Daring Bakers Challenge Numero Uno

Hello everyone!!! I am so excited for this post today. It is officially my first post as a Daring Baker. I have to post the phrase below because it’s part of the rules, fool.

“This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux.
They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand.”

This yule log was the most delicious dessert I’ve ever had. I mean, EVER. My mouth was in heaven. I am not going to lie- this was the most difficult dish I have ever prepared in my short life. I worked all day at my crappy job, came home, and stayed up late trying to finish it. Obviously, I made the whole damn thing in my bathrobe- we keep it classy here in the Schupp household.

The French Yule Log is so much harder than a regular yule log because it has 6 elements to it. It was also tough because the whole recipe was NOT vegan or gluten-free, so I had to play around with practically every ingredient in order to veganize it. I thought about not making it vegan, but then I came to my senses. I put my happy face on and said “Let’s rock this bitch!”

The first element is the Dacquoise. This is basically a thin almond cake. Naturally, I didn't have parchment paper so foil had to do. The cake got REALLY stuck to the foil, but nobody noticed when it was all assembled.

The second element is the Milk Chocolate Mousse and it is also layered through the entire yule log- thank god. This stuff was so damn good.

The third element is Praline Feuillete, and this includes gavottes. Gavottes are basically crepes and I had to chop them up and pour chocolate over them. Poor little gavottes haha. Luckily, I had a good bit of this leftover so I ate a huge slab of it at the end of my baking adventure.

The fourth element is the Chocolate-Cinnamon Ganache. Dear God. That's all I need to say. How could this ever taste bad???

The fifth element is the Creme Brulee. Now, obviously, I had to cut out all the eggs. I used tofu and it worked like a charm. I forgot to take a picture because I was just shocked it worked.

The sixth element is the Dark Chocolate Icing. I had to use agar flakes, and I had no clue what I was doing. I didn't know about boiling them to make them all "gel-like" so I just softened them in water. Ummm... that didn't work. I just stirred them with the chocolate icing and then poured it on top of the frozen yule log. I put coconut on top to disguise those damn agar flakes.

All in all, I wish I could eat this every day of my life. Everyone at Christmas also agreed. My cousin told me she would pay $80 for this log. I wish I could mass produce it somehow because it just took so long to make!!! It was a fabulous cooking experience though and my mother was so darn proud!!!

Here's some pictures from Christmas!!!
I took a damn big piece of yule log so it's weighing down the plate. ha who cares!!?!?!?!
My sister, Pls, and me. We look so darn cute!!!
All of the cousins in our fam-damily.
My favorite Christmas present of all- my PedEgg!!!! Ahh I laughed hysterically when I opened this, but I just can't stop using it. I decided to demonstrate it for my family and friends. Everyone thought it was disgusting and told me to get out.
It's love.

Wednesdays are amazing

I officially proclaim Wednesdays the best day of the week. No school, no work- I can do whatever the hell I want!!! So pretty much I'll be baking all day and doing a little bit of homework. Taking it easy is key, and I'm a pro. I'm determined to make my own bread today. I've never done this before, but I figure I'll need to know so I can sell it at my bakery someday. It's between chocolate tahini bread and carrot bread... or both. haha It wouldn't be unlikely for me to make the same thing anyways. Either way, it'll be good. And speaking of really gross things (which we weren't), I was doing laundry this morning and I had to pick up a huge crapload of clothes on the floor. I picked up the first half, and a gigantic spider crawled out. I screamed and cried of course. Then, I picked up the second half, and a mountain lion millipede walked out. I was like "wow, how disgusting can our basement get?" haha Can't wait to go take everything out of the washer... I'll probably get attacked by a lizard or something.

Now that all that madness is over (until I go back down there), here's the recipe for today. I didn't feel like cooking last night, so I'm posting a cake recipe that I made a little while ago. It was for my sister's birthday, and it's one of the best cakes I have ever made/eaten. It was vegan of course and every person who tried it really liked it. It's from Dreena Burton's cookbook "Eat, Drink and Be Vegan." - I love her. She is a goddess! I added the raspberry filling because it needed something fruity. Oh the really sexy guy in the picture is my best friend, Mitchel. We cook all the time together when he's home, so birthday cakes are no exception haha. I made him do ALL the sifting and he wanted to murder me.

Here's the recipe:
Coconut Cake with Coconut Dream Frosting and Raspberry Filling

Cake (makes 2 round cake layers):

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup unrefined sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 cups plain soy milk
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp coconut extract
1 1/2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup canola oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients, including coconut, sifting in flour, baking powder, and baking soda and mix until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine soy milk, applesauce, vanilla, almond, and coconut extracts, lemon juice, and oil. Add wet mixture to dry and stir until just well combined. Lightly oil 2 round cake pans. Pour batter evenly into cake pans. Bake for 23-26 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Transfer cakes to cooling racks to cool completely before frosting.

Coconut Dream Frosting

1 pkg (12 oz) silken extra-firm tofu
1 pkg (8oz) Tofutti cream cheese
1 1/2 cup organic powdered sugar
1/8 cup macadamia nut butter
1 1/2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp sea salt
3/4 tsp coconut extract
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

Directions:

Put tofu with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. In a food processor, puree tofu with cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add remaining ingredients and process for 1-2 minutes until very smooth, scraping down sides of bowl. Refrigerate until completely cool before using.

Note: Make the frosting a day or night before icing the cake. It will firm up and thicken. Also, when icing the cake, I iced the first layer, then put raspberry jelly between (about 1/2 cup) that layer. It tasted great with the coconut icing!

It all started with Carrot Cake

I have to go to work today. Blahhh. I'm bringing all of my Biology homework as usual. Maybe even some American Literature as well. No one cares what we do at that damn job anyways. And I figure, hey, they scheduled 10 hours more than I told them I could work, so I'll just use that time to do my homework and study. It's a win win situation haha. I just feel like I 'm going to crack. I'm so nervous about this Biology test on Tuesday. It's four chapters and there's a hell of a lot being covered in each one.

And just to make me feel better, and hopefully you, too, here's a picture of the blueberry ice cream again. I got really snap happy that day. It's just really good and if you haven't bought any after I've been telling you about, then you don't deserve it anyway. haha I'm kidding... or am I?

All right. Here's this morning's recipe. I made it last night at midnight because I wasn't tired at all. It's the Carrot Cake Oatmeal from "eat me, delicious." The moment I saw it on her blog, I was starstruck. I HAD to make it. The smell of it is amazing, and I added some cinnamon for a more authentic feel.

Here's the recipe:

Carrot Cake Oatmeal

1/2 cup rolled or instant oats
1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup grated carrot (1 carrot)
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp chopped pecans
1 tbsp shredded unsweetened coconut

Directions: Combine the oats, soy milk, water, carrots, and salt in a saucepan. Turn heat to medium and stir occasionally until mixture comes almost to a boil and most of the liquid is absorbed, which takes about 5-7 minutes. When oats are done, stir in vanilla and cinnamon. Pour oats into a bowl and add the maple syrup, pecans, and coconut.

It's so easy, but tastes amazing!!!!! It makes a very large bowl of oatmeal so you won't be hungry soon. Don't cut the recipe down though... save the rest if you can't finish it... or mail it to me. haha

Happy Birthday Mama and Michael Jackson!

It's my mom's 50th birthday today, and Michael Jackson's, so we are having a big party at my house. It's not just her birthday we are celebrating though- it's my sister's and 3 cousins, too. So our house is gonna be a complete disaster when everyone leaves. haha I'm really excited because I love parties!! Plus, I don't have to work today!! Thank God. I do have a ton of homework that I've been avoiding all weekend, but I'll get around to it tonight.

I made my mom's birthday cake because homemade is ALWAYS better. She got a gigantic cake for the rest of the birthday people because my sister wanted a Spongebob cake. She's obsessed with Spongebob and yes, she is 17. It's a vegan carrot cake made in a bundt cake pan. I found the recipe on "Live It Up Vegan" and I have been dying to make it. It turned out so beautiful, and I can't wait to try it. It's a fairly healthy cake, so I won't be shy about eating half of it. haha

Here's the recipe:
Carrot Cake

• 1 cup all purpose whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose unbleached white flour
• 3/4 cup fine turbinado sugar
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1Tbsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup sunflower oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 2 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
• 3 cups grated organic carrots (not too packed)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

For Cream Sheese filling:

• about 1 container of Creamy Sheese original (about 250g) (or non-hydrogenated Tofutti Cream Cheese)
• 1/4 cup fine turbinado sugar
• 1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tsp water

1. Preheat oven to 375F and lightly oil a Bundt Cake pan (or a 9-in round cake pan - or even a muffin pan for cupcakes or muffins). Grate the carrots with the food processor and set aside until needed.

2. In a big bowl, sift together the first 7 dry ingredients and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whip together the oil, water, applesauce and balsamic vinegar. Set aside.

4. In a small bowl, mix the Creamy Sheese, sugar and cornstarch/water mixture. Set aside.

5. Add the liquid ingredients in the medium bowl to the dry ingredients in the big bowl. Mix to incorporate only (don’t overmix). Add 3 cups of grated carrots and the walnuts. Again, mix to incorporate only.

6. Pour half to 2/3 of the cake batter into the Bundt cake pan. Pour the Cream Sheese mixture on top of the batter. Then delicately spread the rest of the cake batter on top of the Sheese to cover it completely.

7. Bake in the oven between 45 and 55 minutes, depending on your oven or the cake pan you have chosen (it may very well take longer for a regular 9-in pan and a shorter amount of time if you use a muffin pan - generally 20 to 25 minutes for muffins). Verify “doneness” with the blade of a knife or a long skewer, if you have one - I find that toothpicks are too short for this cake when baking in a Bundt pan.

8. Let cool completely then turn over a serving plate and sprinkle with unfiltered icing sugar (Wholefood Sweeteners) before serving.

Great Day for a Pinic!

This morning is amazing. No work, no school, new Postsecret posts, delicious cereal breakfast, yoga, and painting my nails. This is the freakin life, I swear. Haha. So different from yesterday's hellish day at work. All day in the mens department + me = a hot, tranny mess. Well, actually a cold, tranny mess. I ended up taking the tags off of a jacket from the juniors department and wearing it during my shirt. I really like it and considered taking it home with me because we have no security anymore. Haha but I refrained from my thievish ways. but come on, it's a god damn freezer over there. I was just happy to leave at 4 and go to Bally's. My friend Dina was at the gym and we talked about love affairs and all the hot guys around us. She's friends with ALL of them, and she's probably in her 60's or 70's. Can you say playa?

But onto today's recipe. I'm going to a picnic today with my sister, dad, and grandma. It's at a place in South Park, so it should be nice and relaxing. I baked a beautiful cake last night after I got home from grocery shopping. My coworker gave me the recipe for a German Chocolate Crater Cake. I didn't have German Chocolate cake mix, so I used Devil's Food instead. I haven't tried it yet because it's still in the baking dish. It looks amazing though, and the smell was enough to make me faint... in a good way. haha

Here's the recipe:
Devil's Food Crater Cake

1 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup flaked coconut
1 box Devil's Food Cake mix, prepared as on box directions
1 8 oz pkg. cream cheese
1 (2.05 oz) Milky Way candy bar
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter
1 16 oz box powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees F.
2. Spray 9 X 13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
3. Sprinkle pecans and coconut over bottom of baking dish.
4. Prepare cake mix as on box. Pour over pecans and coconut.
5. Melt over low heat cream cheese and butter. Stir in powdered sugar and continue stirring until blended. (It will look like there is a ton of powdered sugar, but it cooks down, so keep stiring it)
6. Pour or spoon cream cheese mixture over the cake batter.
7. Place baking dish on top of a cookie sheet just in case the cake overflows. Bake about 40-45 minutes.
8. While cake is baking, melt milky way candy bar in evaporated milk. Cool slightly.
9. When cake is baked, poke holes over the top with fork. Pour the chocolate cream over the top of cake.