1 cup unsalted Butter, softened 1 cup granulated Sugar 1 cup Brown Sugar, packed 4 large Eggs 1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 cups Flour 1/2 cup Cocoa Powder 1 teaspoon Baking Powder 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda 1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 cup sour cream or Plain Greek Yogurt
1 cup Pecans, chopped 1/2 cup Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup Heavy Cream or canned Evaporated Milk 1/2 cup Dark Chocolate, chopped
Extra Pecans for garnish
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease and flour a Bundt pan or line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then mix in the vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, alternating with the sour cream ( or plain greek yogurt), beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.
Fold in the chopped pecans and chocolate chips.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the ganache, heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until just simmering. Remove from heat and add the chopped dark chocolate. Let sit for 5 minutes, then stir until smooth.
Pour the ganache over the cooled cake and garnish with extra pecans.
Bring the extraordinary to your weekday breakfasts with this super easy Hollandaise Sauce!
Hollandaise Sauce
4 ounces butter, room temperature
1 large Egg Yolk
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed, juice will do in a pinch.
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Cayenne
Melt butter then allow to cool slightly.
Blend together yolk, lemon juice and salt in the blender; pulse to combine.
With blender running, slowly stream in half the warm melted butter.
Start slowly, a few drops, allowing egg yolk to warm up then add in a steady stream.
Once half the butter has been blended in, stop blender and check the sauce.
If it looks like it broke (grainy, lumpy) then add a teaspoon of hot water and blitz for a few seconds.
Add remaining melted butter in a slow steady stream.
Taste and adjust seasonings.
Pour hollandaise over freshly poached eggs.
This recipe came through my feed the other day and since I was experiencing some back pain I thought I would give it a go! Not having to knead the dough was a back-saver. Now, I will tell you that I melted my butter…DO NOT… do it! Use softened butter as directed and you will get better results! I was rushing against the clock, trying to get the prep dishes washed up before we lost sunlight on the solar panels! Next time? I would just let the dough rest overnight, I reckon and do them up properly!
For all the fancy photos, but no video, hop on over to Jo’s page! <a href=”https://www.jocooks.com/recipes/brioche-buns/?fbclid=IwAR0a1yj0ZbHDMiWSSFLduTxyU9zl6tMA7BVdnW4rQwDxp2zunngoi9GnvTk#wprm-recipe-container-32295/” target=_blank”> Jo’s</a>
Brioche Buns
1 cup water, lukewarm
2 Tbsp Sugar, divided
1 Tbsp Active Dry Yeast
1 cup Milk, lukewarm
1/2 cup Butter, melted
2 large Eggs, room temperature, separated
1 tsp Salt
4-6 cups Flour
6 Tbsp Butter, softened
To large mixing bowl add your lukewarm water along with one Tablespoon of the sugar and the active dry yeast. Give it a stir and let rest for about 10 minutes, until frothy.
Next, sprinkle 2 cups of flour over the liquid.
Then add the remaining sugar, milk, melted butter, salt, egg whites and roughly stir everything together.
Add more flour, a cup at a time, until the dough comes together but is still a bit sticky and soft. I ended up using about 4 cups of flour as it is super dry out where I live. You are looking for a sticky, elastic dough that will spring back when poked.
Use hand to roughly form a ball, gathering up any loose flour, then turn out onto work surface for a brief moment while you oil your mixing bowl well. Return dough to the oiled bowl, cover (I use an oiled pizza pan) and let rise in a warm, draft free place until doubled in size, about 1 to 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375F.
Line two baking trays with parchment paper and set aside.
Punch down dough to release air and turn out onto lightly floured work surface. Spread the dough with your hands or roll out (I prefer using a rolling pin) dough into a rectangle, approximately 20x16inches.
Spread about half the softened butter over the entire surface of the dough. Fold in thirds, then roll the dough out a bit, maintaining a rectangular shape. Spread about 2 tablespoons of the remaining butter over the new rectangle, and fold it in thirds again, just like folding a letter. Roll the dough out a bit again then spread remaining butter over the top. Fold in thirds one last time. Roll dough so it is about 12x8inches. All this folding creates layers like in croissants.
Using sharp knife cut the dough into 8 long strips, each strip about 1 1/2 inches wide. Fold each rope in two and twist it, then bring the ends together and pinch them to connect the rope. If your hands stick to the dough, just rub a little bit of oil on your hands..
Place the formed buns on the prepared baking trays, four to each tray.
Whisk egg yolks with about a tablespoon of water and brush each bun, generously. Sprinkle with topping of your choice; I highly recommend Everything Bagel Seasoning.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 – 25 minutes, rotating trays after 10 minutes. Allow buns to cool on baking trays for 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
Enjoy the same day you baked them! You may store leftovers for up to three days in an airtight container.
They may also be frozen for up to three months.
Sometimes you find yourself without eggs, and milk, and vanilla, and vinegar, and well, a whole lot of ingredients but you need to pull together a breakfast!
I have found myself in this exact position not once but twice in the past two weeks. Seriously, NOTE TO SELF: BRING VANILLA, VINEGARS, EMERGENCY POWDERED EGGS, POWDERED MILK
In the meantime, I pulled these Vegan Pancakes off and they were actually really good! I would suggest letting the batter sit for about 15 minutes before cooking. I used my electric griddle which made them turn out beautifully! I just can’t seem to get the hang of cooking pancakes in a cast iron frying pan…nor a cast iron griddle! All good, the sun was shining when I wanted to make these for breakfast AND the wind was ripping through here so the wind turbine was generating extra power too!
In medium mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
In small mixing bowl, combine almond milk, apple cider vinegar and vanilla, stirring well.
Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients and whisk just until combined. Do not over mix to avoid rubbery pancakes.
Let batter rest for about 15 minutes.
Preheat your electric griddle or non-stick pan, or cast iron pan on stovetop; pour about 1/3 cup of batter for each pancake – my griddle accommodates cooking six at a time.
When the top begins to bubble, flip the pancake and cook second side until lovely and golden.
Serve warm with Maple Syrup, Fresh Fruit and Whipped Cream.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days: reheat in the toaster or enjoy cold with a nut butter and jam, jelly or honey.
No eggs? No worries! Delicious egg free, dairy free pancakes.
Welcome to my Kitchen where the most important ingredient is Love.
