Mini Vanilla Madeleines with Cardamom Sugar

Sep 29, 2017

Mini Vanilla Madeleines with Cardamom Sugar – Candy Coated Culinista

These French tiny tea cakes or cookies to some are such a recognizable scalloped shape it is on the list of quintessential French sweets.

Yield/Serving: 40 – 48 mini Madeleines
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cook Time: 10-12 min.
Difficulty level is: Medium

From: Bake from Scratch

Ingredients
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted & cooled
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 ½ tsp ground cardamom

Assembly
1. Preheat oven to 375°F and spray Madeleine pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Over medium heat melt butter and let cool.
3. Using an electric stand mixture with the paddle attachment; beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract at medium speed until fluffy; about 3 minutes.
4. Beat in the melted butter.
5. In a large bowl sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt.
6. Stir in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula and fill pan until almost full.
7. Bake until madeleines spring back when pressed, 10 to 12 minutes.
8. Place madeleines onto a dish and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and cardamom mixture.
9. Serve immediately.

Tips
• I piped the batter in to pans and filled them to the top and they turned out great. I found this worked better for me then spooning in the batter.

Please Enjoy

My thoughts
I bought a Madeleine pan a few years ago and after what I thought was the disaster outcome I have never visited this cake again. I had thought my reproduction was terrible; but I have learned now that this is what Madeleines tastes like. They are only good right out of the oven in most instances and after that they harden quite fast; which is probably why they are dunked in tea or coffee. I am not a fan of the texture of this tiny cake; but now I have the technique down and I can check this off my list.

Heirloom Tomato & Purple Pepper Salad with Marinated Onions

Sep 27, 2017

Heirloom Tomato & Purple Pepper Salad with Marinated Onions – Candy Coated Culinista

Another trip to the Farmer’s Market with wonderful results.

Yield/Serving: 4
Prep Time: 5 min.
Cook Time: 1 hr. to
Difficulty level is: Easy

Marinated Onions slightly altered from No Crumbs Left

Ingredients
Marinated Onions
• 1 medium red onion, sliced
• ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• Chives, small bundle finely chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Heirloom Salad
• Heirloom grape tomatoes, sliced
• Heirloom Purple peppers, sliced
• Red bell peppers, sliced

Assembly
Marinated Onions
1. Thinly slice onions and place in a small bowl.
2. In a small bowl, mix oil and vinegar and herbs and pour over onion.
3. Ensure the onions are submerged and let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
Heirloom Salad
1. Slice grape tomatoes in half and slice peppers, keeping their full shape.
2. Place tomatoes and peppers along with onions (not including the marinated oil) on a platter and serve.

Tips
• Marinated onions keeps for two days unrefrigerated.

Please Enjoy

My thoughts
The original recipe called for just oregano and the use of red wine vinegar; but I had just used both these up. (just my luck) so I worked with what was in my pantry. I didn’t slice the onion as thinly as I hoped; but I still turned out great.

Asparagus Stuffed Chicken

Sep 20, 2017

C.C.’s Savoury Stuffed Chicken – Candy Coated Culinista

Yield/Serving: 3
Prep Time: 20 min.
Cook Time: 30 min.
Difficulty level is: Medium

Ingredients
• 3 chicken breasts, sliced halfway through breast but not to the end of the breast
• Sea salt
• Black pepper
• Season salt
• Dried basil
• Dried oregano
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Greek spices
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 button mushrooms, sliced
• 12 asparagus, bottoms cut off
• 6 grape tomatoes, cut lengthwise
• 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Assembly
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Slice into chicken breast lengthwise down the middle; but not all the way through.
3. Season chicken breasts with spices.
4. Place asparagus, grape tomato, mushroom and sprinkle some mozzarella cheese inside the chicken breast.
5. Heat large frying pan over medium-high heat and pour olive oil in.
6. Once oil is hot sear top and bottom of the chicken breast.
7. Place chicken into a roasting pan and bake for 30 minutes.
8. Serve and enjoy

Please Enjoy

My thoughts
I have always wanted to make a stuffed chicken and I’m happy I finally have. I have learned that I was too generous with the filling and next time I will scale back a touch. Other than that this was beyond delicious and fresh.

Citrus Cake

Sep 17, 2017

Citrus Cake – Candy Coated Culinista

A bright and fresh citrus cake with a tangy, zesty cream cheese frosting, decorated with candied citrus.

Yield/Serving: 6
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cook Time: 20 – 30 min.
Difficulty level is: Medium

From: Bake from Scratch

Ingredients
Cake
• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ tsp lime zest
• ½ tsp orange zest
• 2 large eggs
• 1 ½ cake flour
• ½ tbsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ½ cup 2% milk
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ almond extract
Candied Oranges and Limes
• ½ navel orange
• 1 lime
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup water
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• Bay leaf (optional)
Citrus Frosting
• 1 package of cream cheese
• 1 tsp lime zest
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 455 grams of confectioners’ sugar
• 4 tbsp heavy whipping cream
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Assembly
Cake
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Spray pans with non-stick spray.
3. Using a stand mixture using the paddle attachment beat butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Scraping the sides at needed.
4. Beat in the zest and add in the eggs one at a time until well incorporated.
5. Using a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, ginger.
6. Gradually add the flour to the butter mixture alternating flour, milk flour ensuring to end with flour.
7. Add in the extracts and divide batter in-between prepared pans. (smooth tops if necessary)
8. Bake until a cake tester inserted comes out clean, about 20 to 30 minutes.
9. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes and then remove from pans and let cool on a cooling rack.
10. Once cooled, using a serrated knife and cut each layer in half horizontally.
11. Spread frosting between layers and on top of the cake.
12. Garnish with candied limes and oranges and serve.
Candied Oranges & Lemons
1. Line a baking sheet with wax paper and set aside.
2. Cut oranges and limes into ¼” slices and remove seeds if necessary.
3. In a medium sized saucepan, heat sugar, water and lemon juice until dissolved.
4. Add slices and let simmer ensuring to keep slices in a single layer.
5. Cook for 14 to 16 minutes turning occasionally until slightly translucent.
6. Remove from pan and place on wax paper and let cool for a least an hour and hardened.
7. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
8. Sprinkle with extra sugar before decorating.
9. Reserve sugar mixture for another use is desired.
Citrus Frosting
1. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and zest at medium speed until creamy, 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar and beat in cream until frosting is spreadable consistency.
3. Beat in vanilla.

Tips
• I halved the recipe and it turned out great. This recipe can be batched down with ease.
• Use whatever citrus zest you want. I used lime instead of lemon.

Please Enjoy

My thoughts
I batched down this recipe and it also called for lemons; but I used limes instead. It was a heavy rainy day last week when I made it and my candied limes and oranges would just not firm up. I even tried putting it in the oven hoping to crystalize the citrus; but it didn’t work. I thought for a moment to bring out the hair dryer; but that’s just ridiculous; it was just a bad day to do sugar work and possibly make a whipped cream cheese frosting also. With this recipe and the lack of whipping cream I have no idea how this recipe would achieve fluffy whipped frosting with 4 tablespoons of whipping cream and a [package of cream cheese. I even added more whipping cream after to see and it still wouldn’t happen. The picture shows a whipped frosting and yet the instruction says spreadable which is quite perplexing to me. After I finished the cake I looked up some whipped cream cheese frosting recipes and it called for 1 cup plus of whipping cream; so I’m unsure how a whipped frosting can be made with the recipe given. The cake still looked great and I decided to make a rectangle shaped cake. The layers were perfect and I fell confident in my naked cake skills for the most part now, except for that “whipped” frosting. I actually took a third of the cake for once and I found the frosting sweet even for my palette. This was still a wonderful cake and I am loving the unconventional shaped cake. The other reviews were it was great and also a touch to sweet. Next time I will cut back the sugar even more as this is a good batch down recipe.

Citrus Cake – Candy Coated Culinista

Citrus Cake – Candy Coated Culinista

Plantains Assados con Queso

Sep 6, 2017

Plantains Assados con Queso – Candy Coated Culnista

One of the few Caribbean foods I have always loved was plantain whether fried or boiled and put in a soup. Probably it was the sweetness of the plantain as is ripened that caught my attention as a child; but even today when I find plantain in the store I think back to my mom frying it when it was over ripped and ooey gooey to serve alongside my breakfast. I went to a food market at lunch, and I saw this wonderfully fried whole plantain just staring back at me and I just knew I had to try it and it didn’t disappoint.

Yield/Serving: 1
Prep Time: 5 min.
Cook Time: 10 min.
Difficulty level is: Easy

Ingredients
• 4 tbsp canola oil
• 1 plantain, peeled and sliced in the centre, but not all the way through
• 3 tbsp cream cheese
• Fresh rosemary, removed from sprig
• Pinch of sea salt

Assembly
1. Over medium-high, using a frying pan heat up canola oil.
2. Place plantain in and fry all sides until golden brown and the colour has changed.
3. Drain on a paper towel if necessary.
4. Using a small bowl mix cream cheese & rosemary and stuff into the plantain.
5. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve.

Tips
• If you have time bake this bake at 400° for 30 minutes; instead of frying.

Please Enjoy

My thoughts
I did my own spin on this Ecuadorian dish as the way it was prepared had ricotta stuffed inside. I used cream cheese and added some fresh thyme because it just felt right to me. This is a new preparation for me that I never knew even existed. I am very happy to have stumbled upon this in the market. Plantains Assados con Queso means baked plantains with cheese; but I took a quicker approach and fried it. Try baking it as it would turn out just as well. I made this while preparing breakfast before work yesterday morning, so I had less time. The plantain was soft on the outside and firmer as you got further in. The filling was creamy with the punch of thyme. I’m not really a fan of cream cheese unless it’s on my bagel; but it works so well and I gave a piece to my testers and they loved the cream cheese and thyme combo.