Tuesdays With Dorie - Coconut Tea Cake

This week's recipe was one I made last year when I had some limes in the kitchen. Knowing how much I loved it, I decided to make it again when it was chosen. I didn't take an updated picture because well, it looks exactly the same. Except I used lemon instead of lime. You can read more about this on my earlier post, but all you have to know is that this cake is worth making again and again. It can be somewhat dry, so if you aren't eating this with coffee or tea, you may want to consider a simple glaze to pour on top.



Thanks Carmen of Carmen Cooks for hosting this week! You can find the recipe on pages 194-195 of Baking: From My Home To Yours or on Carmen's blog.

McCormick's D.I.Y Workshop

The lovely people at McCormick have contacted me again about trying out their "Decorate It Yourself (D.I.Y) Workshop." Now, when they said they'd send me a toolkit, I thought they meant a care package like last time. I remember coming home and my parents asking, what did you order?? I said oh McCormick is sending me some stuff. When I walked into my room, there was this HUGE box on my floor. I'm talking big enough to hold two Murrays. It was HUGE. After opening it, I realized McCormick literally sent me a toolkit. Like, a box with hinges. Literally.


Palette, brushes, egg holders, sprinkles, neon and regular food coloring, vanilla, spice drops, marshmallows, cookie cutters, cupcake liners, and coconut

Even McCormick had something special for the cat.



Huge kudos for their PR/marketing team. Literally, a toolkit. I am so shocked and super excited I have another storage container (yes, I have issues being obsessed with storage containers).

Among my goodies was a packet of creative ideas and recipes. I won't have time to blog all about it now (simply bc there's so much and I still have lots to try), but I did make the Hello Flower Cupcakes. My neighborhood holds a spaghetti dinner each month. Being it's a neighborhood dinner, donations are always welcomed. Since my toolkit arrived several days before the dinner, I thought it was convenient to make flower cupcakes for a spring spaghetti dinner.



This is the second time I've donated and the second time my dad had to deliver for me. Both times I had to work. Although he didn't stick around for taste comments, there were a lot of ooos and ahhs. The recipe called for yellow cake cupcakes and 1 can vanilla frosting. With me being me, I made chocolate cupcakes and vanilla frosting from scratch. I chose chocolate cupcakes instead because they looked like flowers in soil instead of flowers in...uh...sand? Although technically you shouldn't be able to tell because of the green frosting, but you get the point. Plus I don't have a tested and approved yellow cake recipe yet. Here is the link to make Hello, Flower Cupcakes.



One awesome trick I learned is to take white sprinkles and add food coloring. Mix it around a bit (they say use a container with a lid and shake it but I just stirred it in a bowl), spread it onto a plate/wax paper/foil/whatever, then let dry for 15 minutes. Tada! Colored sprinkles! Now I don't have to buy a million things of sprinkles (although I still will). I used this trick with the green sprinkles (on the grass part). I already had blue and purple sprinkles, so I wasn't going to make more.

This is just one of the many ideas McCormick has to offer in their D.I.Y. Workshop. The rest I haven't tried yet (stupid Target). In case you can't wait or I don't get around to it in a timely manner, you can try Stuffed French Toast, Cheesy Bacon and Egg Brunch Casserole, and Festive Meringue Cookies.

Also, make sure you use McCormick's food coloring for dyeing Easter eggs this year. You can check out their virtual Easter workshop for decorating tips and ideas.

Tuesdays With Dorie - Soft Chocolate and Raspberry Tart

Ok so I technically I made this week's recipe this past summer - Dorie's Soft Chocolate and Raspberry Tart. Over the summer, the local berry farm lets visitors pick strawberries and black raspberries. Talk about fresh berries, no? Although I loved making this tart, March isn't quite the berry month. And quite frankly, I haven't been to the store to find a substitute fruit. I spent the past six days working at Target, so I haven't been to the grocery store in awhile. And I get to do it all again next week. So much for my degree.



Here's a picture from June when I did make the tart. You can read more about it from an earlier post, but there's nothing really to tell except check your berries for mold and make this tart as soon as berry season starts.

Thanks to Rachelle of Mommy? I'm Hungry! for hosting this week, even though I baked this awhile ago. You can find this recipe on page 354 of Dorie's book or on Rachelle's blog.

Tuesdays With Dorie - Thumbprints For Us Big Guys

This week's recipe was Dorie's Thumbprints For Us Big Guys. When I first heard this name, I thought she meant there was alcohol or even coffee in them, but I think she just meant they are more delicate with their lovely, sandy texture and jam filling than your typical sugar thumbprints with icing and cute sprinkles.




edit - The filling on these cookies is apricot. I used those jars of Baker's fruit fillings you usually see around the holidays.

These cookies lasted maybe a few hours in the house bc I cut the recipe in half. Make sure you use butter to get the melt-in-your-mouth sandy texture. Thanks to Mike of Ugly Food Dude for hosting this week! I'm sure I'll be making these cookies over and over again. You can find the recipe on page 164 of Baking: From My Home To Yours or on Mike's blog.

Win A Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer

It's every baker's dream to own a genuine Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer. Sure, you can save money and buy a cheaper brand, but those are only good for basics like cookie dough or cakes. If you really want to crank out good stuff like bread or ice cream, you want to spend the money and go for Kitchen Aid. I still have yet to own one, simply because I don't have the $200+ to spare, and I'm sure many of you can relate.

Solution to this problem? Win a free stand mixer. All you have to do is check out Doughmesstic's blog for the giveaway. What's so special about this giveaway? She is giving away not one BUT TWO stand mixers!!! Ridiculous! All you have to do is comment and tell her Carla C. sent you. If your comment is picked, both you and I win. It's that simple! Just think of the hundreds of dollars you'd save by winning a FREE stand mixer!

Comment today and tell her Carla C. sent you!

Tuesdays With Dorie - Toasted Coconut Custard Tart

This week's challenge is Dorie's Toasted Coconut Custard Tart, which called for dark rum. Now I rarely drink alcohol, but I know dark rum has a specific flavor profile compared to other types of rum or even rum extract. I've been debating on spending money for something I rarely use but decided since I've had really good rum cake in the Bahamas, maybe I could duplicate it. They don't sell tiny bottles of dark rum, so I bought a regular bottle of Myers Dark Rum (which is the only brand of dark rum I could find).



Rum is not something my family enjoys either, so I made two mini tarts,seeing as only my dad and me would be the ones eating them. Boy was I wrong. They lasted maybe 10 minutes because my mom and brother had a bite and decided to eat more. Cutting the recipe into thirds made the perfect amount for two mini tarts. As far as flavor, some TwDers said there wasn't a strong coconut flavor, which makes sense. If you think about it, it's really just a normal custard with toasted coconut folded in. One person suggested using coconut extract, so I substituted that for vanilla. It would be interesting to see if you can make the custard with coconut milk. I know skim milk is frowned upon because of the fat ratio.

The amount of rum used is debatable. The rum is kinda strong, so if you love rum, great. If not, you may want to scale it back to 1 Tbsp instead of 2. I left rum out of the whipped cream because the custard was strong enough. I did use coconut extract in both the custard and topping.



Thanks to Beryl of Cinemon Girl for choosing this delicious tart. You can find the recipe on pages 344-345 of Dorie's Baking: From My Home To Yours or on Beryl's blog.