BB-Ina's Beatty's Chocolate Cake

For the month of September, the Barefoot Bloggers chose two chocolate cake recipes. The first one I had not heard good things about and the second was Beatty's Chocolate cake. I have wanted to make this cake for as long as I can remember because of all the great things I have heard about it. The funny thing about this recipe that I do have to mention is that although Ina calls it her friend Beatty’s recipe….it appears to originally be a Hershey recipe called the Black Magic Cake. The recipe is identical as in word by word and I find it odd that Ina doesn’t mention anything about this anywhere. But I digress, the recipe itself was very easy to make and was not too time consuming. The batter was extremely watery; I have actually never seen batter that was almost pure liquid. I admit I was worried, but it did form and everything turned out fine. I used cake circles to take the cakes out of the baking pans. This is not a cool and flip-over and remove cake type of recipe; even if you sprayed your pans trust me when I say at least one of your cakes will break in half if not both. You need to somehow support your cakes when you remove them. The cake itself was extremely moist and had a great flavor. The icing on the other hand, I did not enjoy too much. But I think that may have had something to do with the fact I knew there was a raw egg in there. Which brings to this question-what purpose does a raw egg yolk serve in icing? I left in the recipe when I made it because I was curious but I have never heard of this. I was a little surprised when I originally saw the recipe and saw an egg yolk in the icing. Apart from the egg yolk, I thought it could have been more rich and intense in flavor. It was too light and sweet for me. The verdict on this recipe is that-I would make the cake again but with a different icing recipe. If you are interested, you can find the recipe here.


Enjoy!

BB- White Pizza with Arugula

Well it's that time again-time for a Barefoot Blogger post! This week Andrea of Nummy Kitchen has chosen Inas White Pizza with Arugula. Now here is the thing and when it comes to me there is always a thing. I think there are 2 types of people, those who like white sauces and those that don't. I frankly fall in the latter. Although, I don't strongly dislike them, I don't particularly like them. I like my pasta and pizzas with a nice red sauce. Now I promise I will never write about fat and calories on this blog, but I did do some quick calculations and one of these little pizza's should have at least 60grams of fat and I say at least because I lost one of the cheese wrappers with the nutritional info. Now I love my Ina and her use of 1lb of butter in every recipe but sometimes a recipe will freak me out. You know when it’s a dessert you can have a little piece and move on; when it’s a special occasion, you can chalk it up to it’s only one time; but when it’s for a week night dinner, I feel like it’s too much.

But I will say for the love my art ;) I did have a slice and I thought it was ok-I would have preferred a red sauce but then that wouldn't have been a white pizza with arugula. Now for you cheese lovers cover you ears….are they covered? Ok, I also felt there was just too much cheese going on. Blasphemy I know! Well anyways enough about me, we've all figured out I'm strange by now. Lets talk about people who had no idea how much fat was in the pizza and actually ate it-my husband and his friend. My husband thought the pizza was ok but highly impressed that I made the dough from scratch and his friend thought it was fabulous. So you see the moral of this story is that this recipe is neither here nor there and when it comes to a review. Oh and just incase you were wondering, I still me some Ina! Now don't forget to check to see what other Barefoot Bloggers thought!

You can find the recipe here.

BB-Mango Banana Daiquiris

It is the second Thursday of the month, so you know what that means- we have a Barefoot Blogger post. This month Veronica of Supermarket Serenade has chosen Mango Banana Daiquiris. First of all, before I go any further, let me be a child and tell you how super excited I was when I saw that this recipe required minimal ingredients and no cooking or baking. Not sure why but I felt like a child whos teacher forgot to assign her homework.

Anyways, my intention was to make this recipe over a weekend when I typically have friends over. However, due to a string of unfortunate events, like both my husband and I getting food poisoning, I was unable to do so. But, never one to let an opportunity for a good drink pass me by, I made this on a Wednesday afternoon. Well let me tell you, it's not quite the happy hour drink but, nonetheless, it was still enjoyable. To me this is the quintessential drink to enjoy on hot summer day while sitting by the pool reading a magazine. It is cold, cool and refreshing, just what you need while you are baking under the sun instead of baking things in the oven. However, don't get me wrong this works just as well on a Wednesday afternoon or Tuesday afternoon or Monay afternoon....well you get the point.

Be sure to check out the other Barefoot Bloggers!

Mango Banana Daiquiris
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics- Ina Garten
2 cups chopped ripe mango (1 to 2 mangos, peeled and seeded)
1 ripe banana, chopped
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (4 limes)
1/4 cup sugar syrup*
1 1/4 cups dark rum
Mango slices, for serving

Directions
1. Place the mango, banana, lime juice, sugar syrup, and rum in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Add 2 cups of ice and blend again until smooth and thick.
3. Serve with slices of mangos as garnish.

*To make simple syrup, heat 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in a small saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Chill.
Serves 4

Enjoy!

Peach and Blueberry Crumble

Peach and Blueberry Crumble- My very first Barefoot Blogger Post!!!!

Barefoot Bloggers are a group of bloggers who love all things Ina Garten aka Barefoot Contessa. Every month two different bloggers are chosen to pick an Ina recipe for all of us bloggers to try and write about on the same day (the second and fourth Thursday of every month). This month Aggie of Aggie’s Kitchen has chosen Ina's Peach and Blueberry Crumble.

I have to admit that I have never been fond of desserts with fruit in them, on them...anywhere near them ;). In fact I can actually go so far as to say, I go out of my way to avoid them. Why…I have no idea. I mean I love fruit and I love dessert but I've never loved them together or rather I should say I've never given them a chance together. So this recipe was a good opportunity for me to try something new and open up my horizons. I made the recipe when my mother in law was here with my husbands 14 year old cousin. The adults all really enjoyed this recipe, but the 14 year old looked at it, made a face and ran the other way. There are some people who equate dessert with chocolate and that’s it. I’m glad to say I am no longer one those people ;) I actually really enjoyed this recipe but if I had to change one thing- I would probably cut the sugar in the crumble by half. I found it a little too sweet for my taste. Since I enjoyed making this recipe so much, I can’t wait to try other fruit combinations!

Peach and Blueberry Crumble
Ina Garten-Barefoot Contessa at Home

Ingredients
For the fruit
2 lbs firm, ripe peaches (6-8 peaches)
2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup fresh blueberries (1/2 pint)

For the Crumble
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 lb (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place the peaches in boiling water for a minute or so, until their skins peel off easily. Place them immediately in cold water. Peel the peaches, slice them into thick wedges, and place them in a large bowl.
3. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, granulated sugar, and flour. Toss well. Gently mix in the blueberries. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. Spoon the mixture into ramekins or custard cups.
4.For the topping, combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas. Rub the mixture with your fingertips until it’s in big crumbles, then sprinkle evenly over the fruit.
5.Place the ramekins on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and back for 40 to 45 minutes, until the tops are browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

You can these early, store the unbaked crumbles int he refrigerator and bake before dinner. Serves 5 to 6.

Enjoy!