dessert – Page 13 – morestomach

coffee chocolate chip ice cream

Published on January 2, 2014February 14, 2016 by Lan | MoreStomach21 Comments

i know it’s january
i know that it’s inappropriate
and very unseasonal
to talk about cold treats
like ice cream
i have no excuse
i have just one pic to share,
the lighting is shit
but i just had to tell you about this ice cream:
i’m usually huddled
under a blanket
when i shove spoonfuls
of the stuff in my face
i’m also usually
lamenting that my ass
CANNOT take anymore
if i don’t run soon
and yet
the stuff is here
in january
not july, not even may
when the blush of summer
is creeping
no
it’s here
and i fear
i will need to run marathons
this year
to keep my ass
a decent size
so dw doesn’t leave me
just kidding
the man is instigator
to all things glutton

here’s to the 2nd day of 2014
freezing our asses off
being ~~pigs~~ happy
and already fucking up our resolutions

coffee chocolate chip ice cream
*note: once you have a solid custard based recipe, play around with the different flavors. i had to use up some yolks i had laying around making this cake, i ended up with 6 yolks but methinks 5 is or even less would be just fine.
*all the other coffee ice cream recipes i looked at made use of powdered/instant espresso which i don’t have and i wasn’t about to go out to buy. again, play with the flavors, if the flavors don’t work out, add chocolate chips, it’ll save the whole concoction.

2 1/2 cups of lactose free half & half, i use organic valley
1/2 cup strong coffee, my mini-keurig contraption only brews 3/4+ cups at a time, so i boiled it down to half cup
1/2 scant cup sugar
6 egg yolks, 5 or even 4 would be fine, i had to use them up or chuck them
1 tsp vanilla, optional
1/2 TBL potato starch, corn starch is fine too
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, i used enjoy life

brew up your coffee, set aside 1/2 cup, or boil it down for a more intense flavor, set aside.

to make custard, pour 2 cups of half & half into small sauce pan, with the sugar. on low heat stir until sugar is dissolved. add in the coffee, raise to medium-high heat and heat up the liquid to hot, stirring consistently.

in bowl have your yolks ready. with a ladle carefully pour a small amount of the hot liquid onto to the yolks, stirring with a whisk. this is called tempering, to avoid scrambling the yolks. if need to, add another ladle full, again, stirring constantly. pour the warmed yolks into the sauce pan with the rest of the hot half & half, keep stirring on medium heat. you want the liquid to thicken and get all custardy. there are tips/tricks out there to know when the custard is done, i typically stop when i’m tired of stirring and i have other things to do. this works for me, it may not for you.

with remaining 1/2 cup half & half, add in the 1/2 TBL potato starch and vanilla. mix and then add to the custard and stir some more. this will get super thick. remove from heat and allow to cool, preferably a few hours or over night.

when ready to make ice cream, pour into maker and churn according to machine’s specifications. in the last 5 minutes add the chips.

serve right away or allow to harden a smidge in the freezer.

boom.

my other ice cream concoctions:
peppermint chocolate chip ice cream
coconut anise ice cream
mint chocolate ice cream
strawberry & coconut milk ice cream

minty snow cake

Published on December 23, 2013December 23, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach23 Comments

at the risk of sounding anti-climatic
my experience with christmas has historically been
lackluster
there is just something
very undramatical
about my childhood of christmases
until about 10 years old
we never had a tree
and when we did start
i wasn’t allowed to decorate it
what with my lack of artistic spacing
and ornamental picking ability
along with my stepmother’s ~~anal~~
Type-A desire for
uniformity and beauty
tree decorating is a skill i never learned
in fact,
i am so bad that the one
time i attempted to decorate a tree
as an adult
my then boyfriend took all the shit down
and redecorated the ~~fucking~~ thing
hashtag Eff Off Xmas

it should not be surprising to know
then
that we don’t have a tree
nor do we have any other decorations up
with the exception
of a few wedding slash thank you slash holiday
card obligations
the days have been business as usual
but there’s been cake
a minty snow cake to be exact

so, from us,
ones who don’t celebrate christmas
wishing you & yours
a delightful week
have cake,
be merry

Minty Snow Cake
adapted from cook’s illustrated, but published on epicurious, cus i refuse to pay a membership fee to the former site

*note: i ended up doubling the recipe, i was hoping the layers would rise enough to slice in half but they didn’t. my end result was three layers, the fourth layer is being consumed separate. the recipe i post will be single.
my adaption is lactose-free, and for one of the layers i used liquid egg whites which made the cake batter watery-er and it didn’t rise as much as the layers with actual egg whites. the taste is the same though.
also, cook’s illustrated is legendary with their method on time, ingredients, blah blah blah. ain’t nobody got time for that. mix accordingly to common sense, bake based on how you know your oven, not on how far your pans can be from the wall and from each other. i’m just saying. hashtag this is me being ornery and eye rolling at CI.

2 1/4 cups (9oz) cake flour, plus more for dusting the pans
1 cup whole milk or in my case, lactose free half&half, at room temperature, i use organic valley
6 (3/4 cup) large egg whites, at room temperature, or Abbotsford Farm 100% liquid egg whites
2 tsp peppermint extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups (12 1/4oz) granulated sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp table salt
12 TBL vegan butter, softened but still cool, i use earth balance vegan buttery sticks

preheat oven to 350F & prepare 2 8″ round pans

in the mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. cream with the butter. it’ll look like sugar cookie batter. scrape down the bowl.

in a pouring vessel, best is a glass measuring cup, add in the half&half with the egg whites, along with the extracts. mix until blended.

pour half the liquid into the batter, mixing until well incorporated. scrape the sides of the bowl often. add remaining liquid and repeat mixing and scraping. pour batter into the prepared pans.

bake for 27 – 30 minutes, until the cake pulls from the sides of the pan smidge, it’ll be a pretty golden on top and a toothpick will come out clean. cool on rack.

i used a typical buttercream recipe, of vegan butter + powdered sugar + a few splashes of peppermint extract.

i used these methods & inspiration for attiring the cake.

for more pretty cakes.

birthday | peppermint chocolate chip ice cream

Published on December 12, 2013February 14, 2016 by Lan | MoreStomach24 Comments

today
yes,
today
of all days
i will indulge
in all manner of the word

i’m such a liar
i’ve been indulging all week
every year around this time
i reflect on all that has happened
in the last 365 days
and
in the last 36 29 36 years

exactly one year ago today
i was so incredibly humbled
when i thought about the grace
i’d been given
i am still awed by it
there is no adequate way for me to express how
grateful i am
so i won’t
to expand on that particular post,
35 random things i’ve done this year,
in no particular order

|| got engaged
|| looked for scarlett and avery, but to no avail
|| had the best bo kho, in Nashville of all places. dined there everyday we were there
|| went to my first honky tonk
|| saw the pacific ocean with my beloved
|| read this book
|| picked 22lbs of blueberries
|| catered my very first, and technically only, party
|| planted an illegal rooftop garden. well, dw did. i helped. by watching.
|| finally watched the entire West Wing series, josh lyman is kinda beast
|| witnessed Thunder from Down Under
|| i ran just 2 races. (will rectify in the coming new year)
|| saw Jim Gaffigan, yes, he did talk about hot pockets
|| attended dw’s high school reunion. what.a.trip.
|| we climbed a wall
|| visited a local organic animal farm, i may have informed dw that i wanted to own a pet pig AND chicken
|| compared atl’s aquarium to baltimore’s; we win
|| for 5 whole days i had long lashes
|| practiced twerking, failed
|| painted a picture
|| after 8 years of it, apparently illegally, ~~lost~~ gave up cable
|| saw matt nathanson twice, in one week. hashtag groupie
|| chopped my hair off, like, most of it
|| approved for lasik eye surgery. eek!
|| attended a football game, whereby i went through a whole spectrum of emotions in a span of 2 minutes
|| walked to indiana
|| swam in the bay
|| purchased THREE wedding dresses
|| started using the public library in earnest, using dw’s library card. it’s a long story
|| broke up with Parenthood
|| began a torrid affair with candy crush and ruzzle
|| decided on a new celebrity crush
|| went to a book signing by Tyrese Gibson and Rev. Run. Tyrese is hot in person, Rev. Run not so much
|| received my new social security card with my new name on it. boom.

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, lactose free
mashup/inspired by Sprouted Kitchen and David Lebovitz’s Ready for Dessert

*note: i discovered Organic Valley’s LACTOSE FREE half&half and omg. my coffee has never tasted so good. dairy ice cream can now be re-introduced into my life. i’ve made this particular dessert a few times using coconut milk (from the can) and so delicious’s coconut creamer, using various different techniques and always with great results.

blueberry jam danishes

Published on November 11, 2013November 8, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach15 Comments

i don’t read the paper much anymore
in this day & age
i get my news from the internet
the occasional radio or tv in the background
facebook
twitter
and from dw, who gets it from reddit
of all the outlets
newspapers are my favorite
the way the paper stains your
forefinger and thumb black
the way it is light but bulky
the sound it makes when you flip the page
you can’t get your news any other way

the thing is, though,
i don’t read the news from newspapers
invariably i turn to the advice columns
(i adored Dr. Abby as a kid)
and the birth & wedding announcements,
and then the obits
morbid i know
there is just something to reading
about beginning of life,
the beginning of a life together,
and then the ending of it
i like it

when dw & i made the decision to have a wedding
i knew i wanted to make our favors
it had to be something completely us,
that when people took it home
they would be reminded of us
blueberries are dw’s absolute favorite fruits
berry picking is something we enjoy doing together
and jamming was something i had always wanted to do

on july 4th,
with dear friends nuria & jesse, her husband
we picked 22lbs of blueberries
and then spent the next day jamming the entire batch
it took 6 hours
on september 28th
we handed out 4 oz jars
to every guest to take home
we have a few jars leftover
and they are obsessively hoarded
we’ve slathered them on vegan biscuits
eaten them by the spoonful
and on sunday, november 3rd
with our 2nd to last jar
i made jam danishes
we needed breakfast for the week
the jam had to be blogged,
in part to finally bring closure to the whole wedding thing,
and mainly because it’s so good
and i’m so proud of the work ~~i did~~ nuria did

i would imagine the birth,
life
and end of this jam to be quite successful
yes?

bluberry jam danishes ~ vegan
adapted from oh, ladycakes
*note: while i realize i went on & on about the jam, the recipe i’m posting is for the danishes. jam is jam, we didn’t really deviate from the recipe, which is linked below, but these pastries that highlight said jam. well. let’s just say that they are not hard to make, do not be intimidated by the steps/process, and for the record, i only did 2 turns and it came out just fine. boom.

Danish pastry dough
3/4 cup warm almond milk, warmed in microwave for 1 minute (admittedly, my microwave is weak, just don’t let it scald, but make it warmer than lukewarm)
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
2 TBL sugar
1 tsp fine sea salt
2 TBL vegan butter, cold (this will be used to form the dough)
1 cup vegan butter, room temp (this will be used to spread on dough)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup AP flour

Filling
1 cup good quality blueberry jam, in my case, it was homemade! recipe found here.

Icing
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp lime juice

add the yeast and almond milk to a small bowl; stir to combine then let sit for 10-15 minutes, until foamy

in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine flours, sugar, and salt; mix until combined

add two tablespoons of the butter, cut in small pieces, and continue mixing until the mixture resembles coarse meal, pour in the yeast mixture and mix on medium speed

add the remaining 1/4 cup of flour one tablespoon at a time (you may or may not need the entire 1/4 cup), and mix just until everything is combined. wrap the dough tightly with plastic and refrigerate for 90 minutes. (note: it will rise in the fridge, mine busted out through the plastic.)

sprinkle counter with flour and roll dough out into an 12X24″ rectangle . cover 2/3 of the dough with the remaining cup of butter. i took the butter out for an hour to bring to room temp, made for much easier spreading. fold the unbuttered third of dough over the buttered center, then over again. pinch the edges of the dough to seal and roll it out into another 12X24″ rectangle. repeat the folding process by folding the dough into thirds again, but without the butter.

cover with plastic and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

do the rolling and folding and chilling thing 2 more times (technically, i only did it once more. i got lazy, went to bed early. whatever.)

refrigerate overnight.

the next morning, line baking sheet with parchment paper. dush counter with flour and roll out the dough into 9X18″ rectangle. (truth be told, i think i ended up with 10X18″ rectangle)

cut into 3″ squares, or whatever shape you want. i used my square biscuit cutters to maximize dough and not waste anything. transfer squares to baking sheet and freeze for 20 minutes.

preheat oven to 375F.

once squares are chilled, use bottom of a 1/8 measuring cup to press into center. you want it slightly indented and there to be a small pit area for the jam. spread jam into pit, about 1 tsp or so.

bake for 15 minutes, until golden. cool on wire rack

make icing by stirring powdered sugar and lime juice. drizzle over pastries

will keep for up to 2 days in container, doesn’t have to be airtight

i baked 6 at a time, the rest i froze. to bake those, thaw overnight and then do the remaining steps the next day

snickerdoodles

Published on October 24, 2013October 22, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach11 Comments

within our humble home not much has changed:
i still spend countless seconds at the stove
i flip pages of beloved cookbooks for inspiration
dw is sorting laundry, whistling a tuneless tune
the house is a constant clutter of things
it’s comforting, our routines

there is a perpetual breeze wafting through the open living room window,
it is cool, almost bitingly so,
so i am huddled on the couch with a lap blanket
nursing a watery cup of coffee
as i have yet to figure out what the right
measurements of coffee grinds:water is with the new keurig

without our humble abode some things have changed:
the leaves are a riot fire of reds, oranges and yellows
the dark is still prevalent when we rise for the day
there is a constant greyness that hangs in the air,
even on the brightest of days
i reach for scarves,
soon it’ll be gloves and ear muffs
i beg dw to wear a jacket
before long i’ll leave a pot simmering of
citrus + rosemary to perfume the air,
signaling, for me, that the season of
hibernation has begun

meanwhile, the oven has been turned on,
seemingly permanently,
and small treats to greet the early evening
grace our dessert table
dw made these for me recently
i saw them on instagram
about 30 minutes later
they were in my face

here’s to autumn and all the sweetness it brings

snickerdoodles – dairy free & gluten free
adapted from deliciously organic
*note: we didn’t have gelatin so we used agaragar, which honestly, i think could be taken out. as far as i know, it can’t be activated unless in boiling water… we halved carrie’s recipe, because we’re trying to keep our booty sizes in check.

makes 6 cookies

1 cup almond flour
1 TBL qunioa flour
1 TBL peanut butter
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp agaragar
under 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/8 cup honey
2 1/2 TBL coconut oil, melted
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 cup coconut sugar

preheat oven to 350 degrees

whisk together almond flour, quinoa flour, peanut butter, salt, baking soda, gelatin and cream of tartar in a mixing bowl. pour in honey and butter until mixed through

in a small bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon

divide dough into 6 equal balls, roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture and place on baking sheet

bake for 12 minutes