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    Food & DIY

    Chocolate Cake with Honey Roasted Apricots

    May 11, 2015
    If there’s one way that I know how to tell my friends and family that I love them, it’s by baking them something delicious. That is why it was a no-brainer to bake my mom a cake in celebration of Mother’s Day this weekend. This chocolate cake with honey roasted apricots definitely received my mother’s approval and, if anything, the amount of effort I put into it definitely demonstrated to her how much I care.
    I went a bit out of my comfort zone with this recipe. Aside from the cake recipe, which I adapted from this Vegan Chocolate Cake recipe on the Free People Blog, I decided to experiment with making the frosting and roasted apricots. Whenever I try out this method, I usually end up having to make modifications and start all over again. Thankfully, I managed to get this recipe just right on the first try and saved myself multiple trips to the grocery store. My mom and family really enjoyed this recipe, and you know that you’ve baked something yummy when you immediately start receiving cake requests for upcoming birthdays.
     
    CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH HONEY ROASTED APRICOTS
    (Serves 10-12 people)
    CHOCOLATE CAKE
    Adapted from Free People Blog
    3 3/4 cups of flour
    2 1/4 cups of sugar
    1 cup of cocoa powder
    1 tbsp of baking soda
    1 1/2 tsp of salt
    1 cup of olive oil
    1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
    3 cups of warm water
    1 tbsp of bourbon vanilla extract
    WHIPPED CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
    1 lb of cream cheese
    2 cups of heavy whipping cream
    1/2 cup of sugar
    1 tbsp of bourbon vanilla extract
    HONEY ROASTED APRICOTS
    8-10 small apricots
    1/4 cup of honey
    1/4 cup of olive oil
    1 tbsp of cinnamon
    Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl mix the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, warm water and bourbon vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until the mixture has a smooth texture. Transfer the mixture into a large circular baking pan and bake for approximately 60-70 minutes. Let the cake cool to room temperature.
    In a bowl combine the cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, sugar and bourbon vanilla extract. Use a handheld mixer to whip the ingredients until the mixture has a thick and creamy consistency.
    Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Slice the apricots and place them in a bowl. In a separate bowl combine the honey, olive oil and cinnamon. Pour the mixture into the bowl with the sliced apricots and mix the two together; you want the apricots to be completely covered in the wet ingredients. Spread the apricots evenly on a greased baking pan and bake them for 15-20 minutes. Let the roasted apricots cool to room temperature.
    Slice the chocolate cake into two halves and place the top layer aside. Spread half of the frosting mixture on top of the first cake layer and then spread half of the roasted apricot slices. Place the second layer on top of the first and decorate it with the remaining whipped cream cheese frosting and roasted apricots.
    Enjoy!
    —
    I hope you all liked this recipe. Please let me know how you like it if you ever give it a try!
    xoxo,
    Helen
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    Food & DIY

    Berry, Almond and Chocolate Overnight Oats

    February 11, 2015

    My goal this year is to get back on track with my health and develop/relearn better habits.  I used to be the type of person that woke up at 6 A.M. in the morning to workout and I always made time to eat a healthy breakfast. I’m not quite sure what triggered me to change that routine last year, but at some point in time I did. This change eventually took a toll on my body and, last year, I was sick more often than I had ever been before. Although I hope to eventually be able to wake up early enough to workout and eat breakfast at home, I know that I don’t have that discipline to do that right now.  One of the changes that has helped me get back on track–at least when it comes to eating breakfast in the morning–is preparing breakfast that I can take with me to work. Overnight oats have been a great addition to my diet because they make for an easy and delicious on-the-go breakfast, and I like that it’s easy to experiment with different ingredients and proportions. Today I’m sharing one of my favorite overnight oats combinations:

     

    Berry, Almond and Chocolate Overnight Oats
    Ingredients
    3/4 cup of dried oats
    1/2-3/4 cup of mixed berries (I used blueberries, blackberries and raspberries)
    A handful of sliced almonds
    A handful of chocolate chips
    1/2 cup to 3/4 cups of almond milk
    1 Tbsp of agave syrup (optional)
    To prepare this overnight oats recipe, simply pour all the dry ingredients into a half-pint mason jar, top off the jar with almond milk and agave syrup, and then store the mixture in the fridge overnight. Then simply grab the mason jar from the fridge on your way out the door in the morning. I really wasn’t kidding when I said this is an easy breakfast to prepare! You can enjoy overnight oats warm or at room temperature, but I like to eat this particular recipe when it’s cold. You don’t want the berries to get too pruny by popping them in the microwave.
    I hope that you enjoy this recipe. Now that I have a bit more time, I’m going really make an effort to include more recipe and DIY posts. Please let me know if there is anything in particular that you would like to see on the blog. As always, thank you for reading and have an amazing rest of the week!
    xoxo,
    Helen
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    Food & DIY

    Toasted Coconut and Chocolate-Glazed Doughnuts

    July 16, 2014
    I had never made doughnuts until a couple of weeks ago on National Doughnut Day, and I was surprised at how easy they are to make. I have to admit that I’m not much of a doughnut person, and I actually don’t have much of a sweet tooth unless it comes to chocolate. But, what I really liked about this cake donut recipe that I adapted from About.com, was that it wasn’t overly sweet. Some of my coworkers, who were the lucky recipients of these tasty treats, also raved about the taste and moist texture of these doughnuts. Their praise made me super happy, because what I love the most about making something yummy is being able to put a smile on another person’s face. That being said, I really hope that you enjoy this recipe.
    TOASTED COCONUT AND CHOCOLATE-GLAZED DOUGHNUTS
    Adapted from ABOUT.COM
    INGREDIENTS:
    DOUGHNUT:
    2 cups of flour
    1/2 cup of sugar
    1 teaspoon of salt
    1 tablespoon of baking powder
    1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
    1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg
    2 tablespoons of melted butter
    1/2 cup of milk
    1 egg beaten
    1 quart of oil for frying
    CHOCOLATE GLAZE:
    4 tablespoons of cocoa powder
    3/4 cup of powdered sugar
    2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
    3 tablespoons of milk
    TOPPING:
    Toasted Coconut
    1. Heat oil in a large pan at low-to-medium heat. You don’t want the oil to get too hot, or it will immediately burn up the dough–trust me, I know this from experience!
    2. In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.
    3. Pour in the melted butter into the bowl, and stir it in until the mixture develops a crumbly texture.
    4. Stir in the milk and egg into the mixture, and then knead the dough until smooth.
    5. Place the dough unto an area prepared with flour, and pat it down until it is about 1/4 inch thick.
    6. Use either a doughnut cutter or two separate biscuit cutters (1 large and 1 small) to cut out the doughnuts.
    7. Carefully dip the doughnuts into the hot oil. Fry them for about 3 minutes, turning them over once during that time. Both sides of the doughnut should be lightly browned.
    8. Drain the doughnuts on a cooling rack over paper towels, and let them cool down until they are about room temperature.
    9. For the glaze, mix the cocoa powder, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk in a bowl until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Once the doughnuts are at room temperature, you can apply the glaze by dipping them into the mixture.
    10. Finally, just top off the doughnuts with toasted coconut and then you’re done! You can find toasted coconut at some stores such as Trader Joe’s, or you can make your own by toasting 1-2 cups of shredded coconut at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-10 minutes. To keep the coconut from burning, make sure to turn it over at least once during that time.
    —–
    I mentioned not so long ago that one of my personal goals was to focus more time on being creative. Spending time in the kitchen is definitely one of those activities that allows me to tap more into my creativity. I love adapting recipes and thinking of what ingredients could possibly enhance the taste of whatever it is that I’m making. I also really enjoy working on the presentation of food; with this particular recipe, I had so much fun experimenting with my camera and trying to take pictures that made these doughnuts look as good as they tasted.
    I have to say that I’m so glad that it’s already Wednesday! I’ve been in a rut this week, and am really looking forward to the weekend. Lately I’ve seriously been considering of applying to grad school or moving somewhere else–both are prospects that are super exciting to me! However, I’ve also been doubting my ability to move forward in life. Because of everything that’s going on in my head, I’ve been feeling really sensitive to things that other people say and do, and I’ve been letting them affect my mood in a negative way. I really just need to learn to just brush things off and push negative thoughts out of my mind. But, I guess that is a skill that comes with practice.
    xoxo,
    Helen Grace