My Inqiring Mind

So, I've had a question rolling around in my mind for a while now and am wondering if my wonderful friends/readers might have an answer.

"Coconut Milk vs. Coconut milk powder reconstituted...is there really a difference?  If there is, what is it?  I know I've tried one of my favorite recipes 2x now using coconut Milk Powder and it fails miserably...the reconstituted milk powder doesn't cut the heat of the Thai Curry Paste...but maybe it's just me."

TWD::Chewy, Chunky Blondies

 

This week our Tuesdays With Dorie recipe was chosen by Nicole of Cookies on Friday.  Nicole, I have to say, BRAVO!  This was a HIT all around!  It was so good I was afraid to leave the whole batch at home for my me my husband and two small children to eat all alone so took all the leftovers to work.  Now I work in an office full of men who didn't shy away from gobbling up every last crumb, either.  I swear you could hear their "mmmmm" motors running with each bite.  These Blondies are THAT good!

I did make a few changes. I added the 1 c. of semisweet chocolate chips, but instead of 1c. of butterscotch chips, I changed it to 3/4 c. and 1/4 c. bittersweet chocolate chips.  I always find the butterscotch chips WAY too sweet for my liking.  I also swapped out the walnuts for toasted almonds.  YUM!  I've said it before and I'll say it again.  Toasted Almonds are the BEST!!!!  I also had to cook mine for about 20 min longer than the 40 minutes that Dorie suggests.  My oven is new and perfectly calibrated, but this just didn't bake up in the first 40.  So mine looks a little extra golden and crispy.  Delicious just the same!!!

To see how other TWD bakers fared with their recipes this week, check out the TWD blogroll.

{Chewy, Chunky Blondies Recipe}

TWD::Lots-of-Ways Banana Cake

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe comes from Kimberly of Only Creative Opportunities. Kimberly, THANK YOU for choosing this yummy recipe. My whole family has enjoyed it!!

I have three favorite smells in the kitchen. 1. Baking homemade bread 2. almond extract 3. freshly grated nutmeg. This recipe comes in with two of the three favorites! Okay, technically just one, but since it's a banana cake, it smelled just like banana bread. NUTMEG! I {HEART} it when I freshly grate it and I {HEART} the flavor in foods I'm eating.

The other component I'm a huge fan of that is in this recipe is coconut milk. That milk is AMAZING! Such small amounts lend such amazing flavors! I really think this banana cake would've turned out better if I had made it in a loaf pan like a bread and still frosted it. It was super crumbly, but VERY delicious!

Where are my pictures, you ask? Nada. My kids felt they needed to be taste-testers this time and couldn't wait to dive right in...hands and all! Yeah...and forgot to laugh and take pictures of the whole ordeal, too. So sorry. You'll just have to drool all over pictures from the other TWD Bakers this week. OR you could go to the link below to Kimberly's blog and see her amazing pictures while you get the recipe to make it yourself!

{Lots-of-Ways Banana Cake Recipe}

TWD::Chockablock Cookies

This week, our Tuesdays with Dorie recipe for Chockablock Cookies was chosen by Mary at Popsicles and Sandy Feet.

The description "everything but the kitchen sink"-would be quite appropriate for this one. Dorie's recipe calls for a variety of dried fruits, chocolate, coconut, nuts, raisins, molasses, oatmeal, etc. I've never really liked Molasses but was pleasantly surprised at how subtle the flavor was and in no way overpowering.

I'm not a big fan of dried fruit, especially in my cookies, but I decided to take Dorie on with these cookies. I used raisins. Probably not the best choice. I should have left them out. I'm sure I would have enjoyed these cookies so much more without the raisins or any dried fruit for that matter.

Oh, lets not forget the bittersweet chocolate chips. I know! I've made friends with the bittersweet chocolate, I think. Or maybe I'm just really getting old and my taste buds just aren't what they used to be...or maybe they're much more refined now. Yes. That's what we'll go with. Refined. In any case. These cookies are good...not great, just good. Their flavor is best when first out of the oven and all the flavors are so ooey gooey together. After they cool completely, the raisins are more pronounced, so not quite as good leftover.

My kids LOVED these cookies. I added a small scoop of ground flax to the mix, hoping to get them to "pass" as a healthy treat. Hm, there I go rationalizing again!

If you'd like to snag this recipe for yourself, grab yourself a copy of Dorie's book, "Baking: From My Home to Yours" or you can head on over to Mary's blog, too. To see how other TWD bloggers fared this week, check out the TWD Blogroll.

TWD::Coconut Lemon Tea Cake

This weeks' Tuesdays with Dorie recipe selection comes from Carmen from Carmen Cooks. She chose the Coconut Tea Cake. I know my title doesn't quite match the original title, mainly because I chose to change things up a bit.

First, I used my powdered coconut milk and just reconstituted it with water. I've never done that before and was seriously impressed with how well it tasted. A lot cheaper and just as YUMMY as the canned version, plus, I could make up just as much as I needed and not have extra! Then I added lemon. Mmmmm...citrus. De-lish! Not only did I add the lemon peel to the sugar, and the juice to the liquids but I used MORE lemon juice and whipped up the lemon glaze for the top. THEN I also added a splash of almond extract. It's really my FAVORITE!

This cake was super yummy. I think because of the lemon glaze, it tasted much more lemony than coconuty, but I'm okay with that. I couldn't taste the almond extract as much as I had hoped, but next time I can tweak it to my liking. The cake alone was AMAZING! A hint of coconut and a hint of lemon and all around moist and delicious! It really doesn't need a glaze at all, but I just couldn't help myself. Doesn't it look like a giant old fashioned donut!? Haa!

See how other TWD bakers fared this week by going to the Tuesdays with Dorie Blogroll!

TWD::Coconut-Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe comes from Kait from Kait's Plate and can I just say, YUM! Thanks Kait for picking such a delicious recipe!

I have an incredible family oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe, so I opted to play with this recipe a bit and added coconut, toasted chopped almonds in place of the pecans and milk chocolate chips instead of the bittersweet chips. It was DIVINE!! If I had used the bittersweet chips like Dorie put in her recipe (I can't believe I'm about to admit this) it would have been even better! I know!

There was just the right amount of sweet, and with the texture from the coconut, the crunch from the almonds and the melted goodness from the chocolate chips, it was not only eye-appealing, but mouth watering. I also prefer my cookies chewy so that when I bite into one, it just melts in my mouth while I gobble up each and every last bite!

I'm so glad I only baked up half of the batch because there would have been some serious weight gain from them. What did I do with the rest, you ask? I scooped them out with my handy dandy scooper and placed them on wax paper then rolled 'em up, put the rolled up sets of 12 in a ziploc baggie and froze them. Yup. I plan on having them on hand for any unnecessary/necessary occassion!

Go on over to Kait's blog to snag a copy of the recipe for yourself. You can also go to the TWD Blogroll to see what other TWD bakers did with their cookies.

TWD::German Chocolate Bundt Cake

This week for Tuesdays with Dorie, our host Kristin from I'm Right About Everything, chose Milk Chocolate Mini Bundt Cakes from my new favorite book, "Baking From My Home to Yours" by Dorie Greenspan.  I cannot express to you how much I {HEART} this book!  I digress, sorry.  This cake was definitely good and not super super chocolatey which I prefer, too.

Instead of sticking with the written recipe I decided to play with it a bit and make it into a German Chocolate Bundt Cake.  I doubled the batter to fit my bundt pan, and filled the pan with half of the batter.  Then layered caramel (I used the apple dipping caramel since that's what I had lying around), a lot of roughly chopped pecans and coconut (which ended up not being quite enough of).  Then poured the remaining batter over the top and baked for 1 hour.  Once it had cooled, I topped it with a chocolate ganache and more of the caramel, pecans and coconut. 

It was a big BIG hit!  The cake was just a bit chocolatey, but once you bite into the center "treasures" oh!  The yummy gooey caramel coconut pecan taste comes out beautifully.  I definitely recommend trying this twist on Dorie's delicious recipe!

You can get a copy of this recipe by buying Dorie's book, Baking from My Home to Yours or by going to Kristin's blog HERE.  Since I didn't stick with the written recipe, you may want to check out what other TWD bakers whipped up by peeking at the TWD Blogroll.

TWD::Chocolate Oatmeal Almost-Candy Bars

Well, for this week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe I think it's the first one I actually made twice before posting!  It is so incredibly good but that's not the reason why.  I've lost my camera.  My new camera. I'm completely devistated.  Granted, it's not a super-dee-duper fancy camera, but we had figured each other out enough so that I could manipulate the settings enough to hopefully make it look like it was.  I've been in mourning for my camera.  Especially since I finally found my charger for my old piece-of-junk camera and just can't get the old one to do what I need it to.  I sincerely apologize for not posting anything sooner, but I hope you understand. 

So, my missing camera is the reason I made this recipe twice in two weeks.  The first time, I was so excited to be prepared and creating a recipe for TWD so early, and that's when I discovered my camera was missing.  And since I couldn't find it or the old camera's charger in time, we ate every last bite. 

It was Uh-MAz-ing!!  I didn't add raisins to either batch, gross!  The first batch was exactly as the recipe called for but without raisins.  The second time, and what these photos are reflecting, I added coconut.  COCONUT!  Only one of the YUMMIEST flavors out there!  I added 1/2 c. to the chocolate gooey goodness, then another 1/2 c. to the top crumbles.  The top pieces were incredible since it ended up toasting a lot of the coconut and what's better than plain coconut!?  TOASTED coconut!  Ah yes! 

I also started a biggest loser contest with a big group of friends and so I only kept about 5 squares for my family and me and the rest I took to work and to another co-BL participant...teeeheee.  It pains me to do that sometimes, like with this recipe.  BUT it is so much more rewarding hearing the praises and compliments and overall joy seen on the faces of those enjoying my concoctions.  THAT is what makes baking so rewarding for me.

If you'd like to make this delicious treat too, head on over to Lillian's blog Confectiona's Realm for a copy of the recipe.  You can also check out what other Tuesdays with Dorie Bloggers baked up by going to the TWD Blogroll.

TWD::Cran-Apple Crisp

First of all, thank you everyone for all your well-wishes. I'm not 100% yet, but my tastebuds almost are. I've been sick for the past month and just went back to the Dr. today because I'm STILL not feeling in tip top shape. Verdict: Persistent Bronchitis. Well, Duh! I could've told him that! At least he did give me two medications that should hopefully knock this gunk out of my system for good this time...crossing my fingers. I just hope that I've done my time with illnesses this winter and can be healthy for the rest of it. Well, I can be a little bit hopefuly, right!?

So, now that I'm somewhat on the mend, I decided to bake my family a treat. They've been dying for some baked yummy goodness to come from our kitchen again and I thought the best way to start that out would be with this Cran-Apple Crisp.

This crisp is seriously so delicious! I used five small apples instead of four. Three of which were granny smiths. Did I remember that cranberries have a tendency towards tartness also while whipping this together...NO! So, we had a few bites here and there that were doubbly tart. I probably should have added a bit more sugar to counteract that. Oh well. We loved it, regardless! The coconut in the topping was a pleasant surprise, too. It added somewhat of a tropical feel while the apples and cranberries brought it down to home and balanced everything beautifully. One perfect bite of tartness and sweetness in perfect harmony! Well done, Dorie!

The best part...It's incredibly easy, too! My 5 year-old daughter wanted in on the baking action, so I let her play along with me. Being that there were only a handful of ingredients, made our "play time" much less stressful for me, too. Whew! I needed that!

I just couldn't help posting a photo of my two cuties since they were both LOVING this crisp. Though, it definitely makes it taste better when you're five and get to help in the kitchen!

If you'd like to make this crisp too, head on over to Em's blog (our host for this recipe) at The Repressed Pastry Chef . Or better yet, buy the book; Baking: from my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan! You'll love it as much as I do!

You can also see what other TWDers thought by going to the TWD Blogroll HERE.

Caramel-Topped Coconut Flan

I had envisioned something miraculous with this one. I'm a sucker for a good flan. Then again, what DON'T I like to eat, hm, I've recently converted to the dark-side of Oreo loving (Yes, I really did HATE them my first 30 years of life) AND even will eat asparagus now if it's marinated and grilled. Whew! I bet you didn't realize this would be confession time, did ya!?

This was the first time I've ever made a flan. I know! I could hardly believe it either since I really LOVE eating them so much, too. Flan making is surprisingly EASY, well easier than I thought it would be I guess. Did mine turn out perfectly this first time...NO! Sheesh! I can't believe I BURNED the caramel and didn't realize it until we were eating it and ALL of us were scraping the caramel topping off to just enjoy the beauty of the custard alone. Yes it was an ooey-gooey caramel-topped coconut flan. Seriously good coconut-flavored custard, not so good caramel topping. OOps!

I'm definitely going to make this one again because, I really can't let it beat me! I'm going to get that darn caramel part right if it kills me or my waistline!

On a side note: I have to tell you that the recipes I've made from this same book are so elegant, decadent and so easy anyone can do them! My copy is from our local library, but it's killing me that I can't make my typical notes in the margins like I do with all of my cookbooks. Seriously, if you were to look thru my massive collectionk, you'd be hard pressed to find a single book without my notes somewhere in it. This book is definitely one to add to YOUR collection too!


Caramel-Topped Coconut Flan
by Dorie Greenspan in Baking: From My Home to Yours

For the Caramel:
1/3 c. sugar
3 Tbsp. Water
squirt of fresh lemon juice

For the Flan:
1-15 oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
1 c. whole milk
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Getting Ready: Center a rack in teh oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a roasting pan or a 9x13 in baking pan with a double thickness of paper towels. Fill a teakettle with water and put it to boil; when the water boils, turn off the heat.

Put a metal 8x2 in round cake pan - NOT a nonstick one - in the oven to heat while you prepare the caramel.

To make the Caramel: Stir the suar, water and lemon juice together in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan. Put the pan over medium-high heat and cook until the sugar becomes an amber-colored caramel, about 5 minutes - remove the pan from the heat at the first whiff of smoke.

Remove the cake pan from teh oven and, working with oven mitts, pour the caramel into the pan and immediately tilt the pan to spread the caramel evenly over the bottom; set the pan aside.

To make the flan: Bring the coconut milk and whole milk just to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a 2-quart glass measuring cup or ina bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks and sugar. Wisk vigorously for a minute or two, and then stir in the vanilla. Still wisking, drizzle in about one quarter of the hot liquid - this will temper, or warm the eggs so they won't curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour the remainder of the hot coconut milk and whole milk. Using a large spoon, skim off the bubbles and foam that you worked up.

Put the caramel-lined cake pan in the roasting pan. Pour the custard into the cake pan and slide the setup into the oven. Very carefully, pour enough hot water from the kettle into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the cake pan. (Don't worry if this sets the cake pan afloat.) Bake the flan for about 35 minutes, or until the top puffs a bit and is golden here and there. A knife inserted into the center of the flan should come out clean.

Remove the roasting pan from the oven, transfer the cake pan to a cooling rack an drun a knife between the flan and the sides of the pan to loosen it. Let the flan cool to room temperature on the rack, then loosely cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

When ready to serve, once more, run a knife between the flan and the sides of the pan. Choose a rimmed serving platter, place the platter over the cake pan, quickly flip the platter and pan over and remove the cake pan - the flan will shimmy out and the caramel sauce will coat the custard.

Gooey Coconut Dream Bars

I saw these forever ago on a friend's blog and bookmarked them to make. I don't know about you, but I have a ga-zillion recipes bookmarked, or did until my computer crashed on me! Sigh. The awesome computer guys did get us a working computer and transferred all my information over to our "new but used" computer so really, I have everything saved. I just need to have that magical freeze frame of time where I can get all caught up!

To quote what Holly said on her post since she words it so perfectly and caputred the true essence of this delicious dessert, "I have to tell you, these are ridiculously easy to make, and you only have to have a few easy ingredients on hand. If you are looking for something easy and fun to make with your kids, this recipe is the one."

I didn't have enough sweetened condensed milk on-hand, but was okay with that. I really really wanted to have a reason to try a food storage recipe for homemade sweetened condensed milk. I think it actually worked. I am going to keep working with it to perfect it, but overall, it tasted the same only a bit grainy from the sugar granules not dissolved yet and slightly runnier. Once I get that all figured out, I'll definitely post my findings for you!

And I have to say, my family LOVED these! I left these cut and ready out on my counter and whenever I would walk away from the kitchen for a fraction of a second, my 2 year-old would climb up and dig in. That stinker!


Gooey Coconut Dream Bars
Source: Amy Scherber, of Manhattan bakery Amy's Bread, from The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread
Makes 20 bars
FOR THE CRUST

3 cups graham cracker crumbs (from about 20 crackers)
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

FOR THE TOPPING
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used minis)
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the center of oven. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper; set aside.

To make the crust: In a medium bowl, mix together graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and salt. Pour mixture into prepared pan and press into bottom of pan using your fingertips.

To make the topping: In another medium bowl, mix together chocolate chips and coconut; sprinkle evenly over crust.Pour condensed milk evenly over coconut and chips, covering the entire surface. Transfer to oven and bake, rotating pan halfway through baking, making sure the milk does not get too brown or bubble over in the pan, 26 to 32 minutes.Transfer baking pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into 20 squares. Serve immediately, or wrap each bar tightly with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Pina Colada Cake

Sweetened Condensed Milk....MMmmmmmmmm....... one of my favorites!
Coconut...MMmmmmm......
Pineapple...MMMm..........

Yes, This recipe has all of the YUMMIEST ingredients in it, even Mayonaise! Yes, I know it sounds weird. BUT give me a minute to explain. I was in a pinch with time Sunday to make a cake to take to dinner with family. I rummaged thru my cupboards and discovered, VOILA! I have the ingredients that would make a delicious summery cake! I didn't have much time to slave over this one, so I opted for a yellow cake mix. I can hear you now, "Tsk Tsk Tsk, Lisa."

Hey! Wait! I didn't follow the box directions EXACTLY. I learned a few years ago a pretty schnazy trick to "umph" cake mixes to make them super duper moist and you'd never guess this ingredient is in it...yup, MAYONAISE! I substitute the oil for exact measurement of Mayo (NOT miracle whip and MUST be REAL Mayo. Sorry if you're on a diet, but really, what cake can taste this decadent AND be diet-worthy.)

Okay, okay. Eat only the pineapple on top. That's legal, right!? Wait! You'd be missing the BEST part doing that! Once you've baked this cake, you poke holes all over it and drench, and I really mean drench/soak it in sweetened condensed milk. Ahhhhh....I {HEART} Sweetened Condensed Milk! (Enter dream-like trance...)

This cake ends up being oh so oooey, gooey that it just melts in your mouth. The touch of pineapple baked into the cake and then layered on the top with coconut and coolwhip give it that tropical dreamy goodness that will send you to a dreamy tropical paradise! You just HAVE to try this if you dare to make something so EASY and DELICIOUS!!


Pina Colada Cake
from: 101 Things To Do With A Cake Mix by Stephanie Ashcraft

1 yellow cake mix
1 LARGE can crushed pineapple, drained
2-14 oz. cans sweetened condensed milk
8 oz. Whipped Topping
2/3 c. coconut

Prepare cake mix as directed on the back of package remembering to substitute mayo for the oil if desired.

Mix 1/2 can of pineapple into batter. Bake according to package directions.

With a fork, poke holes in warm cake at 1-inch intervals. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over cake. Allow cake to cool.

Spread whipped topping over the cake. Sprinkle with remaining pineapple and coconut.