Chocolate Meringues

My fondest memories of my grandma involve us baking together.  We always made her two specialties - orange cake and meringues - and I vividly remember the first time my 8-year-old self decided tasting vanilla powder was a good idea.  In honor of my grandma, I made these airy and chewy chocolate meringues.  I loved how they turned out - light and fragile on the outside, yet chocolatey and almost brownie-like in the middle.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup egg whites 
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 5 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped finely

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites and sugar. Set the bowl over a double boiler with simmering water and whisk until the sugar granules have dissolved.  This will take a few minutes.
2. Remove the bowl from the double boiler.  Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and sugar on high speed until medium peaks forms and the mixture is glossy.  It should resemble melted marshmallows. Be patient. This process will take at least ten minutes.
3. Sift the cocoa powder over the meringue.  Sprinkle with the chopped chocolate and gently fold the mixture making sure not to deflate the meringue.
4. Drop the meringue on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper in heaping spoonfuls.  Alternatively, pipe the meringue into bite-sized kisses. 
5. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Above: I prefer to use Ghirardelli chocolate products while baking.

Below: The meringue should hold medium to stiff peaks. 

Above: Bite-sized piped kisses on the left.  Big dollops on the right. Larger meringues yield chewier and fudgier centers.

Below: Voila! 

Nostalgia Cupcakes

My Grandma was famous for her orange cake. There was something magical about it. Maybe it was the swirl of cocoa powder in each slice. Or maybe it was the unique shape of the pan (which I still can't find). Whatever it was, Grandma's cake was always made with love and each time she made it, the cake tasted better than the last. I doubt any orange cake will ever match her's, but this recipe definitely comes very close. Without a doubt, these are the best cupcakes I've ever made. And the orange cream cheese frosting truly is the icing on the cake.

For the icing, this is a good base recipe. Add a dash of vanilla extract and adjust the orange juice and confectioner's sugar to achieve a spreadable frosting to your liking. Garnish with thinly sliced orange peel.

Spring Is Here

 I kicked off the beginning of spring by whipping up a batch of lemon bars - the quintessential spring snack. I used this perfectly simple recipe and ended up with light and refreshing lemon squares. Just like spring! And for an added kick, pop the squares in the fridge for a few hours to chill. It makes a world of a difference. 

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

The best way to use day old French baguette.
Cube it and toss it in the mixture. 

Fall may be over, but until the supermarkets stop selling yams and pumpkins, I plan to continue taking advantage of my favorite seasonal flavors. I love the classic flavor of bread pudding, so I decided to add a little kick to it by infusing pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg flavors for a festive feel. I omitted raisins and didn't make the accompanying caramel sauce because the sweetness level was perfect as is. I'll probably be stocking up on pumpkin puree to recreate this recipe again before next fall. 

Next time, I'll try pairing the warm pudding
with some vanilla ice cream.

Scrumptious Brownies (From Scratch!)

I have a confession. I'm guilty of committing the heinous culinary faux pas of using a box mix to make "homemade" brownies. I'm sure Sandra Lee would be proud, but fortunately, my box-mix days are long gone. I recently redeemed myself and to prove it, here are the brownies I made from scratch this afternoon after work. I tried this recipe from Bon Appétit and I ended up with a batch of the ooey gooey-est, chewiest, fudge-like brownies I've ever made. Perfect with a glass of cold milk.

fold into the batter any chopped nuts of your choice.
i prefer walnuts.

spread the batter in a 9x12 greased pan
and top with leftover nuts.

need i say more?

My personal notes:

*I didn't have bittersweet chocolate on hand, so I used half semi-sweet chocolate chips and half unsweetened baking chocolate, both from Trader Joe's. 

*Feel free to mix in your choice of nuts or chews, such as almonds or coconut. It'll give it a kick!

*For an added punch, try out a peanut butter frosting. 

*For chewy and ooey gooey brownies, bake the batter for about 30-35 minutes. Let the pan rest and fully cool before cutting into pieces.

*Share these with your friends. Otherwise, you WILL eat the entire pan.