Ohana Sweet Treats

Strawberry Shortcake “Doughnuts”

July 31, 2015Uncategorized

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE “DOUGHNUTS”

Yes, Yes you heard right… is your mouth-watering yet? It should be.

My garden was producing a plethora of Strawberries last season so I decided to make these orgasmic, heaven-in-one-bite {or two} miniature “doughnuts”. They are extremely easy to consume and you will most surely be eating more than you thought possible. Yes. They will. Blow. Your. Mind. End of story, carry on….

“Doughnut” Ingredients:

1 ½ sticks of real butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup milk
½ tablespoon ground cinnamon

Browned Butter and Sugar Coat Ingredients:

2 sticks of butter
1 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon

Homemade Strawberry Whipped Cream Ingredients:

2 cups {1 pint} heavy whipping cream
4 tablespoons of sugar
dash or two of vanilla extract
¼ cup + some of mashed up strawberry.
Strawberries sliced for garnish.

Doughnuts:

Coat a mini muffin tin with a non-stick cooking spray or coat with a bit of flour.

Beat butter in mixer for 1 minute, add sugar. Beat until light in color and smooth and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time just until mixed in.

Don’t over mix batter, just until eggs are mixed in!

Set aside.

In separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together until blended well.

Add a fourth of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir. Add a third of the milk and stir. Repeat alternating back and forth from dry ingredients to milk, ending with the dry. Mix JUST until batter is smooth, do not over mix! Fill mini muffin tins ¾ full.

Filling my mini-muffin pan 3/4 full of batter

Bake at 350° for 15 minutes

Remove “doughnuts” from pan once cooled enough. Let cool on cooling rack.

Browned Butter and Sugar Coat:

Melt butter in a sauce pan on medium/high heat until it starts to boil, bubble then foam a bit. Let the butter foam up for a bit, then whisk butter and continue to cook/boil.

Whisk constantly until it starts to brown, you should start to see the butter almost looking like it’s burning, black specks will start to turn it darker. Once you see dark specks on bottom of pan, remove from heat and pour into a heat-safe bowl. You have now just created “Brown Butter”.

Butter is dark in color and has black specks

In a separate bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon.

Dip doughnut into butter on all sides.

Let excess butter drip off before rolling in sugar mixture.

Dipping and rolling on all sides, letting excess drip off

Immediately roll doughnut in sugar/cinnamon.

Less is more. But hey, it’s to your taste and desire. So a heavy coat, or a light coat, it’s up to you! I, however, prefer a lighter sugar/cinnamon coat. A light coat helps to minimize a sugary mess. Especially with the kids 😉

Once rolled in sugar/cinnamon mixture goodness, place back on cooling rack.

Now, all joking aside, I won’t blame you if you just want to stop right here. It’s orgasmic just how it is, go ahead and try one. I’ll wait… or continue to maximize these little fellas!

Strawberry Whipped Cream:

*So here’s the thing about home-made whipped cream: It just tastes better. End of story.

Beat heavy whipping cream just until soft peaks form.

If you are using a KitchenAid mixer, don’t surpass speed 6 when whipping. If you are using a hand-held mixer, try not to go over medium speed. Why? You ask. Well, let’s get technical and use some science. When you are whipping something you are adding air into your ingredient, yes? You knew that, so lets continue. If you choose to whip air into your heavy cream too quickly (over speed 6), yes, you will have saved yourself some time… but you will have created bigger air bubbles that are being whipped into the cream. Bigger bubbles mean bigger air pockets that collapse when you’re done whipping. Collapsed air pockets is the devilish reason your whipped cream becomes less “fluffy” and becomes flat. Definitely not what we think of when we think of whipped cream. So take your time. Whip those air pockets more slowly, thus creating smaller pockets and less droopy-ness. You will thank me.

Once soft peaks form, beat in sugar one tablespoon at a time on low. Beat in vanilla and mix until STIFF PEAKS form.
BE SURE NOT TO OVER WHIP.

Gently fold in mashed up strawberries.

NOTE: 2 cups of whipping cream will make 4 cups of whipped cream. 1 cup of cream will make 2 cups after whipping. The ratio should always be 2 tablespoons of sugar to one cup of heavy whipping cream. Make what you will use.

If you need to make this ahead of time, whip in 1 tablespoon of instant vanilla pudding mix to each 1 cup of cream. This will help the cream stabilize and won’t “weep” in the fridge. Cover with Saran Wrap and you can keep it in fridge for up to 2 days. Have left over whipped cream? You can freeze remaining whipped cream in dollops on wax paper, freeze laying flat and not touching anything. Once frozen you can remove dollops from wax paper and place all in a freezer bag for later use.

Place in a piping bag, or in a Ziploc and cut off tip.

Once doughnuts are cooled, cut in halves. Pipe a layer of whipped cream on bottom half and place top half back on. Pipe some whipped cream on top and garnish with a few slices of strawberries!

Serve, and relish in all the moans and groans of enjoyment!

….Oh… hey, you got a little sugar on the side of your mouth… 😛

Happy Baking!

Recipe Inspiration by http://www.kevinandamanda.com

Black Bean Soup

March 9, 2015Food, Soup

Not a “Sweet Treat” but a yummy treat on a cold, rainy day… like today!

I love black beans.

Well, I love food in general, but I LOVE me some black beans. I love black beans in quesadillas, I love black beans in salad, I even love black beans in my pot-pies. Well, let’s just be honest, If you can put a black bean in it, I assure you I love it. Even soup.

Our chilly “soup days” are few and far between here in Hawaii and you can’t really plan on tomorrow being the perfect soup weather to prepare your soup. Some of the best soups I’ve had are a 2 day process and as a busy mom I don’t have that kind of time. So, I have done some research to come up with the best Black Bean Soup I can make on a whim. I believe I have a GREAT solution and a good competitor against even the best black bean soup out there… Yes, I am talking to you “Thank God It’s Friday” people…

I am highly impressed with my last-minute soup and it has become a staple for those few and far between rainy days at my home. I hope you can give it a try!

April’s Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter (for vegan friendly recipe, use vegetable oil)
1 cup diced white onion
1 cup diced celery
3/4 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
3 tablespoons minced garlic
5 15-ounce cans black beans
5 cups of chicken broth (for a vegan friendly recipe, use veggie broth)
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2½ teaspoons Chili powder
¾ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¾ teaspoon cumin
¾ teaspoon salt
Concentrated hickory liquid smoke {to taste}
(I add about 2 teaspoons of the liquid smoke before I boil, then add more to taste before ready to serve)

Garnish:
*Shredded Cheddar, Monterey Jack or “Mexican blend” cheese. {omit if making vegan, duh}
*Chopped Green Onions
*Homemade Fried tortilla strips* or crumbled store-bought tortilla chips

Heat butter or oil in large sauce/soup pot over medium/low heat. Add onion, celery, carrot, bell pepper, and garlic to your butter or oil and simmer slowly for 15 minutes or until the vegetables start to “sweat” and onions are practically clear. Don’t brown! Keep the heat low.
Meanwhile, pour canned beans into strainer and rinse them under cold water. Measure 4 cups of the drained beans into a food processor with 1½ cups of chicken (or veggie) broth. Puree on high-speed until smooth.
When veggies are ready, pour the pureed beans in. Add the remaining whole beans, the rest of the broth, and every other ingredient in the list above (down to the liquid smoke), to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour stirring occasionally. I’ve allowed my soup to sit on low simmer for 2+ hours! Add more liquid smoke, if needed, to taste.
While your soup is simmering, prepare your garnish. Chop up green onions. Crumble up your tortilla chips OR *If you are making your own crispy tortilla strips you will need to pour about a fingers width of oil in a pan, heat up on med/high heat. While your oil is getting hot, cut up your tortilla’s {I use plain flour tortilla’s but you can use corn or whole wheat too} into long skinny strips, and then half them so they are small. Once your oil is hot, sprinkle in your cut up tortilla strips and fry them for about 30-45 seconds or until brown and crispy. Lay them on a plate with a paper towel to drain some of the oil. TIP: I recommend growing your own green onions, it’s so easy to do and you don’t need to have a “garden” to do it! I’ll make it easy for you, buy some local, organic green onions with some roots still on the bottom. When you get home, or after you cut and use what you want, place them in a cup of water and leave them on the counter or in the window sill. You will see within days that they are shooting out new onions from where you cut them. You can then plant them nearby or leave them in the cup of water. Saving you time and money for your next Green Onion need!
Serve soup topped with cheese {again, omit cheese for vegan friendly}, green onions and crispy tortilla strips {or crumbs}. Not Vegan? – You could also add a tablespoon of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt!
Enjoy your black bean soup!!

HAPPY SOUPING!

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Intro

March 6, 2015Uncategorized

Hey guys!

I am so excited to start my blog all about baking and all things sweet!

I have learned so much from reading all sorts of baking blogs and I hoped to help someone out there too.

Stay tuned for some updates!!

xoxox

Aloha!