Lovin' From the Oven

Dulce de Leche Brownies

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My DB and I are both in workout mode recently to get into shape for our Hawaii trip coming up. How’s that going, you ask? Better than I expected. We’ve been taking leisurely four mile walks, hiking, and I’ve been jump roping/ab-rolling it up. As far as food goes, I seriously suck at that. I just can’t give up sweets for the life of me. How can anyone do that when you’ve got brownies like this in the kitchen? Not me.

Oh dear lord. These brownies are yummalicious. They’re dense, chewy, and have the perfect blend of dulce de leche to kick it up a notch. I can eat dulce de leche by the spoonful, you know. The added walnuts make the brownies dangerously close to tasting like fudge, but I’m not complaining. I cut them into itty bitty bite size strips so you don’t feel as bad eating ten. The Dutch-process cocoa powder is a must for brownies, in my opinion.
Thank you David Lebovitz for introducing this goodness to me (who adapted it from The Sweet Life in Paris).

  • 1/2 cup salted or unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 1 cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup (25g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup (200g) sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (140g) flour
  • optional: 1 cup (100 g) toasted pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup Dulce de Leche (or Cajeta)
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (175 C).
  2. Line an 8-inch square pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
  3. Melt the butter and chocolate pieces together in a medium saucepan until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Add in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the sugar, vanilla, then the flour. Mix in the nuts, if using.
  4. Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan.
  5. Drop one-third of the Dulce de Leche, evenly spaced, over the brownie batter, then swirl through it with a knife. Spread the remaining brownie batter over, then drop spoonfuls of the remaining Dulce de Leche in dollops over the top of the brownie batter. Slightly marble the dulce de leche with a knife.
  6. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Cool completely before cutting.

P.S. Sorry for the delay, FAQ post coming up later this week!

Food Review: Chick Fil A

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Have you heard of Chick-Fil-A? Well, I knew of the place but never knew that there was one near me. We took my niece there for lunch before going to the movies one day.

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Kiddie’s meal: nuggets

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Mine: Chicken Caesar Cool Wrap
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DB’s: Spicy Chicken Sandwich
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Waffle Potato Fries
All the chicken items were just as expected.. delish! I especially liked my DB’s sandwich. I, on the other hand, wasn’t too lucky with my wrap. The chicken wasn’t seasoned, the caesar dressing was off, and the wrap was hard. How come I had to make the mistake and order the one bad item off the menu? Oh well, lesson learned: If you go to Chick-Fil-A, get something hot.
Overall, cheap and tasty fast food. My DB fell in love with the place and would eat it everyday if he could. Heck, I think that’s one of the reasons he’s considering going to USC law (they have a Chick-Fil-A on campus). *kidding*

Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

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I know this is a food/baking blog, but I just can’t fathom the events going on in Japan. I need to take a time out from desserts and say this: My heart goes out to all the people and families affected by the earthquake and tsunami. I have been to Japan once before, and I have always been in awe of the kindness that I received while on my trip. Now, it is my chance to give back to them in their time of need. Japan needs our help now, more than ever. I hope we can all come together and pitch in by donating to the Red Cross. Every little bit counts!
These cupcakes were extremely moist– well, obviously, check out the ingredient list! A doctored up cake mix is always an “A” in my book. The frosting turned out a little runny for me and wouldn’t stabilize back together, but that could be because I over mixed the batter. There was also WAY too much frosting, so I’d cut the frosting recipe in half next time for the full amount of cupcakes. Recipe from Eat at Allie’s.
  • 1 (18.25 ounce) package devil’s food cake mix
  • 1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 2 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, eggs and water.
  3. Stir in the chocolate chips.
  4. Fill the lined muffin cups with 3/4 batter.
  5. Bake for 20 to 24 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Filling:

  • 8 oz Cool Whip
  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
  • 20 Keebler Grasshopper Mint Cookies, crushed
  • Green food coloring
Mix ingredients together until combined.

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