White Chocolate Raspberry cheesecakes

Filling

2- 8oz packages of cream cheese (room temp.)

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup raspberry curd plus 3 tbsp, separated

2 whole eggs, plus 2 eggs yolks

 

Crust

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

pinch of salt

1/2 of unsalted butter, room temp

3/4 cup of packed light brown sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

1/2 cup of freeze dried raspberries

3/4 cup of white chocolate morsels

 

Ganache

1/2 cup of pure white chocolate, not morsels

2 tbsp of heavy cream

 

This makes an 8 inch diameter cheescake or 4 mini heart cheesecakes.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a medium bowl, mix together flour and salt. In a separate medium sized bowl, cream butter and light brown sugar. Once butter and sugar are creamed together and have doubled in size, add egg into mixture. Fold raspberries and white chocolate morsels until combined. Set aside

In another medium sized bowl, using either a hand or stand mixer, cream together cream cheese and sugar until velvety smooth. This should take approximately 5 minutes. Once smooth, add eggs and yolks one at a time until complete combined. Add 1/4 cup of raspberry curd. Mix until fully combined.

Prepare springform pan by lining with parchment paper and wrapping with heavy duty foil on the sides.

Place cookie dough and spread 1/4 inch thick layer into bottom of pan. Press out on bottom and sides of pan until even.

Pour cream cheese filling over cookie crust. Place 3 tbsp. of raspberry curd in microwave for approximately 45 seconds until slightly melted. Drizzle curd over cheesecake filling. Use knife to swirl curd into cheesecake filling. Place springform pan into water bath. Bake cheesecake for approximately for 45 minutes to one hour (depending on the size of cheesecake you’re making). (Cheesecake is done when cheesecake is dull on surface and stiff when shaken.)

While cheesecake is baking. Place white chocolate in a small bowl. Place over double boiler. Add cream. Melt on low-medium heat, continuing to stir until completely smooth. Remove from heat.

Once cheesecake has completely cooled remove from springform pan. Refrigerate for at least one hour. Once ready to serve, pour white chocolate over cheesecake.

Devour and Enjoy!!

Cinnamon Brown Sugar Pastries

When I was younger I loved Poptarts!! They were so convenient for breakfast or anytime. Instant sugar and energy, ignoring the crash 30 minutes later. LOL. My favorite flavor was always the frosted Cinnamon-Brown sugar. A pack of these and some Combos was my ultimate high school lunch. (Terribly unhealthy I know) Probably why I was seriously overweight as an adolescent. Anyways, now that I am older and more wiser, I know the importance of watching what I eat. I do sometimes get the craving for that old nostalgic taste of the instant pastry. I decided to take a crack at making my own version. I got a little festive with some of pastries as well.  Tis the season and all. This recipe is also great to incorporate kids into cooking!!  Recipe below

 

Crust

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tbsp granulated sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup (4 tbsp) of organic vegetable shortening

1 large egg yolk

3 tbsp ice water

 

Filling

1/4 cup (2oz. ) organic coconut oil, melted and cool to room temp

2 cups light brown sugar, tightly packed

2 tbsp of agave nectar

1/2 tbsp of cinnamon

1 egg white, room temp

1 egg white, for brushing onto pastry (optional)

 

Glaze

1 cup of confectioners sugar

1 tbsp of milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp of salt

 

Directions

 

Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor to combine. Add butter and vegetable shortening.  Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. With machine running, add yolk and ice water, and process until dough just comes together. (It should not take longer than 30 seconds.)

Shape into a disk, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes. (You may refrigerate overnight)

While dough is chilling, make your filling. Combine all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Stir mixture until everything is combined and it resembles wet sand.

Preheat oven to 350. Take dough out of refrigerator. On a flour surface roll dough into a rectangle. The dough should be 1/8 to 1/4 inches thick. Cut symmetrical rectangles into your dough (you can also use cookie or biscuit cutters). Place bottom side of pastry onto cookie sheet. Place small spoonful of filling in the center of pastry dough. Pat filling down. Make sure to leave approximately a 1/2 inch border around the dough.  Place top side of pastry on filling. Press top and bottom of pastry together. Use a fork to crease the seams together. Repeat process until all your dough is filled. Brush egg white on top of pastry. Use fork and poke holes on top of pastry for steam.  Bake for 20-22 or until golden brown. Allow to cool completely

In a small bowl Whisk together confectioners sugar, milk, cinnamon and salt. Mix until frosting is smooth. Using a knife of off-set spatula, glaze completely cooled pastries. Allow glaze to harden

 

Devour and enjoy!!

Super Rich and Ridiculous Persimmon Bread

I LOVE giving homemade gifts for Christmas. Nothing shows more that you care for someone than taking the time to bake or make something special for that person. Usually I give out cookies or breads for the holidays. This year I wanted to include a different recipe to add a little excitement to my packages. I remember eating persimmon bread as a child during this time of year. I decided to make my own version. My recipe turned out pretty good, so I decided to share. If you’re into giving baked goods for Christmas or just because, give this one a try.

 

 

Makes 2 loaves

 

Ingredients

2 cups of all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp of salt

1 tsp fresh ground nutmeg

1 tsp of cinnamon

4 oz of organic coconut oil, melted and cooled to room temp.

4 oz (1/2 cup) of butter, melted and cooled to room temp

2 cups of granulated sugar

4 large eggs, room temp

2 cups of persimmon puree (approx. 4 ripe persimmons)

2 tsp of vanilla extract

2 cups of dried cranberries

2/3 cup of bourbon

1 1/2 cups of pistachio nuts, shelled and unsalted

 

1/2 cup of white chocolate morsels

 

Directions

Using a blender or an immersion hand blender puree persimmons, including skin. Set aside

In a small bowl, macerate cranberries in bourbon. Soak for a minimum of 2 hours, preferably overnight

Preheat oven to 350. Butter an flour 2 loaf pans

In a medium sized bowl, sift or whisk together flours, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Set aside

In another large bowl, using a hand or stand mixer, cream together coconut oil, butter and sugar until mixture is light and fluffy. Mixture should be double its original size. Add eggs to mixture, one at a time. Add persimmons and vanilla, mix until well blended. Add flour mixture, one half at a time. Once completely mixed add cranberries, liquor and pistachios. Stir until completely blended, be careful not to over mix. Place batter into loaf pans and bake for approximately one hour or until tester comes out clean.

While bread is baking, using a double broiler, melt white chocolate.

Once bread is at room temperate, drizzle white chocolate on top of bread. Allow white chocolate to set on top of bread.

Devour and enjoy!!

* You can also make mini bundt cakes (pictured) using the same recipe

Ginger Pear Cupcakes with Biscoff Buttercream

Cupcakes

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger plus 1/8 teaspoon of ground ginger, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup of buttermilk

2 tbsp of pear liqueur (optional)
3 cups finely diced pears (from 2 large ripe pears)

Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup Biscoff spread
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons of heavy cream
2 teaspoon vanilla

 

Take your pears, quarter them and remove the stem and seeds. Dice the pears into  small pieces. Place pears into a medium size saucepan add 1/8 teaspoon of ginger. Cook pears on low heat until fork tender. Remove from heat and add liqueur. Set aside

Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  Set aside. In a medium sized bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and ginger. In another bowl cream together the butter and sugar until airy and almost doubled in size. Add eggs one at a time to creamed mixture. Add vanilla extract. Add your flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Gently fold in your pears to the batter.

Divide the batter between the prepared paper liners, filling each about 2/3 of the way full.  Bake for 18- 20 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

To prepare your frosting,  In a large bowl whisk together butter and Biscoff spread using stand or hand mixer. Slowly add powder sugar until frosting is completely combined. Add heavy cream and vanilla extract until frosting is smooth.

Pipe frosting onto completely cooled cupcakes.

Devour and Enjoy!!

Caramel Apple Butter Bread

I was cleaning out my fridge when I fell upon a jar of my mommy’s delicious apple butter from last Fall. She has a huge apple tree in her garden and made tons of apple butter to purge her tree. I decided that there was no way I was going to be able to use all this apple butter on toast, since I’m not a big bread person unless its really AMAZING bread. I instead used the apple butter to fuel a new recipe that would be perfect for the upcoming season.

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Apple Butter Bread (makes 2 loaves)
1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar

1 cup of buttermilk

1/2 cup of apple juice

2 cups of homemade or store bought apple apple butter. (Recipe my mom used here)

4 large eggs, room temperature.

4 cups of AP flour

2 tsp of baking powder

2 tsp of baking soda

1 1/2 tsp of cinnamon

1 tsp of salt

 

 Caramel Apple Topping

See Recipe for Sweet Serendipity Bakery’s Famous Caramel Sauce

1/4 cup of water

2 medium sized Granny Smith Apples

2 tsp of fresh lemon juice

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour two loaf pans. Using a large bowl, sift or whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. Using a stand or hand mixer, mix together sugar, buttermilk, apple juice and apple butter in another large well. Mix until well combined. Add eggs one at a time to apple mixture. Continue to mix until eggs are combined to mixture. Fold in one half of flour mixture to apple mixture. Fold in the remainder of the flour mixture. Be careful to not over mix the batter. Divide batter evenly into both loaf pans. Bake   for approximately one hour until tester comes out clean. 

 

While bread is baking prepare caramel apple sauce. Follow directions for SSB’s Famous Caramel Apple Sauce. Once caramel is done, set aside. Peel and dice apples into small bite sized pieces. (make sure core is removed).  Add apples to medium sized sauce pan. Cook on low-medium heat. Add lemon juice and water to apples. Once apples begin to soften add about half of your prepared caramel. Allow to cook until sauce thickens slightly and apples are soft to touch. Allow to cool.

While bread is war, poke small holes in bread loaves with skewer or toothpick. Pour caramel apple sauce over warm apple butter loaves. Allow sauce to melt into loaves for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.  

Remove from loaf pans. Slice. Devour and Enjoy!!

*This recipe will provide you with extra caramel sauce to use as a topping for ice cream, yogurt, waffles, cereal, etc. Everything is better with caramel!!

 

 

OOTD: From Day to Night, Black and White

As we come to a close of graduation season, another season approaches us: Job/ interview season. People are out there looking for work or finding work after acquiring those shiny new diplomas. After that long day at your new job, sometimes you just want to hit up happy hour or hang with your girls. I came up with the perfect outfit that allows you to go from business to the bistro in a few simple changes. Take a look

 

 

Outfit Details

Day

1. Black/ White Leather Lapel trim tuxedo jacket: Modcloth (purchase here) 

2. Black/ White Peplum top: Catherine Catherine Malandrino “Ava” White & Black (purchase here)

3. Black/ White Midi pencil skirt: Asos (purchase similar here) 

4. Black patent platform Mary Janes: Vince Camuto ‘Jasper” Mary Janes

5. Red leather tote: Furla, vintage. Purchased at thrift store

6. zebra bracelets: Bangles; Kenneth Jay Lane. Purchased on Rue La La

 

Night

1. Black envelope clutch, vintage. Purchased at thrift store

2. Green statement necklace: Charming Charlie

 

 

Protein Packed, Gluten free Cinnamon Almond Waffles with Fresh Peach Preserves

After my workouts sometimes I have a hankering for a something sweet. Not only do I want something sweet but I need something that will restore and refuel my muscles. I came up with this healthy waffle recipe. The recipe makes plenty, so you can freeze and have them ready super fast. Believe me once you tried these waffles, you’ll definitely not want to “leggo this eggo”

 

 

Protein Packed Cinnamon Almond Waffles with fresh Peach preserves
Waffles (makes 4 waffles)
¾ cup organic brown rice flour
¾ cup organic soy flour
¼ cup of almond meal
½ serving of vanilla protein powder
1 ½ tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 cup of fat free buttermilk
½ cup of soy milk (plain or vanilla, I used plain)
2 eggs
3 tbsp of plain yogurt (not greek)
1 tsp of vanilla extract
Peach Preserves
2 large ripe peaches
2 tbsp of honey
½ tsp of vanilla extract
pinch of salt
Directions
Start with the preserves since they take longer to prepare than the waffles. Remove pit from peaches then dice into small pieces. (you do not have to remove the skins). Place peaches into small saucepan on low-medium heat. Add honey, vanilla and salt to peaches. Cover with lid. Allow peaches to simmer for approximately 10 minutes until peaches are soft. Remove lid and reduce heat to low. Allow to cook additional 5 minutes then remove from heat. Allow to cool. Place in blender and blend to your consistency preference. 
While peaches are cooling, in a large mixing bowl, combine flours, protein powder, almond meal, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. In a medium bowl whisk together buttermilk, soy milk, eggs, yogurt and vanilla. Fold liquid mixture into flour mixture bowl.   (Be careful not to over mix). Allow mixture to rest for approximately 5 minutes. 
Heat waffle iron. Place batter into hot waffle iron. Cook waffle based on waffle iron settings. Top with peach preserves.
Devour and Enjoy!!! 

Healthy Gluten-free Stone Fruit Tart

Summer is the time for fresh fruits and vegetables. The more the merrier. I try and get as many as I can. Well on this occasion, I bought a little more than I could chew literally. My produce drawer was overflowing with extra ripe fruit, so I decided to do something with it. I took on the challenge of making a healthy Summer dessert that tasted just as good, if not better than a higher calorie version. Here is what I came up with:

 

 

Ingredients

Crust

1 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup oat flour

2 tbsp of flaxseed flour

2 tbsp of honey

2 tbsp of vegetable oil

1 egg white

 

Filling

8 whole medium sized stone fruits (I chose peaches and plums)

1 tbsp of corn starch

1/2 serving of vanilla protein powder

1/2 tsp of cinnamon

2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice

 

2 tbsp of apricot preserves or pure maple syrup (optional)

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Using a hand or stand mixer, blend flours together. Once combined, add in honey, oil and egg white. Mix until combined and consistency of crust is that of wet sand.

Using a 10 inch tart pan, press crust into pan evenly. ( Use back of flat measuring cup to help evenly spread and press crust into pan).  Blind bake crust for 12-15 minutes, until crust is light golden brown.

While crust is baking, cut fruit in half, remove seeds, then quarter each half. Once all fruit is cut up, add corn starch, protein powder, cinnamon and lemon juice. Use spatula to lightly mix all ingredients. Place fruit onto slightly cooled crust. Bake tart for 25-30 minutes on 425 degrees. Five minutes before end of cooking process, glaze fruit with preserves or syrup.

Remove tart from oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Eat alone or with frozen vanilla yogurt.

 

Devour and enjoy!!