With regular icing I will dick with a cake forever to try and get it as smooth as possible. Continue reading “German Chocolate Cake” →

Chocolate Chip Cookie Sticks

by bepaulin, posted in Baking with Brittany

015I haven’t done cookies in a while, so here is a fun little way to do the chocolate chip cookie. Just bake into a rectangle, chop into sticks and kids will think you’ve gotten creative. Plus they’re a great little bite size or it fools those who nibble on bites because they don’t want a whole cookie. Feel free to make any cookie, I almost made a cinnamon coconut cookie. Skies the limit. Explore.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Sticks

  • 1 1/4 cup almond flour
  • 1/4 cup local honey (mine is fresh honey from my lovely cousin Beth)
  • 1/8 cup melted coconut ghee
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/3 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips

Let’s Make it Happen: Stir the dry ingredients (almond flour, sea salt, and baking soda). In a separate bowl combine coconut ghee, honey, and vanilla. Mix the two bowls together. Fold in chocolate chips. Use your hands to smash onto a greased cookie sheet in the shape of a rectangle. Bake @ 350 for 10 minutes or so until golden. Let cool for a few minutes. Cut into sticks. Place on a wire rack if you can hold off and then eat!

 

Almond Joy Muffins

by bepaulin, posted in Baking with Brittany, Breakfast Bliss

014This past week I’ve made muffins for a co-worker and muffins for a friend. Today I decided to make some muffins to share on this blog. What kind though? I’ve posted so many fruit ones. I thought maybe I’d do some muffins similar to Almond Joys. Here is the result. I baked them in pop-able mini muffin tins too. My four-year-old nephew Trenton designated himself taste-tester on this one. His voted that they were indeed good!

Almond Joy Muffins

  • 1 cup almond meal
  • 1 egg
  • 1 white
  • 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/8 cup local honey
  • 1 tbsp melted coconut oil
  • 1/3 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
  • 1/4 cup desiccated coconut
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda

Continue reading “Almond Joy Muffins” →

Mocha Tomato Soup Mustache Cake

by bepaulin, posted in Baking with Brittany, Uncategorized

074I have been wanting to make a mustache cake for some time. I’ve had it pinned on my secret food inspiration board for some time now. I’ve also had it planned on my list of possible flogs (food blogs). Well after talking to my friend Shadow, who’s gotten into cake decorating, who has made one, I’ve finally broken down and made one. Now I should note here that I used to love to make cakes. I took a cake decorating class and spent one Christmas staying up all night to make everyone cakes. I have strayed though, until the last month. It started when a friend hired me to make a 6 tiered rainbow cake with a ballet slipper piped on top. Then I made a red velvet cake from scratch (not Paleo : ( ). Continuing on I make cakes at work. This last week I baked off carrot cakes. Ooh I should make a carrot cake. But as I sat at a cool coffee shop discussing it with my mom, a friend comes up and says: have you ever made a tomato soup cake? It’s like a spice cake.

Boom, shut up, I am going to make that happen. Naturally I also decided to make my own tomato soup. And I was inspired by another recipe to make a Mocha frosting, a perfect combo and color for the mustache. This is really the fun kind of thing I like to do in the kitchen with my baking experimentations. Here is what I came up with. If you’re looking for a spiced cake, or to make something new try it out!

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Mocha Tomato Soup Mustache Cake Continue reading “Mocha Tomato Soup Mustache Cake” →

Cupcake Bacon Rose Bouquet

by bepaulin, posted in Baking with Brittany, Uncategorized

I’m a little late, but this right here is my rad mom Susan. If you can’t tell we are a little bit alike. We are kids at heart, who love to have a good time and laugh. Oh yes we love to joke around and be carefree (if you don’t believe me you should see us at the sledding hill in the winter, we’ve been known to pair the boys up so we can have our own sled to take off on, hitting the ramps, and occasionally taking a kid or two). When I was thinking of something to go along with her mother’s day present I was stuck. Then when I was working on my summer market planning, I came across a cupcake bouquet. My mom is my biggest cheerleader and official taste tester (I pay her in food). Ooh I will make a cupcake bouquet for my sweet mother. It was so easy to do, plus it looks impressive and she was excited to discover. Not to mention the bacon roses that I scattered in with the bouquet. What can I say I’m a pretty awesome daughter.

401 Cupcake Bouquet with Bacon Roses

Cupcakes:

  • 1 cup melted coconut oil
  • 1 cup raw honey (support your local community by finding a honey harvester near you)
  • 1 tbsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp sea salt (I use Hawaiian)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 10 eggs (preferably pasture raised for the most nutrition)
  • 3/4 cup coconut flour

Continue reading “Cupcake Bacon Rose Bouquet” →

Market Menu

by bepaulin, posted in Uncategorized

market menu

I’ve got MARKET, MARKET, MARKET on the brain. This past winter I’ve been selling my baked goods at our local Terre Haute Downtown Farmer’s Market. This summer I will get to experience my first outdoor season. Needless to say, I am pumped! The summer means I get to be at the market EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND. Joy, I am filled with joy. Bliss to be on this journey. Step-by-step I get closer to my dreams. My dreams of a VW food bus, cruising around in my two-tone (lavender and mint) pre-1970’s bus, serving up Paleo pizzas and whatever goodness I want. Closer to a little farm. A little cabin cafe. A little kitchen to teach cooking classes. The chance to teach sustainability. Closer to my grass-fed animals and organic fields. Close to a little cabin in the woods. Close to the simple life and creative freedom. I feel so blessed with this opportunity. As the Hicks’ say, “Focus on what you want, focus on what you want, focus on what you want.”

Strawberry French Toast Bake

by bepaulin, posted in Baking with Brittany, Uncategorized

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Ever since March’s market, I have wanted to do a french toast bake. Well after this past weekend’s market, I dove in and made it! Isn’t it beautiful? Plus if you have the bread already made (like I did) it was easy to assemble. Initially I envisioned a blueberry bake, but there have been so many beautiful strawberries lately, I had to switch it up. Here is the bread that I used, although you are welcome to use any recipe you like. Feel free to play around with the filling. You could mix berries and do a trio of blueberries, blackberries and strawberries. You could try like an apple pie filling with maybe a caramel drizzle. Looking at this picture just now, I thought that I could have drizzled a little Enjoy Life over the top. In the fall, a pumpkin french toast option with toasted pecans would be yummy. On the original blueberry that I had planned, I was going to toss in a little unsweetened shredded coconut. Skies the limit, get creative.

Strawberry French Toast

Bread
• 7 pasture-raised eggs
• 1/3 cup melted coconut ghee Continue reading “Strawberry French Toast Bake” →

Mashed Parsnip

by bepaulin, posted in Slammin' Sides

006Wednesday I discussed my humble beginnings with parsnip, with a simple mash. Well today I will end parsnip week, with that mash. Mashes are one of the easiest things to make. So often we make cooking into a challenging task, when there are many things we can stick to, which are simple to make and any beginner can do. I enjoy a mash when I want a meat and potato kind of dinner. Or when I want liver. I’ve read about the benefits of eating liver so often, that I have striven in recent years to incorporate it more into my eating routine. With all the recipes I’ve tried, I go back to liver in a bone broth served over mashed cauliflower. Today I tried it with the mashed parsnip. Just as good. What a great layering of flavors!

Mashed Parsnip

  • 4 parsnips
  • 3 tbsp ghee
  • sea salt
  • pepper
  • 1/3 cup coconut milk
  • chopped chives

Continue reading “Mashed Parsnip” →