YumSugar

Spread Holiday Cheer With a Bûche de Noël

YumSugar — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:00:43 -0800

I've been dreaming of classic Christmas desserts, so this holiday, I thought I'd bake a bûche de Noël. Rather than opting for excessive designs and detailed accessories, I made a modern cake roll that looked (and felt) effortless. My guests couldn't get enough of the moist, light mocha sponge cake, which was a nice contrast to the sweet and nutty German chocolate filling. Impress your guests when you read more.

German Chocolate Cake Roll
From Food Network Magazine

Ingredients

1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup plus 1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large egg yolks plus 3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 stick cubed butter plus 1-1/2 sticks softened butter (2-1/2 sticks or 1-1/4 cups total)
1 teaspoon plus 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (3 teaspoons total)
1-2/3 cups sweetened coconut, toasted until light brown
1 cup chopped pecans
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/3 cup strong hot coffee
1/3 cup buttermilk
Confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Directions

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºF. Lightly grease a 13-by-18-inch jelly roll pan; line with parchment paper, letting it come up the short sides by about 2 inches. Brush the paper with oil or melted butter and lightly dust with flour.
Make the filling: Whisk the evaporated milk, 1 cup sugar, 3 egg yolks, and the cubed butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until thick and creamy, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla, toasted coconut, and pecans. Set aside to cool completely, stirring occasionally.
Make the cake: Meanwhile, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
In another bowl, whisk the cocoa and chocolate. Add the hot coffee to the cocoa mixture, stirring until smooth; stir in the buttermilk and the remaining 2 teaspoons vanilla.
Using a mixer, beat the softened butter and remaining 1-1/4 cups sugar in a large bowl on high speed until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Reduce the speed to low; add the 3 whole eggs, 1 at a time, incorporating each one before adding the next. Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the cocoa mixture in 2 parts, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat until just blended; if necessary, fold the batter together with a rubber spatula.
Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake until cake springs back when pressed lightly, about 16 minutes. Cool slightly in the pan.
Run a knife around the edge and slide the cake with its paper onto a work surface. Spread the coconut filling evenly over the cake. Roll the cake from one of the short ends, pulling it away from the parchment into a tight cylinder; transfer to a platter. Cool completely and dust with the confectioners' sugar or cocoa.

Serves 8 to 12.

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We Tried Chocolate Skittles So You Can Buy Something Else Instead

YumSugar — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:13:51 -0800

Yesterday, my gal BuzzSugar surprised me with a packet of Chocolate Skittles. It was pretty exciting, because not only is it something new, it is also in time for chocolate month.

I heard about this new line of Skittles, but I hadn't actually seen them before. She found them at a local Walgreen's and picked up a pack for us to try.

I'll admit, I was really skeptical before eating these. I imagined them to be a bit odd and sort of so-so. Sadly, I was spot on. There are five flavors inside each pack, and none of them blew me away. They ranged from jelly bean like to Tootsie roll-like. To find out what we thought of each flavor, read more.

Vanilla: These tasted just like vanilla jelly beans (think Easter candy). Also, no one could understand how vanilla made its way into a chocolate mix.

S'mores: There's definitely a toasty marshmallow flavor in here, but I didn't taste the chocolate. It was decent tasting, but someone at the HQ thought it was "like a bad Jelly Belly flavor."

Chocolate Caramel: Once again, no real chocolate flavor. However it was the favorite of more than one person. There's a slight caramely flavor, that was just a tad artificial - although really, are any of these flavors going to be "natural" tasting?

Chocolate Pudding: A lot of people liked this one and thought it tasted just like a cup of pudding. Notice we said cup, like a store-bought pudding cup. Not like real chocolate pudding.

Brownie Bite: This was like the center of a Tootsie-roll pop, only without all the chewyness that makes a Tootsie-roll worth eating. Sort of fudgy, but not great.

Would I buy these again? No, but then they really didn't have much of a chance with me; I'd rather buy a bag of M&Ms or a bag of fruit Skittles, and couldn't see how these were an improvement over either. Yet I can see how, if you were a chocolate fiend, these might just hit the spot. Either way they're worth tasting for yourself, although if you hate them, don't say I didn't warn ya.

What Would You Make?

partysugar — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 10:13:31 -0800

Here's the scenario: You are at home and hungry for food. You have to cook up something scrumptious for you and your boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse/child/friend, but the ingredients you have on hand are limited.

You have a jar of sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, frozen puff-pastry dough, and pesto. Using these products, along with whatever you currently have on hand in your cupboard and refrigerator, what would you make?

To see what I would whip up, read more

While the puff pastry is thawing, I would finely chop the sun-dried tomatoes. I usually have olives on hand, so I would mince a couple.
I would grate some Parmesan cheese and roll the dough out in a thin square.
Next, I would spread the pesto on top of the dough and sprinkle on the chopped sun-dried tomatoes and olives, covering the entire dough evenly. Then I would top this with the Parmesan cheese.
I would roll the creation up like a jelly roll and set in the freezer for the dough to harden.
Ten to fifteen minutes later I would slice the roll into pieces and bake in the oven.
I would call them pinwheels and serve as a snack with a sparkling rosé.

Source and Source

Easter Fun Facts!

partysugar — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 01:11:53 -0700

I hope that nobody minds my tiny obsession with useless knowledge concerning statistics and facts about food and holidays. I happen to think that knowing a plethora of nonsensical information is an incredibly fun conversation starter, especially in awkward or uncomfortable moments. Although DearSugar may not approve, I'm all for avoiding horrid questions by quickly changing the subject. I mean how else do you deal when you're at your family's Easter brunch and your uncle asks you how your job is going and you were fired the week before? Well instead of bursting into tears or bashing your former employer say: hey did you know that 90 million chocolate Easter bunnies are made for Easter each year? Or that the world's largest jelly bean weighs over 6000 pounds?? I'm telling you read through my Easter fun facts and you'll have something interesting to say when you are at a loss for words. To find out what part of a chocolate bunny gets eaten first and just how many marshmallow Peeps get consumed each year read more

When taking a bite into a chocolate bunny, 76% of Americans prefer to bite off the ears first. 5% eat the feet first and 4% eat the tail first.
During the Easter season, Americans buy more than 700 million Peeps - making Peeps the most popular non-chocolate Easter candy.
Adults prefer milk chocolate (65%) over dark chocolate (27%).
86% would prefer having chocolate bunnies instead of a live rabbit.
Each day throughout the year, 5 million marshmallow chicks and bunnies are produced in preparation for Easter.
16 billion jelly beans are made specifically for Easter which is enough to fill a plastic egg the size of a 9-story building.

Kids prefer red jelly beans and 75% are willing to do extra chores for more Easter candy.
57% of kids get up super early on Easter to see what the Easter bunny has brought them.
80% of parents carry on the tradition of the Easter bunny by preparing a surprise Easter basket filled with goodies for their children and 90% of adults hope for their own Easter treat.
The first chocolate eggs were made in Germany in the 19th century and remain one of the most popular Easter candies today.

Solid chocolate bunnies are favored, followed closely by hollow chocolate bunnies, marshmallow filled bunnies, and other Easter bunny candy.

In the old days pretzels were associated with Easter because the twists of the pretzel were thought to resemble arms crossing in prayer.
The exchange of eggs for Easter dates back to a springtime custom older than Easter itself in which eggs were given as a symbol of rebirth in many cultures.

The Easter egg roll on the White House lawn has been a tradition since 1878.
After Halloween, Easter is the biggest candy consuming holiday.

Got a fun Easter food fact? Please share it with me, I'm dying to know more!

Source

Top 10 Harry Potter Related Recipes

YumSugar — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:20:30 -0700

With the new Harry Potter book hitting shelves tonight, I thought it would be fun to re-post the roundup of Harry Potter inspired recipes. So enjoy these while you're waiting in line and oh, you may want to pick up a Harry Potter Preserver - after all you've waited this long, why run the risk of ruining the book now?!

Acid Pops - Use super-sour lollipops and roll them in Pop Rocks for a super effect! Use honey to make the Pop Rocks stick if necessary
Quidditch Players Pie - Quidditch players need a hearty meal to get them ready for the match. As Fleur Delacour says, this "zis 'eavy 'ogwarts food."

Licorice Wands - Be sure to stock up on your ride back to Hogwarts!
Pumpkin Juice - Just like the students drink on the Hogwarts Express.
Mrs. Weasley's Rock Cakes - These should be crumbly in texture and are perfect for serving with tea. Just don't bake them too long or they'll turn out like Hagrid's rock cakes.

See the rest of the list, read more

Ton-Tongue Toffees - Your tongue might not grow four feet long, but the toffees are going to taste delicious on them.
Pumpkin Pasties - Just like the ones available on Hogwart's Express and Honeydukes.
Butterbeer - Hot or cold, butterbeer always hits the right spot.
Jelly Slugs - These slugs will turn out even if you don't have a fancy slug-shaped pan.
Cauldron Cakes - These delicious spice cakes are like the ones sold on Hogwarts Express.

Did I miss your favorite Harry Potter recipe? If so, share it with us in the comments!