Simple "Cheater" Churros

Ian came home a few weeks ago with a small post-it note that said "churros" on it. He stuck out his hand and gave it to me and promptly asked if I had heard of churros before.  I told him I had heard of them but never tried one.  He described in great detail about one of the little girls in his class who had brought them and how delicious they were.  Then he asked me so sweetly if I could make them for him.  Well, how is a Mom supposed to resist that.  So, I was on a mission to find I recipe that I wanted to try. 

Traditionally churros are made from a sweet dough and fried, then coated with cinnamon sugar.  Many versions also pipe the dough through a pastry bag, so the final outcome looks like a cigar shape.  Well I wanted to find a baked version.  I looked and looked and finally I found one I thought would be good, but I was not looking forward to pulling out the pastry bag. 

But then, Sue from Munchkin Munchies posted a recipe for cheater churros.  I decided this would be the way to go.

Oh, and it sure was the way to go.  Not only was Ian delighted and excited but the rest of the fam as well.  But then, who doesn't love puff pastry coated with butter and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar??  Plus this recipe was so, so easy!  The hardest part...remembering to take the dough out of the freezer to thaw in your fridge the night before.

Oven Baked Churros

1 sheet of puff pastry thawed ( I used pepperidge farm)

1/8 cup of sugar

1/2 tsp.cinnamon

2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Unfold the puff pastry and cut it half half length-wise. Cut each half into 1-inch strips.  I placed my strips on a stoneware pan.  If you don't have one, lightly grease a sheet pan and line with parchment paper.  Bake for 10 minutes or more until lightly golden brown.

While the churros are baking mix together the cinnamon and sugar.  Remove the churros from the oven and using a pastry brush coat them with butter on one side then immediately sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  Let them sit and cool for about 5 minutes.  Serve warm.

Enjoy!

xoxo

Rach

This recipe shared with The Country Cook, A Peek Into My Paradise

Tiramisu Cake

We had an Italian theme for book club.  Here's what the menu looked like:

Assorted meats,cheeses,olives,mushrooms, and artichoke hearts.

Spaghetti and meatballs

Garlic Bread

Wine

This meal was spectacular!  I was in charge of dessert, so I decided on a Tiramisu Cake.  
I knew which cake recipe I wanted to use as the base and thought I would use an coffee/liquor mixture to soak the cake.  I thought I was going to use a custard from Marcella Hazan as the filling and then frost with sweetened whip cream and chopped chocolate.  Well, I decided to go a different route, and this is what I ended up with.  I was pretty pleased with the results, and the girls really enjoyed it.  If you enjoy tiramisu, you will love this cake.
P.S.
We did read a book... Water For Elephants.

Tiramisu Cake

Cake:

1-½ cups flour

3 tbls corn starch

½ tsp kosher salt

1 tsp baking soda

8 tbls unsalted butter, softened

1-½ cups sugar

3 whole large eggs

½ cup sour cream,room temp

2 tsp vanilla

For the coffee extract:

2 tbls instant coffee powder
2 tbls boiling water

For the coffee syrup:

1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon Kahlua


For the filling and frosting:

1 8-ounce container mascarpone
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbls Kahlua
1 cup cold heavy cream
3.5 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped chocolate-covered espresso beans, for decoration (optional)

For the cake:

Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and corn starch.

Cream 8 tablespoons butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until combined. Add sifted dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just barely combined.

Pour into greased and floured 9-inch cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the cake from the pan when you pull it out of the oven, and place on a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely.

To make the extract:

Mix together the boiling water and coffee powder in a small bowl until blended. Set aside.

To make the syrup:

Stir the water and sugar together in a small saucepan and bring just to a boil. Take off the heat and stir in 1 tbls of the coffee extract and the Kahlua; set aside.

To make the filling and frosting:

Put the mascarpone in a mixer bowl and whisk for a couple of minutes, add the sugar, vanilla, and liquor and whisk just until blended and smooth.

Whip the heavy cream until it holds firm peaks. Using a rubber spatula stir about one quarter of the whipped cream into the mascarpone. Fold in the rest of the whipped cream with a light touch.

To assemble the cake:

With a serrated knife cut the cake in half. 

Place half cut side up on a platter. Using a small spoon drizzle about 1/3 of the espresso syrup onto half of the cake.  Spread some of the mascarpone filling onto that layer (about 1 1/2 cups).  Sprinkle about half of the chopped chocolate over the filling and press it into the mixture.  Now take the other layer, and on the cut side drizzle about half of the remaining syrup or more depending on how soaked you want the cake to be.  Then turn it over and position it over the filling.

Frost the cake:

Add about 1 to 1/2 tbs.(depending on how much coffee flavor you like) of the espresso extract to the remaining filling mixture and whisk so that it is completely incorporated.

Take the frosting and put it to the top of the cake, spread it out to the edges and onto the sides.  Refrigerate for at least three hours.  Decorate with remaining chopped chocolate and chocolate espresso beans.

Enjoy!

Source: Barefoot Contessa,Smitten Kitchen
This recipe shared with Back for Seconds,Gooseberry Patch

Have a great week!

xoxo

Rachel

Beauty

Healthy hair

Pretty Skin

Gorgeous smile

xoxo

Rachel

Chocolate, Caramel Pretzel Sundaes

Sorry that the blogging has been somewhat sparse these past few weeks.  Spring is a very busy time for me at work.  The kids are both in track/running club so that has also taken up some of our time.  Our load will lighten up in the next few weeks.

How do you like to "follow" blogs?  My favorite way is to be a "follower".  But, I know that isn't for everyone, so we have a subscribe link now.  Just type your e-mail in and you will receive the latest posts via e-mail.  Otherwise Young Adventures has a facebook page.  We would love it if you liked us!

Now for the good stuff.  My Mister loves pretzels covered with chocolate and caramel.  I had some leftover salted caramel from the salted caramel brownies that I made last week, and I wanted to use it up.  I also had chocolate ice cream and pretzels.  So I came up with this sundae.  Brian is quite particular about his desserts, but when I heard unusual sounds coming from his direction, I knew he liked it.  If you are the type of person that likes sweet/salty combinations then this is right up your alley.  These were so easy to make, and will be the perfect summer treat!

Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Sundaes

I'm giving you general guidelines here and not exact measurements.  Feel free to experiment.

Your favorite chocolate ice cream

Caramel sauce

Crushed pretzels ( I used the short small rods)

In a sundae glass place a scoop of ice cream.  Drizzle on some caramel sauce and sprinkle with crushed pretzels.  Continue these layers until your glass is full.  Serve immediately.  Enjoy!

Weekend Plans:

 We are going to "fondue" with the kids and watch Nanny McPhee 2.

Dinner at Bar La Grassa.  This is our second time there.  Recently the chef received the James Beard award for Best Chef in our region.

Katie Missions trip training.

A somewhat quite weekend.

How about all of you?  What are you up to this weekend?  

Have a great one!

xoxo

Rachel

Mother's Day recap

The children and Brian planned a nice day for me on Sunday.

~ Church

~ A trip to Target to pick up our new camera

~ A wonderful indoor picnic lunch

~ Quiet time (so Mom could "play" with the new camera)

~ We watched Tangled (so cute)

~ Angel food cake, strawberries, and whip cream

Sure, the children were a little crabby in the morning.  Church went a little bit long which meant lunch was a little late.  That's o.k. though.

Thank you to my sweet children and darling husband for a wonderful Mother's day!  I know that we won't always get to spend Mother's day together, but I will always treasure these special memories that you helped create.

I love you three!

Love~

me

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's day friends!  Have a great week.

Happy Mother's Day ! {2011}

God took the fragrance of a flower...
The majesty of a tree...
The gentleness of morning dew...
The calm of a quiet sea...
The beauty of the twilight hour...
The soul of a starry night...
The laughter of a rippling brook...
The grace of a bird in flight...
Then God fashioned from these things
A creation like no other,
And when his masterpiece was through
He called it simply – Mother.

~ Hebert Farnham

Happy Mother's Day!

xoxo

Rachel

It's been a long week...

Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes~2010

It' has been a very long and busy week.  May is a killer month at the office, but it will be over soon.

I'm really hoping that the weather warms up and stays warm here.  We're just waiting "patiently" to put the garden in.

Weekend to do:

*Dinner with friends

*Visit with family

*Mother's Day

What are you up to this weekend my friends?

Have a lovely weekend!

xoxo

Rachel