easy desserts & recipes: no frills seriously delicious carrot cake & passion cake recipe

Whoever thought of adding a vegetable to dessert to somehow ease the guilty pleasure is a genius! After all, a cake is only a cake, but the addition of carrots provides that distinct flavor that gives the otherwise ordinary cake a delicious twist. Carrot cake is also known as “Passion cake” and using carrots is an age old secret to create sweet cakes since the medieval period. Sweeteners were as valuable as gold and usually very expensive but carrots, with their natural sweetness, were a lot cheaper. The origins of carrot cake can be traced back to Norway, and during WWII it became a rationing staple in Britain when a businessman named George C. Page asked bakers to make use of an overabundance of canned carrots. The idea of a carrot cake worked wonders for creating a demand for the excess canned carrots! The Americans caught the carrot cake bug... Read the Rest →

 

easy desserts & recipes: the ombré layered fluffy white cake recipe graduated in pink pastels & rose cake

Layered cakes will make any celebration twice the fun. An ombre cake will do just the trick in adding that special festive mood in every delicious bite. Ombré means shaded in French. There is no clear history of the origins of ombre cake but its popularity is unmistakable. The distinct ombre style is a graduation of colors that are usually layered from dark to light. This unique and gorgeous cake is the perfect way to let out your inner artistic talent by an explosion of colors! There is a rainbow of colors to choose from to create such an effect. But to achieve it, layering is always a necessity. Depending on your mood, let’s say you’re feeling blue or you’re up for something spectacular like orange, the gradients of colors will always make your cake worth ogling or better yet… eating! Here is a collection of tips when making ombre... Read the Rest →

 

easy desserts & recipes: crunchy cookie topped cream puffs & profiterole’s & choux cream puffs

Cream puffs, profiterole, or as it is known in Japan, “choux cream puffs”, are a gift from the gods! There are so many types of pastries but no other can be as delectable as choux cream puffs. We oftentimes fail to think about just how such a delicious creation has come to pass because we are always enthralled with the burst of scrumptiousness whenever we bite into any pastry, most especially a choux puff. Pastries have been made to intoxicate the senses and it especially affects one’s senses of smell, sight, and taste. The choux cream is no exception. Its origin and the name “profiterole” is ambiguous, but many sources have traced it to North Eastern Italy, and this term has graced man’s lips in English and was borrowed from the French as early as the 16th century. At the time, it was a kind of roll that was baked... Read the Rest →

 

easy desserts & recipes: tiramisu entremet

Entremets is an Old French word that means “between servings”. In modern French cuisine, entremet is a dish served in between courses to cleanse the palate for the next dish or it can simply be a dessert. This was common among the nobility and upper middle class in Western Europe, in the later part of the Middle Ages and the early modern period. An entremets’ main function was to herald the end of a course, be a conversational piece (hence, its elaborateness) and to prepare the diner for the next dish. Nowadays, entremet’s are usually chilled desserts that are made with layers of mousse and cake. It can even include pastry creams that help it set better. One of my favorite entremet’s is the Matcha Entremet (green tea). Matcha is increasingly becoming popular, not just because of its health benefits and effectiveness to help you detoxify after a rich food... Read the Rest →

 

home remedies & recipes: coconut lemon macaroon & how to clean your wooden cutting board

Home remedies are sometimes the most efficient and the cheaper. We all know the amazing powers of the lemon. Try using a little lemon juice to combat bacteria hiding in your wood cutting board. Simply rub the lemon juice into the board, let it sit overnight or for 8 hours and then rinse. The acidic lemon juice will kill off unwanted bacteria. News We were nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award. Thank you for nominating us Kitchen Memories! Lemon Coconut Macaroons Adapted from Paula Deen on the Food Network Ingredients 1 large egg white 1/8 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk 1 tablespoon lemon zest 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 (14-ounce) bag shredded sweetened coconut, finely chopped Note: (we added an egg yolk and 1/4th cup of Almond Flour) Directions Preheat the oven to 300 degree F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In... Read the Rest →

 

home remedies & recipes: the beauty in a strawberry & strawberry custard tartlettes

The beauty industry makes millions of dollars on our obsession for youthful skin. Before the beauty industry women turned to mother nature for their “lotions”. Do you want the curative powers of alpha-hydroxy? Strawberries have the alpha-hydroxy that we desire. Cut a strawberry in half and rub on your skin. It may feel a little sticky, but when you rinse the strawberry juice off your skin will feel wonderful. Make this a habit and watch your skin take on its youthful natural glow once again. Pastry Cream Recipe by CHRISTINIBEANIE at all recipes.com Ingredients 2 cups milk 1/4 cup white sugar 2 egg yolks 1 egg 1/4 cup cornstarch 1/3 cup white sugar 2 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Directions In a heavy saucepan, stir together the milk and 1/4 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks... Read the Rest →

 

easy desserts & recipes: chocolate chocolate ice cream recipe by alton brown & bon appetite

Once in a while we just get in the mood for chocolate. As we’ve gotten older our tastes have changed. When we were younger we loved anything chocolatey, all the time. Now, we enjoy desserts with flavors that we would have spurned in our youth. But, there are those times when you crave a chocolate dessert. Over the past two days it has become hot…sauna hot. We went from sleeping with our windows open to buttoning up the hatches and cranking the air. When craving chocolate in this weather there is nothing left to do but make chocolate ice cream. Creamy, smooth, simply delicious chocolate ice cream will be the only thing to hit the spot. We find ourselves, again, using an Alton Brown ice cream recipe for a good basic chocolate ice cream. But, if you want to get sexy and take it to orgasmic levels then try the... Read the Rest →

 

easy desserts & recipes: lemon sorbet & italian lemon ice

I grew up in New Jersery, a mere 8 miles from my Nonna (grandmother), but as anyone from the metropolitan area understands, 8 miles is a world away. And, a summer evening spent at Nonna’s was indeed a different world. I lived in the suburbs. Nonna lived in a city, in a neighborhood that was primarily populated by Italian immigrants and their families. I loved the brownstone homes, some of them attached, some divided ever so slightly by a narrow alley, but all with their windows open, hoping the evening breeze would blow through the lace curtains. In the summer most of the Italian families in the neighborhood transformed their small postage stamp backyards into vegetable garden jungles. Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplants, basil, parsley were planted and tended to with care. I can still recall the scent of the garden on a hot, humid evening, crickets chirping, lightening bugs glowing.... Read the Rest →

 

a place setting in time: caramel corn & cracker jack recipe

We aren’t baseball aficionados, but you don’t have to be to appreciate the subject of our Place in Time Post: “The Sultan of Swat”, otherwise known as “The Bambino” or “The Babe”, played his last game of baseball on May 30, 1935 and officially retired on June 2, 1935 after an amazing 22 season career. He played in 10 World Series and hit 714 home runs; a record that remained unbroken until 1974 when “Hammerin’ Hank” Aaron hit his 715th home run on April 8th. The Babe hit 60 home runs in one season (1927) of 154 games. It wasn’t until 1961 that Roger Maris broke that record. (This record has always been controversial with fans as Maris played 162 games to The Babe’s 154.)The Sultan of Swat’s career batting percentage of .690 is still the highest in the history of the Major Leagues. In 1936, the Baseball Hall of... Read the Rest →

 

easy desserts & recipes: cream filled chocolate & orange shortbread cookies

It was 1977 and I was 9 years old when my sister took me to the theater and I saw the most amazing special effects movie of my life. I never cared for sci-fi movies as a child because, oddly enough, I found them unrealistic. (Funny, though, I did like the Jetsons, the cartoon about a futuristic family.) I grew up watching the classics from the 1940’s and 1950’s. And, after seeing every action/sci-fi movie ever made (you do that when you have two boys) I still prefer the classics. But, I will always have a fondness for Star Wars. George Lucas’ science fiction extravaganza opened up my eyes to a level of imagination I never considered and the story seemed completely plausible to my 9 year old logic. A whole generation of Star Wars fans was born on May 25, 1977 when the blockbuster movie opened for the first... Read the Rest →

 

easy desserts & recipes: serious vanilla ice cream recipe by alton brown

We’ve all heard it. As kids we say it and as adults we think it. “I scream. You scream. We all scream for ice cream.” We are sure that there are some folks out there who don’t care for ice cream. However, ice cream is by far one of our favorite desserts. So, as the weather continues to warm we would like to devote a post or two or three to our all time favorite summer treat: ice cream. Let us take this opportunity to define ice cream and a few other frozen treats. 1. Ice Cream: a frozen food containing cream or milk and butterfat, sugar, flavoring, and sometimes eggs. 2. Gelato: a rich ice cream, made with eggs and usually containing a relatively low percentage of butterfat. 3. Sorbet: a frozen food made from fruit puree that is whipped. 4. Sherbet: a frozen food made from fruit, milk... Read the Rest →

 

easy desserts & recipes: serious vanilla ice cream recipe by alton brown

We’ve all heard it. As kids we say it and as adults we think it. “I scream. You scream. We all scream for ice cream.” We are sure that there are some folks out there who don’t care for ice cream. However, ice cream is by far one of our favorite desserts. So, as the weather continues to warm we would like to devote a post or two or three to our all time favorite summer treat: ice cream. Let us take this opportunity to define ice cream and a few other frozen treats. 1. Ice Cream: a frozen food containing cream or milk and butterfat, sugar, flavoring, and sometimes eggs. 2. Gelato: a rich ice cream, made with eggs and usually containing a relatively low percentage of butterfat. 3. Sorbet: a frozen food made from fruit puree that is whipped. 4. Sherbet: a frozen food made from fruit, milk... Read the Rest →

 

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