Cheddar Soda Bread

Last night D and I went to a friend's house for a traditional Irish dinner. We had corned beef and cabbage, potatoes, and carrots, it was delicious. We brought this cheddar soda bread to share. For dessert we had a green cake called "swimming pool cake" which is a pistachio flavored cake with a cool and creamy frosting, it was quite tasty.

Cheddar Soda Bread
2 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1/2 teaspoon Salt

4 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Cold and Sliced

8 ounces Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Grated

4 tablespoons Powdered Buttermilk

1 cup Water

1 Egg
Note: Liquid buttermilk can be used instead of powdered, just use in place of water. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside. Whisk together all of the dry ingredients except for the cheese. 

Cut the butter into the flour mixture.

Stir in the cheese. In a separate bowl mix together the egg and water, then add to the flour mixture and stir just to combine. 



Turn dough out onto prepared baking sheet and shape into a rounded loaf. Bake 35-40 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 20 minutes before cutting.


Makes One Loaf


Recipe from King Arthur

Whole Wheat "Goldfish" Crackers

My brother loves goldfish crackers. He asked me to create a recipe using them as the featured ingredient. He was thinking somewhere along the lines of goldfish suspended in blue jello, (and no he is not 5 years old, he is in his 30's). I didn't make this creation, I know I'm a bad sister. But I did the next best thing, I found this great recipe from Smitten Kitchen and made these instead. You may have noticed my crackers are not shaped like goldfish (strike two) but that is because I don't have a goldfish cookie cutter, I guess he will just have to settle for starfish instead. I hope my brother appreciates this, although if he wants to actually eat these crackers he is either going to have to come visit me in SLC or make them himself, strike three I'm out.

Whole Wheat "Goldfish" Crackers (or any shape you fancy)
6 ounces Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Coarsely Grated
4 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
1/8 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degree F and line baking sheet with parchment paper. Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the dough attachment. Turn food processor on and mix until dough forms a ball, about, 2 minutes. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a half an hour. On a floured surface roll dough out and cut into any shapes you like. Bake till golden, about 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Makes 30 Crackers

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Muffins

Over the past month or so I have acquired three packages of dried cranberries. This sort of thing happens to me when I buy items on a whim. That is why I rarely go to the store without a shopping list, because when I do I end up with multiple packages of dried cranberries and no toilet paper. I am the kind of person who has to write everything down, it gives me a sense of calm, when it's on paper I no longer have to store it in my head and I like that.

Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Muffins 
3 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 cups Granulated Sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
8 tablespoons Powdered Buttermilk
2 cups Water
8 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Melted and cooled
2 Eggs
6  ounces Dried Cranberries
6 ounces White Chocolate Chips
1 teaspoon Vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line standard 12 cup muffin tin with baking cups. Whisk together the eggs, water, butter, and vanilla. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and powdered buttermilk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir just until combined, then add the dried cranberries and white chocolate chips and stir just to incorporate, careful not to over mix. Fill muffin cups 2/3 the way full with batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until muffins are golden.

Makes 30 Muffins

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients

Mint Chocolate Layer Cake

Yesterday D and I had our first barbecue of the season. We invited our friends Jay and Stacey over for some drinks, barbecue, and cake. While it was still a bit cold in the evening, the day was perfect. The sun was out and the temperature was in the 60s. D and I spent some time in the yard enjoying the warm weather. By the time our friends arrived the temperature had dropped and so we had to eat inside, but still had a great time and great food.

Devil's Food Cake 
2 2/3 cups Granulated Sugar
1 1/2 cups Cocoa Powder
1 1/3 cups Bread Flour
1 1/3 cups Cake Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
8 tablespoons Powdered Buttermilk
6 Eggs
2 cups Water
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 1/2 cups Unsalted Butter, Melted

Makes 4, six inch layers
Note: For this cake we will only be using 3 of the layers. You could use the remaining batter to make a few cupcakes or a single layer cake.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 3 six inch cake pans with cooking spray. Whisk together all of the dry ingredients and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the eggs for one minute. Add the vanilla, sour cream and water, mix on low until combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix until smooth, then  mix in melted butter. Pour batter into the prepared pans and bake for 40- 45 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes then remove the cakes from the pans and place them directly on the wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled cakes can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for a few hours to make trimming the tops easier.

Adapted from The Professional Pastry Chef: Fundamentals of Baking and Pastry, 4th Edition

Peppermint Buttercream 
1 cup Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
3 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Peppermint Extract
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
4 drops Green Gel Food Coloring, if Desired
1-2 tablespoons Milk

In the bowl of an electric mixer beat butter till fluffy. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time and beat on low to incorporate. Add the vanilla, peppermint, milk, and food coloring (if using), increase the speed and beat for a few minutes until frosting is nice and fluffy.

Ganache 
3 ounces Heavy Cream
4 ounces Semi-Sweet Chocolate
1 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
1/4 teaspoon Vanilla

Heat the butter and cream over medium heat until cream is hot and butter is melted but mixture is not boiling. Pour butter and cream mixture over chocolate and allow to sit for 5 minutes then stir till smooth. Stir in the vanilla.

Assembly 
Using a serrated knife trim the tops of the cakes to form 3 even layers. Place the first layer on a cake board and frost the top of the cake with about 1/8 inch thick layer of frosting, leaving 1/4 inch around the edge unfrosted. Place the second layer on top of the first and frost as you did the first layer. Top with the final layer and frost the entire cake with a very thin layer of frosting. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Frost the cake with the rest of the frosting and refrigerate again for 30 minutes to allow frosting to set. While cake is in the refrigerator make the ganache. Once frosting has set pour the ganache over the top of the cake letting it drip down the sides and decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Put cake back in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes or until 30 minutes before the cake will be served.

Peanut Butter Chip Banana Bread

Peanut butter and banana are an interesting combination. They compliment one another nicely, yet I haven't seen too many recipes with these two ingredients as the main components. This got me thinking about what else I could make with peanut butter and banana.

A couple of ideas:

A smoothie made with frozen bananas, smooth peanut butter, milk, vanilla and maybe even some chocolate

Banana cupcakes with peanut butter frosting

Banana pancakes with peanut butter chips

Just a few thoughts, but for now I'll stick with the peanut butter chip banana bread.

Peanut Butter Chip Banana Bread
3/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
3 Large Bananas, Mashed (About 1 1/3 cups)
1/2 cup Sour Cream
3 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Melted
2 Eggs
1 cup Dark Brown Sugar
3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/3 cup Peanut Butter Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray bread pan with cooking spray. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat together the eggs and sugar. Stir in the sour cream, mashed bananas, butter, and vanilla, just till combined. In a medium sized bowl whisk together all of the dry ingredients, except for the peanut butter chips. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir to combine, then stir in the peanut butter chips, and stir again, just until mixed. Pour batter into prepared bread pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Bread can be covered and stored at room temperature for a few days.

Recipe adapted from Joy The Baker where it was adapted from Cooking Light