MS Coconut Cupcakes

This was the January Martha Stewart Cupcake Club recipe. These are very yummy coconut cupcakes with super cute frosting. They were fun to make and although everyone at work was enthusiastic about them, I'm not sure they're going to appreciate me bringing them to work all the time. :)

DBC: Homemade Grahams & Nanaimo Bars

The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.

For Gluten-Free Graham Wafers
Ingredients
1 cup (138 g) (4.9 ounces) Sweet rice flour (also known as glutinous rice flour)
3/4 cup (100 g) (3.5 ounces) Tapioca Starch/Flour
1/2 cup (65 g) (2.3 ounces) Sorghum Flour
1 cup (200 g) (7.1 ounces) Dark Brown Sugar, Lightly packed
1 teaspoon (5 mL) Baking soda
3/4 teaspoon (4 mL ) Kosher Salt
7 tablespoons (100 g) (3 ½ ounces) Unsalted Butter (Cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen)
1/3 cup (80 mL) Honey, Mild-flavoured such as clover.
5 tablespoons (75 mL) Whole Milk
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions:
1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal. If making by hand, combine aforementioned dry ingredients with a whisk, then cut in butter until you have a coarse meal. No chunks of butter should be visible.
2. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.
3. Turn the dough onto a surface well-floured with sweet rice flour and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours, or overnight.
4. Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of sweet rice flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be quite sticky, so flour as necessary. Cut into 4 by 4 inch squares. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place wafers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.
5. Adjust the rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
6. Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more sweet rice flour and roll out the dough to get a couple more wafers.
7. Prick the wafers with toothpick or fork, not all the way through, in two or more rows.
8. Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Might take less, and the starting location of each sheet may determine its required time. The ones that started on the bottom browned faster.
9. When cooled completely, place enough wafers in food processor to make 1 ¼ cups (300 mL) of crumbs. Another way to do this is to place in a large ziplock bag, force all air out and smash with a rolling pin until wafers are crumbs.

Nanaimo Bars — Bottom Layer
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup (50 g) (1.8 ounces) Granulated Sugar
5 tablespoons (75 mL) Unsweetened Cocoa
1 Large Egg, Beaten
1 1/4 cups (300 mL) (160 g) (5.6 ounces) Gluten Free Graham Wafer Crumbs (See previous recipe)
1/2 cup (55 g) (1.9 ounces) Almonds (Any type, Finely chopped)
1 cup (130 g) (4.5 ounces) Coconut (Shredded, sweetened or unsweetened)

Nanaimo Bars — Middle Layer
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons (40 mL) Heavy Cream
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Vanilla Custard Powder (Such as Bird’s. Vanilla pudding mix may be substituted.)
2 cups (254 g) (8.9 ounces) Icing Sugar

Nanaimo Bars — Top Layer
4 ounces (115 g) Semi-sweet chocolate
2 tablespoons (28 g) (1 ounce) Unsalted Butter

Directions:
1. For bottom Layer: Melt unsalted butter, sugar and cocoa in top of a double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, nuts and coconut. Press firmly into an ungreased 8 by 8 inch pan.
2. For Middle Layer: Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light in colour. Spread over bottom layer.
3. For Top Layer: Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, pour over middle layer and chill.

Banana Coconut Loaf

I made this loaf to take to the Fire Station. J says the guys devoured it before dinner and it's one his new favorites. On another note, I made a double batch of these as muffins to take to a morning class. My classmates liked them but I don't think it made my top 10 muffins.

I do have to admit that frame by frame baking has become a go-to book for delicious baking. I have loved everything that I've made from there with the exception of this recipe, it's not a love but an I like a lot. What's not to like about coconut?

Banana Coconut Loaf Cake
adapted from frame by frame baking
1/3 c. canola oil
1 3/4 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. white sugar
2/3 c. shredded coconut
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 c. plain yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
shredded, toasted coconut to garnish

1. Preheat your oven to 350 and grease a loaf pan. Run a little flour around it also just to make sure the loaf comes out with no problems.
2. Sift flour and baking powder in a large bowl.
3. Add the sugar and coconut.
4. Beat the eggs, oil, bananas, yogurt and vanilla in a separate bowl.
5. Stir into the dry ingredients until well combined. (I think this could be reversed if you did step 4 in your mixer bowl.)
6. Pour into the pan and level, bake for 1 hour.
Cool on a rack, decorate with the toasted coconut.

Italian Rum Butter Wreaths

I found these at Adventures in food of a stay-at-home mom and they turned out great! I took them to the Christmas family dinner at the fire station reluctantly because they turned out like meltaways with this delicious light glaze, almost Krispy Kreme meets a cookie. I hear they were even better the next morning. Of course, I wouldn't know, I left them for the guys!!

Check out the recipe on Shannon's blog.
















How can you resist these? They are far better than they look...

Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Well, I decided to continue the chocolate cookbook escapades and made the chocolate shortbread cookies which were not very tasty! If you like shortbread cookies, I imagine these would be fabulous. That being said, I gave them away!! Happy baking.

Chocolate Shortbread Hearts (err... Men)
adapted from The Great Book of Chocolate

1 1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 sticks room temp butter
1 1/4 c. powdered sugar

1. Sift the flour, cocoa and salt together.
2. Cream the butter and sugar
3. Add the flour to the sweetened butter.
4. Cover that delicious looking dough and chill for an hour.
5. Heat the oven to 325 degrees, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut with whatever cookie cutter you like. Be careful flouring the dough and the counter, it makes the cookies come out with browned flour stuck to them! I like to use two sheets of waxed paper and sandwich the dough, flip it over and rotate it until it's the proper thickness then cut and bake! You're supposed to use parchment for these... I must admit, I didn't.
6. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes, cool and eat.