La Tart aux Fraises

Nov12

Hi Guys!

I don’t know if a lot of people are still reading blog posts, but I wanted to share a recipe I made a while ago.

My French teacher ,Madame Engebretsen, lets us bring in extra credit food assignments and of course I wanted to make something.So  because it was french class I chose to make one of my favorite french desserts, une tarte aux fraises ,a strawberry tart.Though they are some blueberries on them.I’ve made a tart before but this time I made mini ones because they were for my class. In fact tarts come in 3 different sizes,Large, medium, and mini!

So,what is a tart?

A tart is a french dessert ,similar to a pie.It has a base ,which is similar to a sugar cookie ,in my opinion ,a filling which is made out of cream, and a topping.Toppings vary and justify the name of the tart, but most tarts are prepared the same ,except for the toppings.

I used the “Barefoot Contessa in Paris” cookbook.

The Ingredients:

The Shell/Base:

.Flour

.Sugar

.Water

.Butter

.Salt

.Crisco

The Ingredients for the shell.

The Cream:

.Eggs

.Vanilla Extract

.Corn starch

.Heavy Whipping Cream

.Sugar

.Butter

.Milk

The Ingredients for the cream.

So this recipe was pretty easy ,just a bit time consuming,it’s also a recipe that you have to give your all or it won’t work.

I first mixed the flour,sugar,and salt together in a bowl.

Salt,Flour,Sugar

Next ,in a food processor,I mixed the mixture with butter,crisco,and water.

Once I blended it,it formed into a dough.

Then I patted the dough and formed it into a disk,I wrapped it in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes to properly form.

Then once the dough was done cooling I used a rolling pin to flatten it and then I used a cup to make small circles, which I put on top of a mini cupcake pan .After this I put beans on dough circles so it would flatten when I baked them,which I then did.

Now for the cream!

I mixed all the ingredients for the cream in my electric mixture(you can also use a hand mixer)then I poured my “solution” into a saucepan and let it boil while I stirred it.Soon it formed into a tasty cream,that I may or may not have tried.

I let the cream cool off,as well as the shells ,which had finished baking, then I used a piping bag and piped cream into the shells.After this I topped it off with some berries,and some powdered sugar and I had made tarts!

I’ve always loved tarts and I was so happy to be able to make them again! Hope this made you hungry!

Also please comment on some ideas for blog posts,possibly holiday themed!

Thanks for Reading!

-Alexa

Bruschetta :simple,short and tasty

Feb7

 

Bruschetta is an Italian appetizer based on tomatoes.This simple,tasty dish includes : tomatoes,balsamic vinegar,olive oil,garlic,and basil.There only two steps in this recipe and it takes about  5-10 minutes.

The ingredients

 

First you chop the tomatoes and basil  then mince the garlic. Then add the vegetables(and fruit:) ) to a large bowl ,then add the olive oil and vinegar,and using a whisk,stir the mixture. After these short simple steps toast a slice of baguette and  enjoy !

the mixture

the product

 

As seen in the picture above Bruschetta can be used on platters for parties or just as a  snack. This tasty dish is not only tasty it’s healthy,two in one.

 

Thanks for Reading!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Jan10

My newest blog entry features information about the newest recipe I tried: chocolate chip cookies.

Best served when fresh out of the oven with a cold glass of milk,this tasty treat never gets out of  style.

To the left is the final product.

 

 

 

My cook book features a recipe for chocolate chip  sandwich cookies,which are similar to an Oreo except with chocolate chip cookies,bigger,and with chocolate icing filling.I  preferred  the classic cookie so I twisted the recipe of 28 sandwich cookies  and made about 20 cookies in total ,because I made the mistake of making them a little too large,causing them to  need a longer baking time.

for this recipe  my ingredients consisted of :  flour, baking soda, salt, unsalted butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, 2 eggs,vanilla extract, and saving the best for the last chocolate chips.

the ingredients

I started by mixing the flour ,baking soda and salt together.I set that aside and started beating the butter,granulated and brown sugar together with an electric mixer.Once this was well combined I added the eggs and vanilla to the mixture.Then, half at a time, I added the flour mixture, until it was blended , then I added the chocolate chips until it was mixed evenly.

I scooped the cookie dough on a prepared sheet and  let it bake for 10-12 minutes until I found that they  needed  more time because I put too much cookie dough in each mound, so they ended up needing about 20-25 minutes total.

My final result was two plates full of cookies.This was a successful  recipe, that I am proud of.

 

Black Bottom Cupcakes

Jan3

Today I made Black Bottom Cupcakes,these are chocolate cupcakes with  a cheesecake filling,topped with chocolate chips for a crunchier texture.Combines two classic cakes into one.This recipe’s chocolate base is egg and dairy free,although the whole cake in general isn’t.

One thing I don’t love about the recipes in this book is that they always seem  to give more than it says they give.For example  It says it gives 12 of the normal cupcakes,but I was able to make 10 mini chocolate cupcakes with chocolate chips,and 6 mini cheesecake cupcakes,by adding flour  to the  cream cheese solution.

 

The chocolate batter  consists of  water,vegetable oil (In my case i used olive oil because  I ran out of vegetable oil),vanilla extract,balsamic vinegar,all purpose flour,unsweetend cocoa powder,baking soda,sugar,and salt.The filling consists of cream cheese,sugar,and one egg.

 

I started with the filling.I mixed  cream cheese,egg,and sugar  with my electric mixer until it was smooth.Then I set that aside and started my batter.I first combined my wet ingredients(water,olive oil,vanilla extract,and balsamic vinegar.Then went on too the dry ingredients in a separate bowl,Flour,cocoa powder,baking soda,sugar,and salt,which I then whisked together.I combined both the solution and mixture,into a final solution that added up as the batter.Now that I was done with both batters I first scooped 3/4 of the chocolate solution in the cupcake tin,then 1 tablespoon of the cheesecake batter,after I topped it all off with chocolate chips.I baked this for 25 minutes as said,but it turned out to about 35 because after 25 they weren’t quite done.

the filling      the batter

Although this recipe produced extra,I am happy with the results,and it was yet another successful  recipe from the American Girl- Williams Sonoma  baking book.I would do this recipe again but adjust the amounts of ingredients.

 

Thanks for Reading!!!

 

Devil’s Food Cupcakes

Nov29

My newest entry are chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting.Perfect for chocolate lovers. This delicious treat is made of homemade batter and frosting.

The final product

The Explanation

First I make the batter with all purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, granulated sugar, brown sugar, unsalted butter, an egg, vanilla extract, and finally buttermilk. Nothing healthy about that mix.☺️☺️Then  I baked at 350 F for about 25 minutes.While it was baking I stated the frosting,which contains  powdered sugar, cocoa powder, unsalted butter, vanilla extract, and heavy cream.

 

How I did It…

The ingredients  for the batter

IMG_0118-pqip8p

The flour,cocoa ,baking soda,and salt

IMG_0130-1o9ttse

The two sugar mix,and butter.

I added them together and mixed in the vanilla extract,once that was all combined I added the buttermilk.Then my batter was completed so I put them into my cupcake tin and then baked them.

The ingredients for the frosting

IMG_0139-1knchar

The frosting started with powdered sugar  and cocoa into a bowl sifted together, and then I added butter,and the vanilla extract,when that was all combined I added the heavy cream, mixed it until it was smooth and spreadable.

 

Afterwards I started my favorite part: the decorating. I added  multi-color sprinkles to the frosting to make them extra delicious.

IMG_0181-10aum9w

Pros

Nice looking cupcakes,perfect for birthdays

Same recipe can be used for a cake

Recipe includes frosting

 

 

Cons

This recipe calls  for the frosting to be sweeter than the cupcake itself

The cupcake is hard to tell when done baking,because it is a moist cupcake

Recipe produced extra frosting that didn’t fit on the amount of cupcakes it produced.

 

 

 

Overall,I think this cupcake could be more improved,but even with the flaws it was still a fun, tasty, and good recipe, that was worth trying.

 

Thanks for Reading!!!😊😊☺️☺️😋😉

Pictures and Videos by me.

Video links in blue below paragraphs that match.

🎒 Backpack Project 🎒

Nov8

In class we are reading the book Finding Someplace. The main character Reesie has to evacuate her house because of hurricane Katrina and has to pack a backpack with the necessary things. My teacher asked us to  do a draw a backpack and fill it with what we would take. Here’s my project

picture by me

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread🍫🍫🍫

Nov8

My aunt recently gave me an American Girl -Williams -Sonoma baking book. Today I tried my first recipe from it, Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. This recipe consists of the obvious banana and chocolate chips. It also has flour, nutmeg, baking powder and soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, eggs, salt, sugar, sour cream, and vanilla extract. First  I stirred the dry ingredients, then in a separate bowl, I stirred the wet ingredients and then mixed them together.  The grand finale and the best part, the addition of chocolate chips!! I then baked it for about an hour.Here are some pictures of the process.   

 

The ingredients

 

The dry ingredients.

The wet ingredients

The mixture

The secret but yet obvious ingredient🍫🍫🍫

 

The outcome🤣🤣☺️☺️😜😜😊😊

A Not so Good Attempt at S’mores Cupcakes

Oct29

All photos by me!

Today I attempted on making smores cupcake, a mixture of both titles in the name. I followed the directions perfectly, from a recipe on the Food Network’s website, so all I can think about that wasn’t perfect was the recipe in general. The only thing I could think about that I did wrong was that for the frosting I didn’t use a pastry torch, as required for the frosting, but that doesn’t add up to why the rest of the recipe was messed up.

 

 

First I did the graham cracker crust on the bottom of the cupcake with sugar,mashed up graham crackers,and butter.It said to mix it and bake it alone in the oven for about 5 minutes.

 

Then  I did the batter,witch contains flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, buttermilk, water, vegetable oil,eggs,and vanilla extract.Then I baked the cupcake batter on top of  the graham crackers mix,and baked it for 15 minutes.

 

Then I started the marshmallow frosting,which has eggs,sugar cream of tartar,and vanilla extract but I added marshmallows.The recipe made me whisk it on top of a pot with boiling water.  The frosting was the most disastrous of all.😉Even before I added the marshmallows ,which was not required.

 

This did not turn out what I had hoped,but it was still fun to experiment.😜😝😋😛