Strawberry Marshmallows

It was my good friend’s daughter’s 8^th birthday and she had the best party planned – a baking and crafting party!!! She asked me to lead a baking station and of course I said Yes! I’ve been doing baking sessions with her daughter, which have been really fun, so she thought it would nice to extend it to her daughter’s friends.

Since we only had a limited amount of time during the party, I decided to pre-bake the goodies and have the kids decorate them. I made vanilla bean cupcakes and butter cookies for the kids to frost with buttercream in the theme colours and lots of sprinkle options.

My friend was planning a sweet bar/display for which I suggested I make marshmallows. I’ve been wanting to try the LorAnn strawberry flavouring that’s been sitting in my cupboard, so this was a great opportunity to test it.

Check out the verdict at the end of the post!

 

Spoiler: I had to throw out the first batch as I added too much flavouring – LorAnn flavouring is super strength so don’t be fooled – it’s SUPER strength.

Strawberry Marshmallows

Adapted from here.

Ingredients

5 teaspoon unflavoured gelatin

½ cup cold water

¾ cup sugar

½ cup light corn syrup (divided into ¼ and ¼ cup)

¼ cup water

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon LorAnn super strength flavouring (I used strawberry)

Pink gel food colouring

2 Tablespoons sprinkles (more to sprinkle on top)

Coating

¾ cup icing sugar

½ cup cornstarch

Directions

1.  In a small bowl, combine gelatin and ½ cup cold water. Let it sit for 5 minutes so that the gelatin absorbs the water.

2.  In a saucepan, combine sugar, ¼ cup corn syrup, ¼ cup water, and salt. Heat on high until 240 degrees F.

3.  Meanwhile, microwave gelatin for 30 seconds or until dissolved. Place in a bowl of a stand mixer along with the remaining ¼ cup corn syrup. Mix with the whisk attachment on low until the sugar in the saucepan comes to temperature.

4.  When the sugar mixture has reached 240 degrees, pour it in a slow stream into the bowl of the stand mixer.

5.  Increase speed to medium, then medium-high, then max and beat for 5 minutes at each speed.

6.  Add vanilla and other flavouring and beat to incorporate. Add food colouring and beat to incorporate.

7.  Add 2 tablespoons of sprinkles and beat to incorporate.

8.  If piping, add to a piping bag and pipe on a piece of parchment dusted with lots of icing sugar. If using a pan, line with parchment and dust with lots of icing sugar. Pour into pan and spread. Top with additional sprinkles.

9.  Let it set overnight. Cut (or use cookie cutters) and toss in a mixture of ¾ cup icing sugar and ½ cup cornstarch. (I did this a couple times to make sure that they weren’t sticky.) Store in an airtight container.

Verdict: The marshmallows were super easy to make and turned out nice and fluffy. I liked the look of the piped ones from the first batch – too bad I had to throw them out due to a heavy hand with the flavouring. Live and learn.

The birthday party was really fun! It’s so rewarding giving kids an opportunity to get creative and see what they can make. They seemed to really enjoy it. Check out these photos from the party:

Eggnog Loaf

I was going to a Craftworks meeting for which I wanted to bake something. I’ve briefly written about Craftworks before – it’s a non-profit society that provides craft therapy to people with mental illness and physical disabilities in the Vancouver area. I’ve been volunteering on the Board of Directors and have been finding it really rewarding to contribute to the team.

Anyways, I wanted to bake something simple (because I’m in the midst of a pretty jam-packed baking schedule) but not your everyday treat. A whipped eggnog loaf recipe had caught my eye recently that I wanted to try.

If you’re making this loaf, don’t use low-fat eggnog! First of all, you’re making a sugar-laden cake that’s disguising as a loaf/bread, but it’s actually a cake. Just go for the full fat. Secondly, the recipe requires beating the eggnog like you would with whip cream to make it light and fluffy. This can’t happen unless there’s enough fat to hold the fluffy structure (pretty scientific, I know!). So please go for the fat.

Check out the verdict at the end of the post!

Oh btw, check me out on instagram for behind the scenes photos of tast-e baking!  

Eggnog Loaf

Adapted from here and here.   

Ingredients

2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated if possible)
½ cup salted butter, softened

1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla (+ ¼ teaspoon ground vanilla bean if you have it)

1 cup full fat eggnog, divided (½ cup cold, ½ cup room temperature)   

Glaze

½ cup powdered sugar

3 Tablespoons eggnog (more if it’s too thick)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a tube pan with parchment that hangs out from the pan for easy lifting.

2.  In a bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and nutmeg. Set aside.

3.  In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. (Use beater attachment if using stand mixer.)

4.  Add eggs and beat until thoroughly mixed. Add vanilla (and vanilla bean if using) and beat until incorporated.

5.  Add ½ cup room temperature eggnog and beat until incorporated.

6.  Add flour mixture and beat on low until more or less combined.

7.  (For this next step, you can use a hand blender, or use the whisk attachment of a stand mixer. I used a stand mixer, and I only have one stand mixer bowl so I had to transfer the batter to another bowl.) In a separate bowl, beat ½ cup cold eggnog until doubled in volume. This might take about 4 minutes.

8.  Fold beaten eggnog into batter. Some lumps of batter are OK.

9.  Pour into tube pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick come out clean.

10.Cool on rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan for further cooling. Be sure to run a knife along the side to release the loaf.

To make the glaze

11.In a measuring cup (since it has a spout and you can pour it), mix the powdered sugar and eggnog with a spoon until smooth.

12.Pour over slightly warm loaf and spread with a spoon. Let dry.

Verdict: I really liked the way this loaf turned out! It had a subtle hint of eggnog and was really moist with a good texture. It wasn’t heavy or dense at all nor was it too sweet. Everyone seemed to like it as it was all eaten up. I ended up baking another batch for work and that one went pretty fast too! I don’t know about you, but I can never finish a carton of eggnog, so this is a great way to use it up!

Oh! How about an eggnog latte loaf? Add a teaspoon of instant espresso!

White Chocolate Cinnamon Chip Cookies

Lately, more and more I’ve been encountering baking recipes with cinnamon chips and was curious to what they taste like. I finally found them at a cooking supply store in Vancouver and stocked up with a big bag. Perfect for the upcoming baking season.

I decided to pair them in a cookie with white chocolate as they have a milder flavor compared to regular chocolate chips and would not overpower the flavor of the cinnamon chips. I also threw in some toffee bits for good measure (of which I also stocked up on a big bag!).

These are 72-hour cookies in that they are left in the fridge to “marinate” for 72 hours before baking, but if you want to make them right away, go for it (but believe me your patience will be rewarded).

Check out the verdict at the end of the post!

White Chocolate Cinnamon Chip Cookies

Base adapted from here.

Makes 20 cookies

Ingredients

¾ cup salted butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

¼ cup sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

2 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ cup cinnamon chips

½ cup white chocolate chips

¼ cup toffee chips

Directions

1. In a stand mixer, beat butter and both sugars for 2 minutes.

2. Scrape down the sides and add egg. Beat for 5 minutes.

3. Scrape down the sides and add vanilla, and beat to combine.

4. In a bowl, mix flour, cornstarch, and baking soda. Add to butter mixture and beat until almost combined.

5. Add cinnamon chips, white chocolate chips, and toffee chips, and mix for a few seconds to combine.

6. Cover dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 days.

To bake:

7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment or silicone mat.

8. Portion out dough with a 2-inch scoop and bake for 13 minutes.

9. Cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a rack.

 

Verdict: Cinnamon chips taste like cookie butter (aka speculoos, aka Biscoff)! This was pleasantly unexpected. The cookies were soft and chewy with nice crispiness on the edges. Hallmarks of an excellent cookie. What else can I do with my big bag of cinnamon chips?