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Red Velvet Cupcakes November 23, 2008

Posted by Dorothy in cake, chocolate, cupcakes, video.
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11 comments

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 Everyone loves Red Velvet.  I don’t get it!  Personally, I’ve never found it that mesmerizing before.  Most red velvet cakes don’t have that much taste by themselves; the frosting completely makes the cake.  I don’t even really like the cake unless it has cream cheese frosting on it! 

I’ve made the cake a couple times before, but its never made a lasting impression on me.  I don’t even really like making it either!  Its like doing a science experiment – all that food coloring and all those acids… my batter always starts bubbling like crazy when I add the vinegar to the rest of the batter – is that even supposed to happen??!

But no matter what the occassion, people always go gaga over Red Velvet.  If I don’t know what kind of cake someone likes or what kind of cake to bring, I always default to making a red velvet cake.  And am always rewarded with gasps, oohs, ahhhs, and once, even applause.

I made this cake three times this past week – One for a friend’s birthday, another one for a movie night, and cupcakes to bring in to work.  And the red cake was excitedly welcomed every time.  Funny how well the same cake worked for all the different settings.  See, everyone loves red velvet!

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Most red velvet cakes are some variation of a sponge cake or a buttermilk cake with the barest hint of cocoa.  I like mine with a lot of cocoa.  I like to use the recipe from SmittenKitchen (best website ever!!!), because it has a half cup of cocoa and gives the cake the perfect taste of chocolate.  And the site has tons of gorgeously inspiring photos that just make you want to bake everything ever posted on there.  Here’s the recipe.  There’s also a recipe for the cream cheese frosting. 

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Oh, and check out this helpful video tutorial on how to frost your cupcakes Magnolia Bakery style (I tried recreate the look in the first picture above)!

Dessert Obsessed with Dorothy: Skinny Bitch’s Rory Freedman May 4, 2008

Posted by Dorothy in vegan, video.
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Here is my interview with Rory Freedman, co-cauthor of Skinny Bitch and Bitch in the Kitch!  Rory gives me the low-down on veganism, and some tips on how to be vegan in college.  She even gives me some dessert advice!

 Watch a better quality video here.

An Evening with the Skinny Bitch April 30, 2008

Posted by Dorothy in cookies, reading, vegan, video.
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books

The Skinny Bitch is such a fun book! And its so easy to read. The book is smart, cynical, and completely in-your-face. I had the chance to sit down and interview Rory Freedman, co-author of the Skinny Bitch and Bitch in the Kitch for Dessert Obsessed. Video will be posted after I edit it.

screenshot of me and rory

Rory is beyond nice, and she’s not a Skinny Bitch at all! She’s skinny, but definitely not a bitch. And she was so passionate about veganism. I love interviewing passionate people! I’ve read the book before, but the message is much more powerful in person. Rory is so inspiring. I definitely want to try being vegan, and maybe eventually move towards being completely vegan. I rarely eat meat and dairy products now (well, other than mass consuming icecream), but I do like tuna and salmon. I definitely want to do a vegan episode of Dessert Obsessed.

One of the most interesting things she mentions in her book and in the interview is how devious the dairy industry is. Rory says that researchers from Harvard, Pen State, and others have found that dairy is NOT a deterrent in osteoporosis. And here we are, all drinking milk obsessively because we think we need it so our bones won’t break. And she points out that we are the only species that drinks another species’ milk. AND we are the only species that drink milk as adults! So obvious, but I never realized that until I read the book. And another person at the event was talking about how every single cancer tumor that’s been found has had pesticides in it, and they are just trying to hide it from us. SCARY!!! The message from her, basically, was go organic. Of course, there were many skeptics demanding where that information came from and how valid it is.

So how DO you become a Skinny Bitch? Basically, no meat, dairy, sugar, refined flours, or artificial sweetners. *unhappy face*
I guess that means I can’t ever be a Skinny Bitch…

Until I finish the video, here’s a vegan cookie recipe from Skinny Bitch in the Kitch. (I love the title! it rhymes!)

Peanut Butter Potato Chip Cookies (makes 40 cookies)

  • 2-1⁄2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 3⁄4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1-1⁄2 cups evaporated cane sugar
  • 1 cup refined coconut oil
  • 1 cup all-natural peanut butter, chunky or smooth (whichever you prefer)
  • 1⁄4 cup ice water
  • 1 tablespoon molasses
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups coarsely crushed potato chips

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line baking sheets with parchment.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, combine the sugar, coconut oil, and peanut butter, mixing on medium-high speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the water, molasses, and vanilla, mixing until well combined. With the mixer on lowspeed, add the flour mixture in 3 to 4 additions, mixing each addition until almost fully incorporated. Add the potato chips, mixing until just combined.

Arrange 2-tablespoon-sized balls of cookie dough 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Press to about 3⁄4-inch thick, then use the back of a fork to mark each cookie with a crosshatch pattern, if desired. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until the edges are slightly browned and the centers are set. Thoroughly cool on a cooling rack.



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Dessert Obsessed with Dorothy: Banana Butterscotch Cookies April 18, 2008

Posted by Dorothy in cookies, video.
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These cookies are superbeyonddelicious!  They were so popular, I had to make them twice in the past 5 days.  And they never last for more than 24 hours.  I can’t think of a better way to eat fruit!

Banana Butterscotch Cookies (recipe by Dorothy)

1/2 c white sugar

1/4 c brown sugar

1 stick butter

1 egg

1 c mashed bananas (about 2 large bananas)

1 tsp baking soda

2 c flour

a sprinkling of salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 c butterscotch chips (I made these again with white chocolate chips and they taste even better with      the white chocolate!)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease three cookie sheets and set aside.  Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy.  Beat in the egg and continue creaming until light and fluffy.  Mix in the mashed bananas.  Sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon) in a separate bowl.  Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.  Fold in the butterscotch chips.  Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets (cookie will rise during baking and double in size).  Bake 10 -12 minutes. 

Makes 24 decent-sized cookies. 

Here’s the new episode of Dessert Obsessed with Dorothy.  Watch a better quality video here.

 

Dessert Obsessed with Dorothy: Blondies April 8, 2008

Posted by Dorothy in bars, video.
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4 comments

Here is the latest episode of Dessert Obsessed with Dorothy: Blondies.

Blondies are the blonde version of brownies.  They have that same wonderful chewy texture, but they have more of a butter/caramel taste to them, and they’re usually associated with white chocolates.  But of course, there are variations that appear with chocolate, peanut butter, nuts; whatever your imagination is capable of!

I LOVE blondies, because I like white chocolate more than chocolate. They’re sweeter!  This recipe is extremely quick, simple, easy, delicious and very college student friendly!

Blondies (recipe by Dorothy)
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1c dark brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 stick (1/2 c) butter
1/2 c (or more!) chopped white chocolate
1 egg

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Spray an 8×8 glass baking pan with cooking spray.
Cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract together. Beat in egg until fluffy. Sift flour, salt, and baking soda into sugar mixture. Stir in white chocolate.
Pour batter into baking pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
Enjoy!

Btw, these were ALL (yes the entire pan of 16 blondies) gone 5 hours after I took them out of the pan.  They never even left my apartment.