Boston Cream Pie Petit Fours

This recipe is so intricate that it literally took me all day to accomplish, but I say it was well worth it. What I did was I baked a sponge sheet cake and using a square fondant cutter, I cut out a bunch of little squares. I made a custard as well and once it was chilled enough, I made sandwiches with the cute out squares and the custard and finally soaked them in a chocolate ganache to make little Boston Cream Pies!

 

Boston Cream Pie Petit Fours

Sponge Cake

Martha Stewart

• Unsalted butter, for pans
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
• 3/4 cup corn starch
• 6 large eggs, separated
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup plus 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Vanilla Custard

Elinor Klivans

• 1 cup whole milk
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 4 teaspoons corn starch
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Glaze

Elinor Klivans

• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, warm the milk until small bubbles appear around the edges of the pan. Remove from the heat
2. In a heatproof bowl, combine the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch and whisk until smooth. Slowly whisk in the hot milk until thoroughly blended
3. Return the egg-yolk mixture to the saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, about 3 minutes. Continue cooking, stirring constantly for 1 minute longer to cook completely
4. Pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Stir in the butter and vanilla
5. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming and poke a few holes in the plastic with the tip of a sharp knife to allow steam to escape. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours or overnight
6. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter the bottom and sides of an 11-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet and a 9×9″ square baking pan. Line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper, and butter again. Flour the pans, and set aside
7. In a small bowl, sift together the flour and cornstarch; set aside
8. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg yolks, vanilla, and 3/4 cup sugar on high until thick and pale, about 3 minutes. Transfer egg-yolk mixture to a large bowl. Wash and dry the mixer bowl and the whisk attachment
9. Combine the egg whites and salt in the mixer bowl, and beat on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 1 1/2 minutes. With the mixer running, slowly add the remaining 6 tablespoons sugar. Continue beating until stiff and glossy, about 1 minute
10. Fold the egg-white mixture into the egg-yolk mixture. In three additions, fold the reserved flour mixture into the egg mixture. Transfer two-thirds of the batter to the baking sheet, and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Transfer remaining batter to the 9×9″ pan; smooth the top with the spatula. Bake until light golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer the pans to wire racks to cool; turn out the cakes, remove the parchment paper, wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze until ready to use
11. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the heavy cream, butter, and corn syrup and cook, stirring, until the butter melts and the mixture is hot but not boiling. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate
12. Let stand for about 30 seconds, then stir until the chocolate is completely melted and the glaze is smooth. Stir in the vanilla

Assembly

1. After a few hours, remove cakes from freezer. Run a knife under hot water and slice the 9×9″ cake in half horizontally. Spread cake and cake halves out. Using a square fondant cutter, cut out as many cake squares as you possibly can (save scraps for snacking!)
2. Remove custard from the fridge. Take one cake square and “frost” the top of it with the custard. Stack another cake square on top and repeat again with the custard. Stack a third cake square on top of that custard layer and set aside. Repeat with remaining cake squares
3. Place all cake squares on rimmed baking sheet and spread enough of the chocolate ganache over each stack to fully coat it. Place the baking sheet in the fridge and allow the chocolate to firm up. Then enjoy!

Here are just the plain sponge cake and custard sandwiches

Adding on that ganache

I was worried they would get too soggy if I made sure every single piece of the cake was covered

The finished product!

Cinnamon Roll Sticky Buns

The other night I made Martha Stewart’s Honey Buns but I never got the chance to take any pictures so I didn’t bother posting it on my blog. However, the recipe made so much dough that it could be divided into three portions and rather than throwing the rest away, I froze it and saved it for the next time I wanted to make some rolls. Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait very long because today we got hit with 2 feet of snow!!! Also, my co-workers at work were so obsessed with the Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls I made, they asked me to make them more…so why not spend the day inside baking? It’s not like I could go anywhere else, anyway.

Cinnamon Roll Sticky Buns

Dough

Martha Stewart

• 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1/3 cup warm water
• 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup honey (any type)
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 5 to 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
• Vegetable oil, for bowl

Filling

• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Topping

• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp. honey
• 1 tbsp. light corn syrup
• 1 cup chopped pecans

1. Sprinkle yeast over warm water in a small bowl. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes
2. Whisk milk, butter, eggs, honey, salt, and vanilla with a mixer on medium speed. Add yeast mixture, and whisk for 1 minute. Switch to dough hook, reduce speed to low, and add 4 cups flour. After flour is incorporated, raise speed to medium, and continue kneading
3. Add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing until dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Raise speed to medium-high, and knead for 10 minutes. (Alternatively, knead by hand until smooth, 15 to 20 minutes)
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until dough is very smooth, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic, and set aside in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour
5. Punch down dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 3 portions. Roll each into a ball. Freeze 2 for up to 3 months (thaw in the refrigerator before using). Roll remaining dough into a 10-by-13 1/2-inch rectangle
6. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Melt butter; keep separate
7. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Starting with the long side, roll dough into a cylinder. Place seam side down on a flat surface and cut crosswise into about 8 even slices
8. In a 1-quart saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter, honey and corn syrup over low heat; stir until sugar and butter are melted. Pour mixture into a greased 9″ cake pan and sprinkle pecans on top
9. Place dough slices, flat side down, on top of prepared topping. Crowd them so they touch
10. Bake for 30 minutes until tops are golden brown. Remove from pan and serve immediately

Rolling out the dough

Close-up of the topping

Pre-baked

Post-baked

Chocolate Glazed Mini Chocolate Toffee Loaves

Now for my mom, I knew I had to make her some mini loaves that she’s been dying for since I bought my mini loaf pan. I adapted this recipe by mixing milk chocolate toffee bits into the batter because she absolutely loves Heath bars. I also garnished the tops of the loaves with more toffee bits and pecans because she’s a huge fan of those as well.

Chocolate Glazed Mini Chocolate Toffee Loaves

Adapted from Very Best Baking

Chocolate Quick Bread

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup baking cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate toffee bits, divided

Chocolate Glaze

Elinor Klivans

• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• milk chocolate toffee bits for garnish, if desired

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a mini loaf pan
2. Combine flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda in medium bowl. Set aside
3. Beat butter and sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition
4. Gradually beat in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk
5. Fold in 1/2 cup milk chocolate toffee bits. Pour into prepared pan
6. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool completely
7. To make the glaze, in a saucepan over medium heat, combine the heavy cream, butter, and corn syrup. Cook, stirring, until the butter melts and the mixture is hot but not boiling. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate. Let stand for 30 seconds, then stir until the chocolate is completely melted and the glaze is smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Let the glaze cool until thickened, about 20 minutes
8. Spread the glaze over the tops of the loaves or dip them directly into the glaze. Top with milk chocolate toffee bits, if desired

A close-up of the batter

Pre-baked

Post-baked

And now with all the trimmings!

Finally here they are all packaged up and ready to be put under the tree for Christmas day!!

Devil’s Food Doughnuts

Another great recipe out of Donuts by Elinor Klivans! This dessert paired wonderfully with Kamil’s Mongolian Beef dinner .

Devil’s Food Doughnuts

Elinor Klivans

Here is the dough after having been chilled for an hour

Clearly I don’t have a doughnut cutter. So I had to resort to my handy dandy plastic cup which I must say made the perfect sized doughnuts!

And then I didn’t really have anything smaller so I had to improvise and cut out a center myself

More frying, yay!

All dipped, dunked, glazed, frosted- whatever you want to call it. They’re done!

Sno Ball Cupcakes

I can’t even explain how excited I was about  trying this little creation of mine. They turned out SO well and I honestly was not expecting them to be as big of a hit as they were. I happened to be sitting in history class one day bored to tears and I started thinking of “out of the box” cupcake ideas when I thought how cool would it be to make a classic Hostess Sno Ball into a cupcake?! So I decided to give them a try when I went home this past weekend because one of the girls on my floor was celebrating her birthday and our unSt was having a little get together to say goodbye to all of the girls transferring next semester. They were a quite a bit of work to put together but definitely worth all the effort!

Sno Ball Cupcakes
Cupcake
Martha Stewart

• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons safflower oil
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Sift together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed
2. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups
3. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely

Vanilla Cream Filling

Williams Sonoma

• 2 egg whites
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using a handheld whisk, beat together the egg whites, sugar, corn syrup and salt just until combined. Place the bowl over but not touching simmering water in a saucepan and whisk until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is hot, 2 to 3 minutes
2. Set the bowl on the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat until the outside of the bowl is cool and medium-firm peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes more.
3. Spoon the filling into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain tip. Insert the tip 1 inch into the bottom of a cupcake. Gently squeeze the filling into the cupcake while slowly withdrawing the tip. Repeat in two more places along the bottom. Turn the cupcake over so that the filling holes are on the underside and place on a serving plate. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes and filling

Marshmallow Frosting

Adapted from What the Fruitcake?!

• 4 large Egg Whites, room temperature
• 2 cups Caster Sugar
• 2/3 cup Water
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan
2. Stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved
3. Bring to the boil, uncovered and without stirring, about 5 minutes (the syrup should be thick but not colored)
4. Remove from heat and set aside
5. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form
6. While still beating, slowly pour the hot syrup in a thin stream down the side of the bowl and into the beaten egg whites
7. Add in vanilla extract and beat on high speed until mixture is thick and glossy, about 10 minutes

Coconut Topping

• 2 cups sweetened coconut flakes
• 10 drops red food coloring

1. Drop food coloring into a plastic container and shake it
2. Add in coconut flakes and shake again, adding more drops to get desired color
3. Garnish cupcakes with your pink coconut topping!

It all started with a perfect little chocolate cupcake…

…And then that perfect little chocolate cupcake was filled with a dreamy vanilla cream filling…

…And finally that perfect little chocolate cupcake with the dreamy vanilla cream filling was transformed into a classic Hostess Sno Ball with the addition of a marshmallow frosting and pink shredded coconut!

Creme Brulee Bread Pudding- Glazed Doughnut Style

Creme Brulee Bread Pudding

Adapted from Dining Details

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup regular granulated sugar
• 2 Tablespoons corn syrup
• Glazed doughnuts (I used ≈ 13)
• 5 large eggs
• ½ cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp salt

1. In a small heavy saucepan, melt butter with brown sugar and corn syrup over moderate heat, stirring until smooth. Pour into a 13x9x2 inch baking dish
2. Cut up the doughnuts and arrange pieces in one layer in baking dish, squeezing them slightly to fit
3. In a bowl whisk together eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, and salt until combined well and pour evenly over doughnuts. Chill bread mixture, covered, at least 8 hours
4. Preheat oven to 350° F. and bring bread to room temperature. Sprinkle 1 cup granulated sugar over the top
5. Bake doughnut mixture, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed and edges are pale golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve immediately

Wow, this is truly embarrassing…but these are the only pictures I managed to get from this recipe. The only thing I can add is that it turned out well, I just wish the sugar that was later added to the top after the custard was added (above picture) was bruleed. But unfortunately, I do not have a broiler and/or kitchen torch even though it’s on my wish list!