For the longest time, I've never given a hoot about Valentine's Day. I mean, after mandatory Elementary school V-Day valentine swaps and individual packages of conversation hearts, what else is there, really?

This year, I decided to actually celebrate Valentine's Day. I bought into the idea of sending out valentines to my loved ones and buying gifts for those "special someones" in my life. What did I learn? It isn't nearly as bad as the media makes it out to be for single folks. Sure, I'm 25, I'm unmarried, I don't even have a marriage prospect but I'm pretty damn happy. Why? Because life is worth living, whether or not you have someone to fall asleep next to every evening. I know that's a pretty revolutionary idea so if you need to take a minute, I understand. I have friends, family and coworkers who all care about me and from my point of view, that makes me pretty lucky.

I decided to celebrate my Valentine's Day this year, not crying at home while watching sappy movies or trying to chat up guys at a bar, but, rather, by baking a cake. Cake is always the answer, it seems.

A while ago, a friend of mine asked me to describe myself using only one flavor of cake and frosting. It actually took me quite awhile to piece together my response. It was my response, however, that helped inspire this month's blog post. Below, is a slightly modified version of myself (in cake form)- dark chocolate cake with raspberry mousse filling, a crunchy chocolate topping and a vanilla bean infused cream cheese frosting. Enjoy!

Red Devil's Food Mini Cakes w/ 
Raspberry Mousse & Vanilla Bean Infused Cream Cheese Frosting

2 oz. unsweet. Baker's Chocolate
3/4 cup Boiling water
2 tsp instant Espresso powder
1 stick room-temp Margarine
1 1/4 cup Sugar
2 room-temp Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1 1/2 cups Cake flour
3/4 tsp Baking Soda
3/4 tsp Salt
Red Food Coloring (optional)
Kahlua

Mousse-
(Courtesy of Baking Bites)
1/2 cup Raspberry puree
2 Tbsp Water
1 1/2 tsp unflavored Gelatin
2 room-temp pasteurized Egg Whites
1/4 cup Sugar
1/3 cup (whipping) Cream

Chocolate topping-
Dark Chocolate Candy Coating or
4-8 oz. Dark Chocolate

Frosting-
3 cups Powdered Sugar
4 oz. room-temp Cream Cheese
4 Tbsp room-temp Margarine
1 tsp Vanilla Bean paste

Begin by melting the chocolate squares in the boiling water. (Tip- make sure to add the chocolate to the water, not the other way around). Once dissolved, stir in the espresso powder. Let cool. Add a little water to bring the mixture to 1 cup.

Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla together in a large bowl. Add in the eggs. Beat well, about 2-3 minutes. Sift in the flour, soda and salt. Beat until combined. Add 1/2 the chocolate mixture. Beat well. Add in the last of the chocolate. If you want a more visible red tint to your cake, add 1-2 drops of red food coloring to the batter. Beat well. Pour into a greased jellyroll pan. (Tip- make sure to add a piece of parchment paper to the bottom of your pan so that your cake doesn't stick.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Prepare the mousse while the cake is cooling. Start by first creating the raspberry puree. Mash fresh or frozen raspberries and press through a strainer to remove seeds. 1-1 1/2 cups of berries will yield about 1/2 cup puree.

In a small saucepan, combine water and gelatin. Let stand for 2 minutes to soften gelatin. Add raspberry puree and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently to dissolve gelatin. Bring mixture to a simmer. Cook until the sauce begins to visibly thicken. Remove from heat and let cool (about 15 minutes).

Beat egg whites to soft peaks in a cold bowl. (Tip- add a couple dashes of cream of tartar to help your egg whites rise). Gradually add in the 1/4 cup of sugar, continuing to beat the egg whites until they reach stiff peaks (i.e. the peaks are able to keep shape and not tip over.) Drizzle the cooled raspberry mixture into egg whites. Fold together.

Beat the cream to stiff peaks. Finish by folding the cream into the raspberry mixture. Chill before using.

Once the cake is completely cooled, use a 3-inch round cookie cutter to cut out 10 circles. Transfer to a piece of wax paper. Use a knife to level and cut off the tops, you want the circles to be under an inch tall. Prick the circles with a toothpick and then lightly drizzle the tops with Kahlua. Use a pastry brush to coat any parts of the cake not covered.

Prepare the chocolate topping by melting either several ounces of dark chocolate candy coating or just some good dark chocolate. Dab all of the cake tops with the dark chocolate. Use an offset spatula to smooth out the chocolate. Let dry.

Pipe half of the circles with the chilled mousse. Stack the other half of the cakes on top of the mousse.

Prepare the frosting by combining the cream cheese, margarine and vanilla bean paste. Beat well. Add in the powdered sugar. Beat until smooth. Continue to beat until the frosting begins to turn lighter and lighter. It should be snow white. Use a piping bag to dot the tops of the cakes with some of the frosting.  Garnish with chunks of chocolate. Other possible garnishes: chocolate-covered espresso beans, fresh raspberries, truffles (made from leftover topping), a light chocolate drizzle.

Makes 5 mini cakes. These are best fresh. If you do plan on making these a day in advance, cover them. Make sure to refrigerate them but let them sit out a bit before you eat them so the cake/frosting/mousse can soften.

Good Morning, readers. I hope this chilly Tuesday morning finds you well.

Christmas is just a mere 18 days away. No doubt, most of you are busy planning out your social calendars or scrambling to finish up the last of your holiday shopping. These days, I find myself focusing more on what I will be baking this holiday, rather than what I will be wearing and buying. Who cares about presents when you have an awesome cake to eat Christmas morning? My thoughts exactly.

Over the next 3 weeks, I'll be posting updates about my baking adventures as well as sharing some of my favorite holiday recipes. Got family visiting? Need a cheap gift to give to your friends? Got the annual office Xmas party coming up? Never fear, I'll have all the recipes you need to get through the holidays.

This week, I'm tackling breakfast. What do you eat Christmas morning when you have your entire family coming over to open presents? Something fast, sweet and filling. I'm a huge proponent of breakfast breads and coffee cakes but I thought, this year, I would try something new- crumb cake. Crumb cake is a delicious hybrid of a cake and coffee cake. It's a moist, fluffy and buttery cake with a crunchy crumb topping, often sprinkled with powdered sugar or drizzled with frosting. Below, is a recipe I've modified from Ina Garten. I've switched out the blueberries for raspberries, added some vanilla yogurt and included a frosting that can be drizzled liberally over the top of your cake. Make this the day before and all you'll have to worry about Christmas morning is finding a large enough spatula to shovel out your family's slices.

Raspberry Crumb Cake
(Adapted from Ina Garten)

Streusel-

• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 1/3 cup packed Brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose Flour
• 
  
• Cake-

• 6 Tbsp room-temp unsalted Butter
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 2 room-temp Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla extract

1/3 cup Sour cream

• 1/3 cup Vanilla yogurt
• 1 1/4 cups Flour
• 1 teaspoon Baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 cup fresh Raspberries

Drizzle-

1 cup Powdered Sugar

2 Tbsp room-temp Butter

Coconut Milk

Grease and flour a 9" cake pan. I suggest using a spring-form pan.

Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. Mix well and set aside.

• 
  
• In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, sour cream and yogurt. 
• 
  
• In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Fold in the raspberries and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife. With your fingers, crumble the topping evenly over the batter. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely.

Summer is here and with it- thunderstorms, mosquitos, fireworks, gut-busting temperatures, water-gun fights, ice cream cones and tons of fresh, seasonal fruit. When I think of Summer, I think of berries, particularly strawberries and raspberries, I also think of pie, but, I digress.

Today, I was tasked with making a dessert for the Wingnut's annual Memorial Day Cookout. Most of the people who live/hang out around The Wingnut are vegan or at the very least sympathetic to a cruelty-free, animal product-free lifestyle. To avoid excluding people, I usually tend to bake entirely vegan. Why not if you can't tell the difference? Below is a lemon cake recipe I've been working on for quite awhile. Every time I make it, I tweak it just a little bit. This time around, I added some fresh raspberries and I think it added another level of complexity to the over-all flavor. Regardless, I hope you enjoy it and I hope, if anything, it helps open up your mind to veganism.

Vegan Lemon Raspberry Cake

1 cup Non-dairy Butter (e.g. Earth Balance)
1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 1/2 cup Sugar
5 1/4 cup Flour
5 1/4 Tbsp Cornstarch
3 3/4 tsp  Baking Powder
3/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
2 1/4 cup Non-dairy milk
3/4 cup Lemon juice
Zest from 1 1/2 Lemons
3/4 cup fresh Raspberries

Frosting-
6 cups Powdered Sugar

3/4 cup Vegetable-based Shortening

1 tsp Vanilla

1/4 tsp Salt

Warm non-dairy milk

Begin by "buttering" two 9 inch cake pans. (Tip- a sure-fire way to guarantee that your cakes won't get stuck to the bottom of your pans, is to simply cut up 2 wax paper circles and add them to the pans before you pour in the batter.)

Mix the soymilk and lemon juice together in a big bowl or cup. Set aside to curdle (yes, curdle).

Cream the non-dairy butter together with the sugar in a large bowl until white and fluffy.

In another bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, soda and salt.

Add half the milk and all of the oil to the "butter" mixture. Mix well. Slowly rotate between adding in the milk and dry ingredients. Mix until just blended.

Use a spatula to stir in the raspberries. (Tip- make sure they are completely dry before adding them to the batter.) Pour into the baking pans and level out with the spatula.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes.

Remove and let cool before frosting.

When your cakes are almost completely cool, start making the frosting. Cream together the powdered sugar and shortening. Add in the salt and vanilla.

Heat up the non-dairy milk. Add milk to desired taste and spreading consistency. (Tip- if you frosting is too thick it will rip the top off your cake)

Growing up, I was a very picky kid when it came to food- I still am to an extent. Thankfully, I can now list more than 2 fruits and vegetables that I am willing to eat on a regular basis that aren't served in juice form.

Perhaps one of my most perplexing and inexplicable food aversions is to Jello. Yes, Jello- everybody's favorite gelatinous dessert, first introduced to the world in 1845. Jello has always been considered one of the best mess-free, kid-friendly desserts out there, which is why I would frequently find it decorating tables at my friend's birthday parties and various family-related celebrations. I hated it's smell, it's fun jiggly nature and the fact that it contained absolutely nothing of substance. What it really boiled down to was that everything about Jello was synthetic. I've always believed that habitually digesting food pumped with chemicals will eventually lead to a third eye or a permanent full body rash.

One 4th of July, however, I was invited to a neighbor's party. Among the many delicious dishes prepared for the evening was a type of Jello I had never seen before. I was extremely hesitant to try it but the minute I took a bite, I was hooked; I experienced heaven in Jello form. Cold layers of berry goodness mixed in between thick layers of rich creaminess- it was like crack, I couldn't get enough of it. That night my mother nicked the recipe from our neighbor and ever since then we've been making that dish every 4th of July/Labor Day. 13+ years later, I still refuse to eat Jello- this recipe is the only exception.

On this particular Labor Day, in the true spirit of "sharing with one's neighbor", I've decided to pass on this recipe to you.

Enjoy...let me know if you grow any extra toes or foster a sudden Jello addiction.

Red, White & Blue Jello

7 pkg Knox Gelatin
14 oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 3oz boxes Blue Berry Jello
3 3oz boxes Red Raspberry Jello

Begin by dissolving 2 packages of the gelatin in a 1/2 cup of cold water. In a medium bowl, mix together the can of Condensed Milk with 1 cup of boiling water. Add in the gelatin mixture.

In a large bowl, combine 1 package of jello with 1 cup of boiling water. Dissolve 1 package of gelatin in 1/4 cup of cold water. Add the gelatin to the jello mixture.

Pour the jello mixture into a 9 x 13" glass dish. Set it in a level space in a freezer to chill for 10-12 minutes or until firm.

Add 3/4 cups of the milk mixture over the top of the now solidified jello layer. Once again, let it rest in the freezer for 9-10 minutes.

Repeat process with another layer of Jello. Freeze this time only for 6 minutes. (Tip- Make the Jello layer that's going on top of the cream layer a little in advance so that it's not scalding. The cream will start to melt/flake if the Jello layer is too hot.)

By the end of this you should have 9 layers altogether. Make sure to end with the same flavor that you used on the bottom. To copy the picture above, the layers are as follows: Red, White, Blue, White, Red, White Blue, White, Red.