My top 10 favorite Baking Mischief recipe posts of 2016.
It’s the last post of 2016! On Monday, I posted the Top 10 Most Popular Baking Mischief Recipes of 2016. Today, I’m rounding up my favorites. A lot of my favorites were already featured in Monday’s round up, but these are the posts I loved the most that didn’t crack the top 10 list.
My Favorite Posts of 2016
I had more fun creating this Game of Thrones Frey Pie recipe than almost anything else I made this year. It’s the perfect meeting of delicious to eat, gorgeous to look at, and delightful to feed to people. 😉
I’m genuinely disappointed these Pumpkin Donuts with Maple Glaze didn’t really catch on, because they might be my favorite new thing I made this fall. Expect to see me pushing them big time next year when pumpkin time rolls ’round again.
I’m so pleased with this recipe for Easy Teriyaki Chicken for Two . I’ve been wanting to make my own teriyaki sauce for a while, and after much experimenting, I finally arrived at my perfect recipe.
These Cinnamon Apple Crumb Muffins are one of the most devourable things I’ve ever made. You eat one, and it’s so good that there’s a 99% chance you are going back for a second. After the first test batch, I literally had to start boxing up the leftovers and sending them away as soon as they came out of the oven so I wouldn’t eat them all.
I laugh and think of curmudgeonly bookshop owners every single time I make these Black Books -inspired Tinto De Verano Red Wine Popsicles .
I cannot wait to make up a big batch of these “real good” American Gods Easy Beef Pasties and watch the new American Gods show this year!!!
That’s a wrap for 2016. Happy New Year, and I’ll see you all in 2017!
This rich and decadent mini chocolate sheet cake starts with a light and fluffy chocolate cake base and then gets smothered in a dreamy chocolate icing.
Hey, guys, this will be the last recipe of 2016. I’ll be posting a round up of my f avorite Baking Mischief recipes of the year on Friday, but if you don’t drop by again before New Year’s, happy New Year!! I hope your New Year’s Eve is joyful and safe and New Year’s Day fresh and energizing.
Today’s recipe is another of my favorites from Baking for Two , and in the book it’s titled “Death by Chocolate Sheet Cake” (a name I deemed no longer charming in late 2016). It’s been penciled in on my editorial calendar as “FU 2016 Cake” since sometime around the beginning of November, and I figured it would at least be a delicious way to end a bummer of a year.
Year-end gloominess aside, this is a pretty superb little chocolate dessert. The cake is light, almost delicate, and comes together quick and easy. But the real show stopper is the chocolate icing over the top. It is completely decadent and delicious.
I’m a big fan of frosting cakes with pourable icing because there’s no skill or stress to it. You just mix the icing up on the stove and the pour it over your cake–the cake doesn’t even have to be completely cooled. The top of the icing sets after a few minutes, but the rest stays gooey and fudgy and so good. It doesn’t look like much when you are pouring it on, but trust me, it’s a substantial layer and so rich you’ll definitely need a glass of milk to go along with it.
This Mini Chocolate Sheet Cake recipe will make four big cake slices or six smaller ones. I baked it in a ceramic baking dish for these photos, but if you plan on transporting your cake, I totally recommend making it in a 7×5-inch Pyrex container so you can just pop a lid on and go.
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- ▢ 7x5-inch Baking Dish
Chocolate Cake
- ▢ 1/4 cup ( 30 g) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 5 g) natural cocoa powder sifted if lumpy
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 4 tablespoons ( 2 oz) unsalted butter room temperature
- ▢ 1/4 cup ( 50 g) granulated sugar
- ▢ 1 large egg white
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- ▢ 2 tablespoons milk
- ▢ 2 tablespoons hot coffee or water
Chocolate Icing
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 1 oz) unsalted butter
- ▢ 1 tablespoon milk
- ▢ 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ 2 heaping tablespoons finely chopped semisweet chocolate (high-quality chips are fine)
- ▢ 1/2 cup ( 60 g) powdered sugar sifted
- ▢ Sprinkles optional
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease a 7x5-inch baking dish.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Whisk in egg white and vanilla until well-combined.
- One at a time, stir in half of the flour mixture, all of the milk, and the remaining flour mixture, mixing until just-combined after each. Stir in hot coffee (or hot water) and mix until combined. Mixture will be thin.
- Pour into prepared baking dish. Bake for 14 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool for at least five minutes before starting the glaze.
Chocolate Icing
- In a 1-quart saucepan, combine butter, milk, corn syrup and vanilla. Heat over medium heat, whisking until butter is melted and ingredients are mixed. Add chocolate and whisk until chocolate is melted and incorporated. Turn heat down to low and add sifted powdered sugar. Whisk until sugar melts into the chocolate mixture. Remove from heat and pour immediately over the slightly cooled cake. Add sprinkles if desired.
- Allow glaze 5 to 10 minutes to set before serving the cake in the baking container. Slice and enjoy with a strong cup of coffee.
Notes
This Panda Express-Inspired String Bean Chicken is light, simple, and delicious. If you’re looking for a healthy dinner for two, look no further!
Happy 2017! How was your New Years Eve?
Did you watch the Sherlock season 4 premiere yesterday? Oh man. Rough. (And you know I love this show–I made Sherlock cookies last year!)
We’re back for another year of recipes, and as is tradition, recipes on the blog this month will be on the lighter side. You might remember last January’s salad series where I posted some of my favorite healthy salads like my BLT Salad and Asian Chicken Salad (if you haven’t tried those salads, you totally should–they are THE BEST).
This year I don’t I have any January salads for you, but I do have lots of my favorite healthy dinners and lighter desserts scheduled that I can’t wait to share.
Things may as well be delicious while we all recover from the smorgasbord that was December.
First up is my favorite Panda Express Copycat recipe around, String Bean Chicken. I know. I know. You hear fast food-inspired and do not think light and healthy, but this String Bean Chicken is made with lean and light boneless skinless chicken breast and packed full of green beans and bell peppers.
It’s a cinch to throw together and SO good. My sister introduced me to this recipe a few years ago, and aside from my Teriyaki Chicken , it’s the Asian-inspired recipe that I make the most often. Mostly because it’s delicious, but also because everything can be cut and prepped ahead of time, so it’s a perfect weeknight meal.
Chop and mix everything over the weekend, and then day of, just pour the marinade over the chicken in the morning, and that evening, everything cooks up in about 15 minutes.
That means that not only is this Panda Express-style String Bean Chicken that tastes better than takeout, but it’s FASTER too.
As written, this String Bean Chicken recipe generously serves 2. To change the recipe yield, hover over the number of servings (or click if you are on mobile) and slide the slider–no preparation changes are necessary for doubling.
Ingredients
Marinade
- ▢ 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ▢ 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ▢ 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- ▢ 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Chicken and Vegetables
- ▢ 1 small boneless skinless chicken breast (about 8 ounces) cut into strips
- ▢ 1 tablespoon oil use your favorite cooking oil
- ▢ 1/2 cup chopped onion cut into 1/2-inch squares
- ▢ 1/2 cup water divided
- ▢ 2 cloves garlic minced
- ▢ 6 ounces green beans trimmed and halved
- ▢ 1/2 red bell pepper diced into 1/2-inch squares
- ▢ Salt to taste
Serve Over
- ▢ White steamed rice
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, and toasted sesame oil. Place cubed chicken in a disposable plastic bag and pour mixture over the top. Toss to coat. Allow to marinate for at least 15 minutes, up to 12 hours.
- In a medium wok or saute pan (with a lid), heat oil over medium high heat. Once hot, add chicken and cook until cooked through. Transfer chicken to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.
- Return pan to heat. Deglaze with a couple tablespoons of the water and add onion and garlic. Cook for three minutes, until onion just begins to turn translucent around the edges.
- Add green beans and bell pepper and cook for another three minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of the water, cover, and continue to cook until vegetables reach your desired level of doneness, adding more water as necessary, about 3 to 8 minutes*.
- Stir in chicken and cook just until chicken is hot. Salt to taste.
- Serve over white rice.
Notes
