Kitchen Aid Blender, Giveaway!!!

Who doesn't love free stuff? We all do and that is why I am gearing up to host my first ever blog giveaway! Up for grabs today is a brand spanking new WHITE Kitchen Aid 5 speed blender with a 56oz. polycarbonate pitcher. According to the Kitchen Aid website this baby " can crush a pitcher of ice within seconds. In fact, this model is the most powerful premium blender currently available."

(picture courtesy of Kitchen Aid's website)

Entering is a piece of cake, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post and share with me your favorite way to use a blender. It is as simple as that. Unfortunately, due to the cost of shipping, this giveaway is only open to those people who live in the Continental United States. One entry per person please.

This giveaway starts today, Wednesday May 21th, 2008 and will close at midnight eastern time on Saturday May 31st, 2008. The winner will be chosen by the random integer number generator on random.com and announced on Monday June 2nd.

Please note that my blog has comment moderation turned on. Your comment will not show up in the post until I let it through but at the top of the screen you will get a confirmation that the comment has been sent to me.

Good luck!!

A Mother's Day Guest Post

A few words from my my Mother....
You who are frequent viewers at Ambers Delectible Delights must know that she got all of her baking talent from me, her Mother. How do I know this you might be asking yourself. For the simple fact that I don't have any, she drained every bit of it out of me in childbirth.

Okay, I do try and much to Ambers surprise in a conversation we were having she learned that I also had made bread from scratch. She didn't recall ever trying it and I reminded her that she would only eat white bread.


But being the good Mother that I am I spent a good portion of Mothers Day making a batch of the only type of bread that I have made from scratch. Amber was visiting with Me when the first loaves were done and as we tore into one of them I asked Amber if she wanted any butter. She replied with a "No, you can't ruin good bread with butter, but I would dip it in herbed oil if you had some.

Okay so I am not up on the replacement of butter on bread either. But I do know this, ...I have been fortunate enough to taste so many of Ambers creations and I haven't had one yet that wasn't musty. For those of you that are not familiar with that term, musty it means "must have more".


Hi, it is me again, Amber. This bread was absolutely delicious and after eating 3 slices of it at my mother's house I came home and ended up eating another one after taking the photographs. :)

I hope all of the Mother's out there had a wonderful Mothers Day filled with good food and moments you will remember for a lifetime. A barrel full of love, hugs and kisses to my mom. Thank you for spending your day making bread for me. I love you.

Whole Wheat Bread
Original source unknown

Makes 5 - 7 loaves

Ingredients
1 cake or 2 tablespoons dry yeast
2 cup warm water
2 2/3 cup scalded milk
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoon salt
1 stick margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
5 cups whole wheat flour
7-8 cups all purpose flour

Directions
1) In an extra large bowl mix the scalded milk, beaten eggs, salt, margarine, sugar and honey. Set aside to let mixture cool briefly.
2) In a small bowl dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
3) Once the milk mixture is lukewarm but not hot, add the yeast to it.
4) Mix in the whole wheat flour, let set for 15 minutes.
5) Knead in white flour, let rise 30 minutes.
6) Knead again. Let rise to double in bulk
7) Divide dough into 5-7 greased loaf pans and let rise to double in bulk again.
8) Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove loaves from pans and let cool on a wire rack.

I Scream, You Scream...

.. we all scream for ICE CREAM!! Remember the other day when I made the angel food cake and I promised an update of ice cream? Well today is your lucky day, I was able to finish my ice cream and oh my word it is amazing. Although the prep dirtied more dishes than I would care to admit this was so very easy to make. The hardest part of the entire process was waiting for the mixture to cool so I could put it in my ice cream machine and then waiting for it to freeze completely in the freezer. I guess I am just proud that I found a use for most of my egg yolks and only threw away 4 out of the 12. Perhaps next time I should make another half batch of this recipe so I do not have to throw anything away. :)


For a fun twist on regular chocolate ice cream I threw in some mini marshmallows and almonds and called it Rocky Road.
This stuff is seriously sinful and would be just as good without the addition of the vanilla.


Chocolate Ice Cream
Source: Alton Brown via FoodNetwork.com

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces unsweetened cocoa powder, approximately 1/2 cup
3 cups half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
8 large egg yolks
9 ounces sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions
Place the cocoa powder along with 1 cup of the half-and-half into a medium saucepan over medium heat and whisk to combine. Add the remaining half-and-half and the heavy cream. Bring the mixture just to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and remove from the heat.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the sugar and whisk to combine. Temper the cream mixture into the eggs and sugar by gradually adding small amounts, until about 1/3 of the cream mixture has been added. Pour in the remainder and return the entire mixture to the saucepan and place over low heat. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon and reaches 170 to 175 degrees F. Pour the mixture into a container and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract. Place the mixture into the refrigerator and once it is cool enough not to form condensation on the lid, cover and store for 4 to 8 hours or until the temperature reaches 40 degrees F or below.

Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions. This should take approximately 25 to 35 minutes. Serve as is for soft serve or freeze for another 3 to
4 hours to allow the ice cream to harden.

Caramel Pecan Coconut Banana

While browsing through blogs I noticed a Banana Bread bake off blogging event hosted by Not Quite Nigella and decided that I just had to participate in this event. I love banana bread and love my tried-and-true recipe, but I felt the urge to be a little creative this time around. I started with my usual banana bread recipe as the base added some toasted pecans, toasted coconut and caramel bits.


Unfortunately the caramel bits sunk to the bottom of the loaf and made the bottom of my bread look overcooked (booo), so I would suggest coating them in flour before adding to the batter to keep them from falling. This bread turned out pretty good and has the potential to be better if the caramel would have behaved and stayed in place. Although the flavor of the coconut did not really come through you could definitely tell it was there from the little crunch it gave off.


Caramel Pecan Coconut Banana Bread
Source: Amber's Delectable Delights

Ingredients
3 bananas, smashed
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup toasted pecans
1/3 cup toasted coconut
1/3 cup Kraft caramel bits

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all ingredients except for pecans, coconut and caramel bits using a mixer.
Add pecans, coconut and caramel bits and mix by hand until just mixed.
Grease loaf pan
Cook for 50 minutes at 350 degrees
Check with toothpick for doneness (may need to cook longer, possibly 15 more minutes)

The Lightest Cake of Them All

Last weekend I was browsing through the cooking and baking aisles at Meijer and happened to see an angel food cake pan on clearance. My husband loves angel food cake but I have never bought or made one for him. I figured I might as well buy the pan because it would work great for monkey bread too. I knew the cake took lots of egg whites so I grabbed a dozen eggs and decided I would make angel food cake with the egg whites and ice cream with the egg yolks.

My friend Jessica made this recipe a couple weeks ago (with a few slight modifications) and just raved about it and said I had to try it. So try it I did. She was right, this cake was so light and fluffy and amazing. Such a breeze to whip up too. Next time, I might try to reduce the sugar a little bit, the cake was a little more sugary than I remember angel food cake being. Thumbs up all the way around from everyone that tried the cake.

Here is a picture of the cutest little angel food cake thief I have ever seen. Little Jake decided that his dad did not deserve the cake and wanted to try it himself.

Don't forget to come back soon to check out the ice cream recipe I picked, it is still in liquid state chilling in the fridge but it tastes amazing!!

Angel Food Cake
Source: Baking Illustrated, by Cooks Illustrated

Ingredients
1 cup (3 ounces) sifted cake flour
1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) sifted granulated sugar
12 large egg whites (1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons), at room temperature
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons juice from one lemon
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Directions
1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Have ready an ungreased large tube pan (9-inch diameter, 16-cup capacity), preferably with a removable bottom. If the pan bottom is not removable, line it with parchment or wax paper.
2. Whisk the flour with 3/4 cup sugar in a small bowl. Place remaining 3/4 cup sugar in another small bowl next to the mixer.
3. Beat the egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer at low speed until just broken up and beginning to froth. Add the cream of tartar and salt and beat at medium speed until whites form very soft, billowy mounds. With the mixer still at medium speed, beat in 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until all sugar is added and the whites are shiny and form soft peaks. Add vanilla, lemon juice, and almond extract and beat until just blended.
4. Place the flour-sugar mixture in a sifter set over waxed paper. Sift flour-sugar mixture over egg whites about 3 tablespoons at a time, and gently fold it in, using a large rubber spatula. Sift any flour-sugar mixture that falls onto the paper back into the bowl with the whites.
5. Gently scrape the batter into the pan, smooth the top with a spatula, and give pan a couple of raps on the counter to release any large air bubbles.
6. Bake until the cake is golden brown and the top springs back when pressed firmly, 50 to 60 minutes.
7. If the cake pan has prongs around the rim for elevating the cake, invert pan onto them. If the pann does not have prongs, invert pan over the neck of a bottle or funnel so that air can circulate all around it. Let the cake cool completely, 2 to 3 hours.
8. To unmold, run a knife around edges of the pan, being careful not to separate the golden crust from the cake. Slide cake out of pan and cut the same way around removable bottom to release, or peel off parchment or wax paper, if used. Place the cake, bottom-side up, on a platter. Cut slices by sawing gently with a serrated knife. Serve the cake the day it is made.

Serves 10-12
Per Serving: Cal 150; Fat 0 g; Sat fat 0 g; Chol 0 mg; Carb 33 g; Protein 4 g; Fiber 0 g; Sodium 105 mg

Cheesecake - Daring Baker Style

Yay it is nearing the end of the month and I am sure you all know what that means. It's Daring Baker time!! Elle at Feeding my Enthusiasms and Deborah at Taste and Tell chose this month's recipe of cheesecake pops. Although this is not a very challenging recipe it does incorporate some techniques that some bakers are not familiar with which is why this recipe was chosen.


The recipe was very self-explanatory and easy to put together but many people had problems with the bake time and cheesecakes not setting up. The recipe says to bake the cheesecake for 35-45 minutes but mine took well over an hour and I even divided the batter in half into two different pans (a 9" and a 10" springform).


After baking and chilling the cheesecake I took one of the pans and cut out flowers with my Pampered Chef creative cutters set and took the other pan and rolled them into balls. The taste of this cheesecake was wonderful, very rich and creamy. Forming the shapes was quite a sticky mess and dipping the pops in chocolate was fun but frustrating. My melted chocolate had a lot of tiny little pieces of cheesecake in it, from dipping the pops, and it was hard to keep the oreo's and crushed M&M's from falling right off the balls. All in all I will probably make these again but I would probably enlist someone to help with the rolling and dipping.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the daring bakers cheesecake pops by visiting the blogroll.

Cheesecake Pops
(Adapted from: Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O’Connor)

Makes 30 – 40 Pops

Ingredients
5 8-oz. packages cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups sugar
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
5 large eggs
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ cup heavy cream
Boiling water as needed
Thirty to forty 8-inch lollipop sticks
1 pound chocolate, finely chopped – you can use all one kind or half and half of dark, milk, or white (Alternately, you can use 1 pound of flavored coatings, also known as summer coating, confectionary coating or wafer chocolate – candy supply stores carry colors, as well as the three kinds of chocolate.)
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
(Note: White chocolate is harder to use this way, but not impossible)
Assorted decorations such as chopped nuts, colored jimmies, crushed peppermints, mini chocolate chips, sanding sugars, dragees) - Optional

Directions
Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Set some water to boil.

In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. If using a mixer, mix on low speed. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well (but still at low speed) after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and cream.

Grease a 10-inch cake pan (not a springform pan), and pour the batter into the cake pan. Place the pan in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes.

Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

When the cheesecake is cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the cheesecake pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 – 2 hours.

When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate. In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Do not heat the chocolate too much or your chocolate will lose it’s shine after it has dried. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety.

Alternately, you can microwave the same amount of chocolate coating pieces on high at 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth.

Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations. You can also drizzle them with a contrasting color of melted chocolate (dark chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate or white chocolate over dark chocolate, etc.) Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening (or confectionary chocolate pieces) as needed.

Refrigerate the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.