Inside-Out Carrot Cake Cookies

Everyone loves creamy cheese frosting on the cake.   To make it easily transportable, there are recipes for cupcakes and this Inside-Out Carrot Cake Cookies.
Basically, the cake becomes the cookies and creamy frosting is between the two carrot cakes cookies.

I made this a few years ago.  The recipe was shared by one of my son's co-worker. I thought it's time to revisit and enjoy them with family.

Ingredients:
1-1/8 C Flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 stick (1/2 C) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 C sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 C walnuts, chopped (switch with other nuts are all right)
1 tsp Ceylon Cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 C light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 C (2 medium) peeled and coarsely grated carrots (I just used mini food processor)
1/2 C raisins

Directions
1.  Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat to 350'F
2.  2 backing sheets with silpat or parchment paper
3.  Whisk/Shift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a bowl. 3 times.
4.  In a large bow, beat together butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
5.  Mix in carrots, nuts, and raisins with a wooden spoon/spatula, then add flour mixture and mix until just combined.
6.  Drop 1 TBspoon batter, 2 inches apart.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned and springy to the touch.
Remember to switch position of sheets halfway through baking.

7.   Cool cookies on sheets on racks 1 minute, then transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.
8.  While cookies are baking, prepare frosting.   With an electric mixter, blend the cream cheeses, butter, and confectioner's sugar in a small bowl until smooth.
9.  Sandwich flat sides of cookies together with a generous tablespoon of cream cheese filling in between.   I used pastry bag.

Lemon Bundt Cake with Chocolate Glaze and Candied Lemon Wannabe

Found the recipe.  It's from foodnetwork, Giada De Laurentiis' recipe collections.
This cake recipe was found just in time to use all the wonderful fresh lemons my co-worker gave me.  And I find it interesting to add candied lemons.

 

My kitchen temperature is 61'F.  Butter is not getting creamed.

 

Depending on your kitchen's temperature, your butter mixture may have a difficulty creaming.  Tip:  Take a small amount of butter - 1/4 C mixture into a microwaveable bowl.  Microwave it just enough to soften, but not melted.  Add it back into the mixer bowl.  And continue beating.  The warmth from the softened butter mixture would help the grainy sugar blend in more with butter resulting in smooth creamy butter batter.

 

After adding the cake batter into Bundt cake mold, smooth out the top, and tap the cake mold on a cushion to help release some trapped air in the batter.

 

While the cake is baking, make the chocolate glaze.

 

This recipe was found in foodnetwork's cake recipe collection.  I made a couple of modifications to meet my kitchen requirements. 

 http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/lemon-bundt-cake-with-chocolate-glaze-and-candied-lemon.html

Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients :

Candied Lemon:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
2 lemons, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds

Cake:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1 cup Sourcream, room temperature    << Modified from yogurt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Zest of 2 lemons
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt

Chocolate Glaze:
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup whipping cream

Directions

For the candied lemon: Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the chopped lemon and simmer until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to drain. Let cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Set aside.

For the cake

* Flour shifting modification from the original recipe:  Sift Flour 3 times and then measure our 3 cups of flour.  Add baking powder, baking soda and salt and shift again 3 times.  Set aside.   

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or using a hand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

However, if your kitchen is as cold as mine in the winter – about 61’F, the butter remains likely in solid state even after a good mixing.  

TIP:

Take a ¼ Cup of the butter and sugar mixture out and microwave it to “SOFTEN”.  DO NOT MELT.   Then, return it to the mixer to continue mixing.  A slight rise in the butter mixture would help in smoothing out the rest of the butter and change the texture into silky smoothness.

Mix in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. On low speed, slowly add the Sourcream and the vanilla. Stop the mixer, add the lemon zest and juice, and mix to incorporate. The batter mixture might look curdling.  Keep mixing, it will become smooth.

Preheat the oven to 350’F..

(Original recipe direction in mixing in flour - With the mixer on low, add the flour, one cup at a time, until combined.  Finally, add the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Raise to medium speed and mix for 1 minute, until the batter is fluffy and smooth. )

<< 

Stop the mixer and Fold the Flour into the mixture to prevent gluten development.

Mix in the chopped candied lemons.

If you have an aluminum Bundt Cake pan prepare it as usual with oil/greasing and flouring.  If you have a Teflon coated 'dark' surface Bundt cake pan, I don't recommend greasing and or flouring it.

With a spatula or wooden spoon, transfer the batter to the prepared Bundt pan and smooth out the top.  Tap the cake mold to release trapped air in the batter.  Set the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake until golden and a cake tester comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Let the cake cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before turning it out onto a plate. 

If greased and or floured Teflon cake mold is used, be watchful for the browning before the baking time is up.

Slide sturdy plastic knife all around to loosen the cake.

For the glaze: Place the chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Once bubbles have formed around the edges of the cream, pour it over the chocolate. Whisk the cream and chocolate together until smooth. (Optional:  Add a teaspoon of heavy corn syrup) Pour the glaze over the Bundt cake, using a spatula or spoon to push the glaze down the sides and center of the cake.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/lemon-bundt-cake-with-chocolate-glaze-and-candied-lemon.html?oc=linkback

 The candied lemon gives an interesting burst of tangy taste.

Best Holiday Biscotti

Another great holiday Biscotti that I can always trust on for its best turnout.   Actually, this Biscotti is good for/with dipping in coffee, tea, hot chocolate, milk any time of the year.

The recipe can be found at:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/holiday-biscotti-recipe4.html
Chopped pistachio, chopped raisins, drained and dried overnight maraschino cherries-chopped.

 

After making the initial form of the dough between a saranwrap, transfer the dough on silipad on baking sheet.  Use your outer edges of your palms to form / mold the edges of the doughs to 'round' corner.

While they are still quite warm, about 3 minutes after coming out of the oven, transfer to a cutting board, use a 'sharp' serrated knife slice them.  Slice down evenly with blade moving horizontally back and forth.  Let the serrated edges do the work of slicing to prevent crumbling.

Place them side ways in the baking sheet and bake again.    Follow the recipe link's instruction above

If you do not want them baked dry crisp, then, serve them as is.