Chocolate Coconut 'Brownies'

So, the blog Coconut and Lime is having a 5th anniversary blog event. I decided to make chocolate coconut brownies. I picked this particular recipe because it was already vegan, however this did not turn out to be a brownie, but was a high raised cake. With a little icing and a new name, this could be a great cake. It did take about 20 minutes longer to bake than stated.
Anyways, the timeline for this blog event is the 15th of June - so def go check out her website and create something! She's giving away fab prizes as well (vita mix anyone?)

Black Bean Dip

This black bean dip was created for yet another blog event. It's called BSI: Blogger Secret Ingredient and this week the ingredient was bell pepper. The link? why of course - here it is.

Black Bean Dip for One:

1 cup black beans

2 t lime juice

1 T water

1/8 t paprika

1 t lemon zest

1 t chopped lemon basil

1/2 t hot sauce

Mash beans. Add remaining ingredients. I had it in a bell pepper shell with warmed pita bread (cut into wedges and thrown in the oven for a few minutes).

Notes: It was yummy, but still needs work - acutally it needs a SECRET INGREDIENT - as any good recipie does. Any ideas?

Oh and the hot sauce? They were handing out free samples downtown a few days ago in cute little bottles! Condom for reference.

Wedding Prep: Testing homemade paper liners

My kid sister is getting married in August and I am making the desserts for her wedding! whoot! whoot! It's a fairly small gathering - last count I heard was 50ish people. So, I am making cupcakes (and possibly some other stuff but shhh!). I found this link over at One Ordinary Day explaining how to make homemade cupcake liners. I cut 4" diameter circles and squares out of parchment paper, as directed. I did not have a square 1/4 cup measuring cup and/or a glass that would fit inside so I had to improvise. I pushed the parchment paper into the cupcake tin, used a circle of cardboard to make sure there was a tight crease at the bottom sides and folded the creases where they wanted to be. The farthest left picture is the circles and the right is the squares. I am partial to the squares myself - I think they look more elegant or something - plus I think they'll look really cute with swirled icing (that is in the planning stages) on top. And the husband's opinion 'They look overly homemade' and after I gave him a look 'but ignore me!'
I wonder which the bride will prefer?

Lemon Curd Cupcakes

I made these ridiculously yummy cupcakes for a blog event over at Sweet and Simple Bakes. I'm really enjoying participating in blog events - it helps me be creative but also focuses my creativity. As a vegetarian/vegan I had to alter the recipes so I used the basic vanilla batter from Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World. Making the lemon curd was very nostalgic for me as my father would sometimes make the boxed lemon pie filling and we would eat it warm. Yummy! This was the first time I've ever made lemon curd from scratch, and it is SO much better than the boxed version. It was really tart and yummy. Plus, now I have a bunch of lemon zest in the freezer! I had some left over lemons so I candied them but I have to get a better recipe for that cuz they didn't turn out that great. Anyways, here's the curd recipe!

Lemon Curd:
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup sugar
2 T fresh lemon zest
2 T milk
3T cornstarch
2 T soy margarine

Boil the lemon juice, sugar, lemon zest, milk and cornstarch until it begins to thicken. Then remove from heat and stir in the margarine. Place curd in bowl and cover surface with plastic wrap and cool completely before using.

Notes: Next time I may use less lemon juice (perhaps 3/4 cup) and 1/4 cup of water as the curd was a touch too tart.

Rating: 4.5 pucker lips out of 5

Tiny Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Buttons

So, I was inspired to make these teeny, tiny PB cookies because of the blog 17 and baking. She raved about how yummy these were, regardless of the fact that the recipe makes 15 dozen cookies at 1/4 t of batter for each cookie. Her blog post was very inspiring for me! and her food porn? As Rachel Ray would say ' Yum-o!' Unfortunately, these cookies are just plain bad - they are bland, bland, bland. Perhaps, this has to do with the fact that I left out the egg and used almond milk instead of cow's milk - or perhaps they are just bland cookies and the taste should be disregarded in order to enjoy the cookie's cuteness. I would perhaps try this idea (itty, bitty cookies with one chocolate chip on top) again, with a better PB cookie base.

However, ya'll should run over to 17 and baking and check out her blog!

Cookies anyone?

Ginger Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup oatmeal
1/8 t baking soda
1 t cocoa
1/2 t ginger
4 T water
Mix together. Bake for 12 minutes at a 350 degree oven. Makes 4-5 cookies.

Notes: They need to be more chocolate-y! But really what doesn't?

I didn't know that: cocoa powder

What is Unsweetened cocoa powder? aka natural
Natural cocoa powder tastes very bitter. It has a natural acidity that, when combined with baking soda creates a leaving reaction. Baking soda (an alkaline) is generally paired with natural cocoa powder to neutralize it's acidity.
What is Dutch-Processed cocoa powder?* aka dark cocoa powder, Dutched, European style
Dutch-processed cocoa powder is treated with an alkali to neutralize the natural acidity of the product. Dutch-processed cocoa powder is neutral and should be used with baking powder, as both ingredients are essentially neutral already.

Tasting:
Hot Chocolate: I made a simple hot chocolate mix with these two types of cocoa. The regular powder made a bitter, bitter, bitter drink. It would require a lot more sugar to make it sweet. The dutch-processed was smooth and sweet. It tasted like a drinking chocolate.

Choc. Pudding: I halved the choc. pudding recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance (as I don't really need to eat THAT much pudding). There was no colour distinction to note between the two finished products. The dutch-processed was by far the superior in this taste test as it tasted like the pudding was made with real melted chocolate instead of a powder. In addition, it smelled more like chocolate and had a smoother finish than the natural cocoa powder.

Conclusion: The dutch-processed is definitely worth it - even though the hot chocolate burnt my mouth! It makes a much better hot chocolate and a much better pudding. I will test the two in baked goods soon but I suspect that dutch-processed will be the victor in that taste test as well.

The Least you need to know:

- technically, the two types are not interchangeable

- use Natural cocoa powder with baking soda

- use Dutch-processed cocoa powder with baking powder

* not a racist term - a Dutch chemist discovered this process in the early 19th century!