So at the Breakup Cookbook we talk a bit about drinking to forget. Though I prefer to reach for a milkshake over a martini. If you swing the way I do (or even if you don’t), you may enjoy this video I made on the opening day of Brooklyn Farmacy, an old-fashioned soda fountain shop that even sells penny candy. It’s about how to make an egg cream—for those of you who don’t know what an egg cream is, watch and learn. You’ll be glad you did.
Brooklyn Farmacy Egg Cream from Heather Quinlan on Vimeo.
This recipe comes from our talented pal Kristen V. Brown at bklynfoodie.com. Try the recipe! Check out the site! It’s all god. I mean, good!
Rhubarb Buttermilk Cake with Strawberry Sauce
Serves 8
I love rhubarb, but on a hot summery day, who wants to spend their efforts whipping up a pie crust? Not me. This easy cake comes together in under 30 minutes using just one bowl, and is as good for breakfast as it is dessert.
For the cake:
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 1/2 cups rhubarb, chopped
For the sauce:
16 ounces strawberries, green tops chopped off
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 x13 baking dish; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl using either a stand or hand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy ( about 3 minutes) Add the egg and beat to combine.
3. Add the vanilla, salt and baking soda and beat until combined.
4. Starting with the flour, begin adding the flour and buttermilk, alternating until all of each is completely combined.
5. Stir in the chopped rhubarb.
6. Spread batter evenly into baking dish and bake until the top has brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean – about 30 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, make your strawberry sauce. Combine all ingredients into a food processor or blender and pulse until very smooth. Press twice through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds.
8. Once the cake is cooled, spoon sauce on top. Et voila!
Life can’t be all bad if this exists. Suddenly I’m a hot Betty Crocker.
(Via Jezebel)
Mini Red-Velvet Cupcakes
Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Red Velvet Cake Mix
1 1/4 c. Water
1/3 c. Vegetable Oil
3 Eggs
1. Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F for metal or glass pans, 325°F for dark or coated pans. Grease sides and bottom of each pan with shortening. Flour lightly.
2. Mix: Blend dry mix, water, oil and eggs in large bowl at low speed until moistened (about 30 seconds). Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour batter in pans and bake immediately.
3. Bake: Bake mini cupcakes for approximately 18 minutes, checking regularly. Cupcakes are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 c. butter (1 stick), room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese (1 package), room temperature
1 t. vanilla extract
2 c. powdered sugar (more if desired)
1. Cream together softened butter and cream cheese until well mixed.
2. Mix in the vanilla.
3. Add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until desired sweetness is reached.
4. Use to pipe or frost cooled cupcakes.
This recipe makes about 36 mini cupcakes. See the video here.
BBQ season is upon us, so here’s something you can bring to the party. Cate makes these red velvet cupcakes look effortless. Because they are!
Video is here; recipe here.
The Breakup Cookbook’s own Cate Wells tries a scone recipe from her grandma’s recipe box—this one had the added challenge of being cut off at the end. But this was no trouble for our intrepid Cate, who, without breaking a sweat, used her powers of deduction to make amazing scones. Take a look! (Recipe to follow.)
By Heather Quinlan
You may remember Krista from her deliciously devilish Heart of Darkness Cake. Now she’s back—in video!—with something a bit more soothing—her Lavender Chamomile Madelines.
Madelines are the seashell-shaped cookies often seen in Starbucks. This version keeps the sweetness, while its spices actually add calming properties. (If you’ve ever had a cuppa with three chamomile tea bags, you’ll know what I mean.) Also calming is the fact that they’re super-easy to make: no worrying about your dough rising or ego deflating. I’ll let Krista take it from here, but you can check out the recipe after the jump. (Oh, and if you have lavender left over, try it in this recipe for Lavender Hot Chocolate, courtesy à la mode.)
For our continuing Un-Valentine’s Day celebration, we thought we’d show a little bit of our heart with these cute cocoa decorations. These little confections turn any chocolate treat into something special and can be a nice reminder that there’s a whole lotta love out there for everyone—even if you’re single on Valentine’s Day. This triple-tested recipe is from Good Housekeeping’s Best-Loved Desserts. Did you know that white chocolate isn’t actually considered chocolate because it has no cocoa solids?
Prep 15 minutes Cook 3 minutes Makes 12 hearts.
1 1/2 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1. With pencil, draw outline of 12 hearts, each about 1 1/2″ by 1 1/2″, on piece of waxed paper. Place waxed paper, pencil-side down, on cookie sheet; tape to cookie sheet.
2. In top of double boiler over simmering water, melt white chocolate, stirring, until smooth. Spoon warm chocolate into small decorating bag fitted with small writing tube; use to pipe heart-shaped outlines on waxed paper. Let hearts stand until set.
By Cate Wells
Courtesy of Grandma’s Recipe Box, a classic sugar cookie recipe is a must for Un-Valentine’s Day. Relationships may not always be so simple, but this uncomplicated recipe is an sweet reminder about how everything works out in the end. Remember to leave time for chilling the dough otherwise it’s too sticky to roll it out. Grandmas everywhere would like to remind us that patience is a virtue and share some great relationship advice.
You can decorate these as much or as little as you desire—perhaps you’d like to cut them into other shapes or maybe even do broken hearts? One particular Valentine’s Day I made two sets of heart cookies, with half of them including a smaller heart cut-out in the center. After they were baked I sandwiched pink frosting between the two so the color peeked through the center opening of the top cookie. I picked out the perfect card for my long-distance boyfriend and sent them off in the mail, only to receive nothing in return. Ever since then, I tend to go with simpler decoration, such as just a touch of turbinado sugar for texture.
1/2 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw), optional
Grandma’s instructions:
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and milk, then the flour, baking powder and salt, and enough flour to make right consistency.
My additions:
Wrap disk of dough in plastic wrap and place in fridge for one hour (or up to overnight).
Using extra flour to prevent sticking, roll out to 1/4–1/2″ thick and cut into heart shapes. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar, if desired.
Bake at 350′ for 12–15 minutes.
Semisweet chocolate livens up any pie
Ed. note—Sheila Green is both Exec. Producer for TLC.com and baking phenom. Like seriously, she’s a force of nature. This is one of her greatest hits.
By Sheila Green
This pie is great for birthdays, break-ups and that oh-so fun occasion when you run into the ex-love-of-your-life at a bar and find out he’s engaged to some other girl. Whoo-hoo! Let’s bake!!
For the crust:
1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
5 tbs melted butter
2 tbs sugar
For filling:
1 cup plus 2 tbs heavy cream
3 egg yolks
12 oz chocolate (semisweet works great)
1/2 tbs vanilla extract
For the baker:
1 CD that reminds you of your ex
Put on the CD and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Butter and sugar a 9-inch pie plate.
Mix together graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar until well combined. Press evenly into bottom and sides pie plate. Use your fingers, no one has to know.
Bake crust in the middle of oven for 10 minutes. Let cool, but leave oven on. Turn it down to 300 degrees.
Make the Filling:
Gently whisk egg yolks in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Heat cream in a sauce pan over medium/high heat until cream just barely starts to boil. When it does, remove from heat and stir in chocolate. Be gentle at first and keep stirring until chocolate is all melted and smooth.
Pour a little less than half of chocolate mixture into bowl with yolks, stir as you add. Mix in the rest of the chocolate. Finally, blend in the vanilla.
Pour the filling into the graham cracker crust.
Bake pie for about 15 minutes. Don’t stress if little bubbles form around the edges, your pie is still going to taste great.
Let cool completely and then put in the fridge over night.
You can eat the whole thing on your own. We won’t tell a soul.
