I have been aware of Black Onyx Cocoa for a while, but my interest was peaked when I saw a recipe on King Arthur’s blog using it for Faux-Reos. The cookies were indeed as black as a moonless night far away from the city lights. To say I was intrigued was an understatement.
I went online and ordered a 1 pound container of Black Onyx Cocoa from Jellybean Foods. There are several suppliers selling different amounts. Black cocoa has been dutched to the extreme. According to Savory Spice, “This cocoa powder has been alkalized to the extreme, producing a dark, purplish black cocoa that makes for an impressive black-as-coal baked good. This extreme alkalization neutralizes the natural bitterness, removing some of its chocolate flavor and a lot of its butterfat(10-12%).
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I grew up eating apple strudel. My mother and grandmother, who came from Yugoslavia would make the strudel dough from scratch on Sundays’ and pull the dough out so thinly you could read a paper through it.
This Citrus Pound Cake is a simple sour cream cake enhanced with lots of orange and lemon zests. It is straightforward, quick to make and yields a large, moist cake that is soaked two ways to ensure that the entire cake receives this benefit. It is soaked from the top and bottom.
Kitchen Organization is really important to me. Not only because I am in the kitchen all the time, but because I don't like clutter or a lot of things on my counters. I have never wanted a large kitchen. I prefer a smaller kitchen where everything is at hand and easily accessible when I need it. Perhaps it is because the bakery was large and there was a lot of walking around.
Before I started baking professionally, I didn’t know what sheet pans were. I had cookie sheets which were flat with upturned ends on which I baked my cookies, breads, rolls, etc.
With a variety of creams available, the cream of the crop is Heavy Cream, also known as 40% cream. This is an update to my blog, Salvaging Whipped Cream.
Father's Day Desserts seems to be a more casual celebration than Mother's Day, but just as important. I have gathered some blogs that will fit right into a barbecue, brunch or just a special treat.
This Raspberries and Cream Cake comes from the bakery's wedding cake file. It was a favorite spring and summer cake.
There are a couple of things that make a derby pie special. It is southern, abundant on the first Saturday of May when the Kentucky Derby runs and it features another southern specialty – bourbon.
This tall, elegant, Chocolate Coconut Cream Cake is perfect for a change-up Easter cake. I have always wondered why coconut is associated with Easter. My search yielded no help. But it is, and this Chocolate Coconut Cream Cake is a surprise twist on my traditional 
The Secret of the 9 Inch Cake Pan is excerpted from 
Cocoa Brownies have never been in my wheelhouse and I'm not sure why, although I have a sneaking suspicion I am prejudiced in favor of chocolate. However, while wandering around the internet recently, an article on cocoa brownies caught my eye. 
Food gifts are always welcome, but even more so during the holiday season. Every year the holidays arrive faster and faster. No matter how I try, there is no way to slow them down. When I was a little girl, time could not go by fast enough. Now that I am no longer a little girl, it goes all too fast.
With the holidays approaching, I thought I would test all butter purchased puff pastry. Normally, I would make my own using my blitz puff pastry method but I thought there might be a place for purchased puff pastry when time was of the essence.
This is the most common salt available and is usually iodized. It is the saltiest tasting of all and considered to be the densest salt. It is commercially produced today by the use of salt brines and has anti-clumping additives to keep it free-flowing.
Comes in fine and coarse crystals. It is considered to be less refined than table salt hence the fine and coarse crystals. The only reason it is referred to as Kosher is that it is used in koshering meat as the large grains of salt draw out more liquid.
It is exactly what it says. It is the least processed of salts since the flakes are collected from evaporated sea water. It can come in fine or coarse as seen above.
I was recently toodling around the internet and came across a recipe for 
Reading baking recipes is not as easy as reading a book for pleasure. While it's true, people read cookbooks for enjoyment, that isn't the same as cooking or baking from them. Yet, there are a number of things that will help in understanding what the author of the recipe wants you to do. Well written recipes follow a certain form. 
I recently made this White Wine Amaretto Peach Sauce for the restaurant to serve over peach ice cream. As I was peeling the peaches, I thought of all the ways this could be used for a quick summer dessert.
Blueberry Cobbler is great anyway you eat it, but top it with a Walnut Streusel and it takes it to a whole new level.
Add the butter and 
process until it starts making crumbs. 
Add the walnuts 
and pulse several times. Set aside.
stir in the water and balsamic vinegar and mix well. 
Add the blueberries. 
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Continue cooking and stirring for 1 minutes more. Set aside to cool.
reduce the oven to 400°F. Spray an 8x8 inch square baking pan. Set aside.
Pour in ¾ cup of cream in. 
Mix the dough. 
The dough should be somewhat sticky. If it is not, add the remaining cream in 1 tablespoon at a time.
