Lovin' From the Oven

Archives for February 2010

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

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I’ve been baking like crazy recently. You have noooo idea. I baked six different things last night for my boyfriend’s nieces’ birthday party today. They’re growing up so fast! I have a lot to live up to at every one of the boy’s family events now… Since I brought baked goods the first time I met everyone, I’m kind of expected to bring them for the rest of my life. I’ve designated myself as the dessert girl without purposely doing so. Hahaha, I don’t mind.. I actually love it! Being able to bake Costco amounts of food and having it all be eaten in a day makes me feel great. Plus, my boyfriend has an amazing family and they’re well worth the effort.

This recipe comes from Pete Bakes and is uh-mazing. Recipes that come from the family and passed down are always the best. Also, it’s from a boy that bakes! How presh is that?! Do you have any idea how hard they are to find? As much as I love my boyfriend, he can barely boil water if his life depended on it. Boys that can cook, let alone bake, are rare to come by. Trust me. Also, trust me when I say that this recipe truly rocks. It’s moist, light, and pleasantly sweet.

  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp water
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 6 oz chocolate chips

1. mix 1/2 cup white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, chocolate chips.

2. cream butter, 1 cup white sugar, and eggs. add the sour cream, vanilla and water.

3. in a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder and soda. combine into the wet ingredients.

4. pour half of the batter into a greased and floured 9×13 inch pan. sprinkle half of the cinnamon, sugar and chocolate chip mixture on the batter. pour in the rest of the batter and top with the rest of the cinnamon, sugar and chip mix.

5. bake at 350 F for 30 minutes. let it cool for at least an hour before cutting into it, or the chocolate chips will be too melty and it will be hard to get out of the pan.

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oh, p.s. i created a FORMSPRING, so click over and ask me anything you’d like!

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

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So this… is the best carrot cake in the world. I stand by it like no other. I’ve posted it twice on my blog before as my first paid cake and with an amateur picture, but that was way back when I had a crappy camera and didn’t know much about lighting/food photography/blogging… anything, really. What a difference time and knowledge makes!

I’ve baked this many times before, yet always fail to post the recipe because it came from my aunt and it always seemed so secretive. It was actually the recipe of her wedding cake, and she loved it so much that she had to get the recipe from the baker. Ever since then, it’s been baked multiple times in the family. I finally decided to post it because it’s just too good not to share. I’ve been selfish enough over the past couple years keeping this to myself and am finally letting it out. ::whew:: That was difficult. Seriously.

So please, cherish this recipe as much as I do. If not the cake, definitely the frosting. I’ve tried plenty of cream cheese frosting recipes and this one still remains my favorite. You can use it on anything else you want– red velvet cupcakes, chocolate cake, banana bread.. Heck, just make it and eat it straight out of the bowl!

  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 cups AP flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 3 cups shredded carrot
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups sugar

Mix all ingredients well with a wooden spoon. Pour into desired pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes (more or less depending on pan size) until a toothpick comes out clean.

For the cream cheese frosting:

  • 8 oz cream cheese (only use Philadelphia brand!)
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
  • few drops of water

Beat all ingredients well and spread on top of cooled cake.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

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I hope everyone had a great Valentine’s Day.. whether it was with your significant other or with a box of chocolates. My boyfriend surprised me and took me to go see the movie “Valentine’s Day” and I was absolutely delighted. Any movie with Bradley Cooper is lovelovelove! As for dinner, I ended up cooking my first real meal ever for the boy and it wasn’t too shabby, if I do say so myself. Call me crazy, but I’m terrified of cooking. I’ve never been good at it or really tried. It’s just not my cup of tea. For some reason, I find it so much more complicated and stressful than baking. I ended up making lemon/cilantro chicken, mexican rice, roasted potatoes, and rosemary focaccia bread. A little ambitious for my first cooking meal, I know.. but the boy is worth every bit of it. The bread turned out beautifully despite my hatred for yeast, but more on that later! Now that I’ve broken down my fear of cooking, you can expect me to branch out from the oven.

Usually, I’d take any other flavored cookie over chocolate, but there are those days where nothing can satisfy you quite as well as a chocolate cookie. Today was one of those days. This recipe comes slightly adapted from allrecipes.com and I chose it because it had 1,402 reviews. Anything with over a thousand reviews is a definite try in my book. This recipe didn’t fail me— thank you allrecipes! The nuts blended well with the chocolate, as always. There’s something about chocolate and walnuts that’s just magical. The cookie itself was pleasant, fudgy, and moist… exactly the way a chocolate cookie should be.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cups white sugar
  • 3/4 cups brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. In large bowl, beat butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
  3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

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