Twix and a blogiversary!

Today is Broma Bakery's first birthday. I cannot believe it's been a year since I started my blog. I've loved every bite, every photograph, and every post. Through midterms, finals, work, play, holidays, and bored mornings this blog has kept me sane. My motto for life is now unofficially, "when in doubt, bake." And in looking back over old posts, I realize how insane I sound in most of my writing. It's kind of ridiculous. So thank you for bearing with me. And happy birthday to YOU, Broma! My little baby's all grown up!  

For the shortbread:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar

For the caramel:

14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the chocolate:

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, cream sugar and butter for about two minutes. Stir in the vanilla. Add in the flour and salt, mixing until the dough starts to come together.

On a lightly floured surface mix the dough together with your hands. Spread out into a 9"x13" greased baking dish. Use a fork to poke holes in the dough so that no air bubbles will form. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring the butter, salt, sugar, and condensed milk to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for about 45 minutes, stirring often. The caramel should be medium-golden brown in color and the milky taste should pretty much cook out (taste test this!). 

Once the cookies are cooled, spoon the caramel over them. Again allow to cool completely before cutting the cookies into 1 1/2 by 4 inch bars. Set aside.

In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the chocolate chips in 30 second intervals, stirring in between each one. Once the chocolate is completely melted, pour into a shallow bowl. Dip the cookie bars into the chocolate and set on wire racks to cool.

Tadaaa, homemade Twix!

Mini apple pies

Mini apple pies are the definition of cute.

Makes ~9 mini pies

For the pie:

2-3 granny smith apples, cored and cut into very small pieces

1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

pinch salt

For the crust:

2 store-bought pie crusts (from my experience, it's better to use a high-quality crust, as the pies will be much more flakey and yummier).

... or make your own!

1 egg 

Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, mix your cut apple slices with the cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg, salt, and vinegar. Set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out your pie crusts and, use a 3-inch (or anywhere around that diameter) cookie-cutter to make small rounds. Create a small bowl with the dough in your hand, then scoop a small amount of apple mixture into the center of the dough. Brush water around the outside of the dough, then stack a second circle over the dough and seal it by pressing the edges together. Using a fork, create little indentations around the outside of the mini pie. Set on a parchment-lined baking tray.

Scramble your egg and brush it liberally onto the tops of the mini pies. Finally, use a sharp knife to make air pockets on the tops of the mini pies. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops of the mini pies are golden brown. 

Nutella brownies

Let's face it I'm obsessed with brownies. And these ones are up there with the best I've ever had. Better than my Plumb good brownies. Yup, better. They've got a crispy crunchy top and are super gooey inside. I hadn't previously been a fan of crispy tops, but I think I've been turned. I would go as far to say that they are even better on the second day! Really I just plan on using this brownie batter base for everything in the future, and substituting nutella for swirls of peanut butter, cream cheese, you name it. My one mistake was that I only made a half batch. Don't do it, you'll be disappointed. If anything make a double batch. Or triple...

For the brownies:

4 squares Bakers unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour

For the swirl:

1/2 cup Nutella

Heat oven to 350°F.

Line 13x9-inch pan with parchment paper, with ends of parchment paper extending over sides. Spray with cooking spray.

Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on high for 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour; mix well. Pour into prepared pan.

Spoon tablespoon-sized dollops of Nutella over the brownie batter. Using a knife, swirl the Nutella around until it is just incorporated.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or untila knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely. Use parchment paper handles to remove brownies from pan before cutting to serve.

Recipe inspired by Baker's Brownies

lapetiteboulangette

welcome dear all my friends. enjoyed

Homemade pumpkin donuts

All I could think about yesterday was Linda's Donuts, this small donut shop in my hometown. Their donuts are so doughy and delicious. Rebe likes the airy sticky sweet ones, but I prefer the denser more crumbly ones. Either way, Linda's caters to our likes.

So I really wanted a donut this morning. Like Linda's. I scoured the world wide web for the perfect dense donut recipe. None of this baked bull, this is pure deep-fried goodness. And it was so easy, and fun. I am officially obsessed with deep-frying. I saved the oil so that I can make round two (chocolate donuts?) in the near future. And by near I mean tomorrow.

For the donuts:

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup pumpkin puree

For the buttermilk glaze:

3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Canola oil for frying

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, spice and sugar. Whisk together all of the remaining ingredients (except for the canola oil) in a second, medium bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir them around the bowl until the mixture is well combined. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, rolling the donut dough to approximately1/4-1/2″ thick. (I know this will seem quite thin, but the donuts puff up immensley while frying). Cut with a donut cutter.

Meanwhile, whisk the glaze ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth.

Heat 2 inches of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, gently slide the donuts into the oil, frying on the first side until the edges of the donut are lightly browned, flip carefully and allow to cook on the other side until lightly browned. Remove and dunk immediately into buttermilk glaze. Allow to air dry on a cooling rack before serving.

Original recipe found here!

Red velvet redux

I've used this exact Martha Stewart recipe before in cupcake form, but I couldn't resist posting it a second time because the cake is just so. freaking. good. I made it for one of my housemate's birthdays and- well, that's a lie. Another one of my housemates and I made it together. It was adorable. Anyways, it turned out absolutely fantastic. The cake is extra moist because it calls for oil and not butter, which is a huge plus. Oh, Martha, you never cease to impress me. Even given your incarceration...

Makes one, two-tiered 9-inch cake

For the cake:

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1cup low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup hot (but not boiling) water
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons white vinegar

For the frosting:

12 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°. Butter two 9-inch cake rounds; dust with cocoa, tapping out excess. Set aside. Whisk together flour, salt, and cocoa in a medium bowl; set aside.

Mix sugar and oil on medium speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk until combined. Add eggs one at a time; mix well after each addition. Mix in food coloring and vanilla. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with flour, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed.

Stir together baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl. Add baking-soda mixture to batter, and mix on medium speed 10 seconds. Mix in the hot water until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake until a cake tester inserted into centers comes out clean, 18 to 23 minutes. Let cool completely in pans on wire racks.

Once the cake is cooled, using a serrated knife cut off the convex tops from both cakes, leaving your cakes with flat tops. Crumble the discarded cake tops into tiny crumbs to be used as a garnish for later. Set aside.

While the cakes are baking, prepare the frosting. In a large bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, mix together the softened cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract. Add the confectioner's sugar in batches until the frosting comes together and there are no lumps. Let cool in a refrigerator until the cakes are ready to frost.

Frost your cake as you normally would, using about a third of the frosting for between the two layers, the top, and the sides of the cake. Finally, sprinkle the cake crumbs around the sides of the cake, spreading evenly. YUHM SO GOOD.

Cake recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Wedding Cakes

Better than sex cake

Hi, I'm a cake with a ridiculous name, and I don't look very pretty. In fact, I'm really, really ugly and un-photogenic. But I taste awesome. So awesome.

The name. It refers to the combination of pineapple and coconut infused in a vanilla cake. I didn't make it up, apparently this is a legit thing. Go ask Paula Dean. Not really sure if it's bette... yeah. But I will say it's pretty fantastic ;)

For the cake:

1 box of vanilla cake mix, along with whatever ingredients the mix calls for (eggs, oil, water)
20 ounce can of crushed pineapple, with juice separated from pineapple
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut flakes

For the frosting:

12 ounces cream cheese
3 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 stick salted butter, at room temperature

For the topping:

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut flakes

Preheat the oven according to cake mix directions.

In a large bowl, prepare the mix according to cake mix directions. Add in the drained, crushed pineapple and the shredded coconut. Pour into two greased 9" round cake pans and bake according to cake mix directions.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl and using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese and butter together until fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined. Next add the confectioner's sugar in small batches, beating after each addition. You can store the frosting in the fridge until the cake is ready to frost.

When the cake comes out of the oven, let it sit for ~10 minutes, then flip it out of the pan and make small indentations with a fork throughout the cake. Pour 2-3 ounces of the pineapple juice saved from earlier over each cake. Allow to soak for at least 20 minutes before assembling cake.

Place remaining 1 cup of coconut on bakesheet and bake until golden brown, 6-9 minutes. Make sure to stir the coconut half way through. Be very watchful of the coconut-- it takes seconds for toasted to turn to burnt.

Frost the cake in layers, then add the shredded coconut to the top. Et voilà!

Recipe by me