Stacey Makes It

This was actually an experiment trying to create orange.  I was hoping that if I used freeze-dried powdered strawberries (red) and mangoes (yellow), that I could turn white chocolate orange. Turns out the mangoes are almost the same color as the white chocolate, so I just ended up with pink.  They taste pretty yummy though. Stacey's Strawberry Mango Chocolate Leaf Ingredients: 9 oz Guittard white chocolate couverture ~ 1 oz freeze-dried strawberry / mango mixture (50/50) So first I ground the fruit to a powder in a mortar and pestle like in my strawberry cream crunchies recipe . I used a leaf mold and made sure it was dry and clean (I rinsed it and wiped all the spots with a cloth - this is to make sure all the chocolates come out shiny, without watermarks from dried water droplets). Then I tempered some white chocolate and stirred the powder in. I spooned the chocolate into the mold, jiggling the mold on the counter-top to make sure I released any bubbles.  I l...

As I continue to play with the Hearty Country Bread recipe , I'm always trying new methods and additives. This time, I'm going to try letting it rise in the refrigerator for two nights, add the salt to the dough instead of at the same time as the sponge, and add in green onions. Stacey's Green Onion Hearty Country Bread Ingredients : Sponge 1c whole wheat flour, organic 1/2c dark rye flour, organic 1/2 tsp yeast 1c water, 110F Dough 3c unbleached white bread flour, organic artisan + 1/2-1c additional 1 tsp yeast 2 tsp salt 1 1/3c warm water, 110F 3 tbs honey (avocado honey - it's dark, thick and not very sweet or strong tasting. The boyfriend found this at a Mediterranean market) 5 green onions Sunflower oil, organic Hardware Standing Mixer Silicone spatula Silicone brush Plastic wrap Parchment paper Baking stone Rimless baking sheet First I made the sponge (mix all the ingredients together and cover with plastic wrap) and let it sit overnig...

I know I haven't posted for quite a while. My apologies to the few people that I force to look at my blog.  I've been doing bread making research and I'm SO new to this that I couldn't even put it in the blog and pretend I know what I'm doing.  I've been baking bread for a few weeks though now, and I think just for my own sake I wanted to start documenting in case I wanted to repeat something.  I have made a few fairly yummy loaves so far, so I thought it was time to start posting again. :) Here are some things that I learned mostly using the same Hearty Country Bread recipe from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book  (that most bread makers will scoff at since they seem so rudimentary): I don't like "beer bread" recipes.   There are recipes that do not require yeast or kneading - recipes that remove all the hard parts about making bread and replace it with beer, which ultimately, like life, makes things a bit more disappointing th...

Thought I'd make something easy. Stacey's Dark Chocolate Pretzel Sticks Ingredients: 60% El Rey Dark Chocolate couverture Organic Turbinado Sugar crystals Honey Wheat Pretzel sticks from Trader Joe's I tempered the dark chocolate and dipped the pretzels into it.  Then I sprinkled them with the turbinado sugar. Ta-dah!

It was my boyfriend's birthday today so I thought I'd make something a little bit different.  Figured I'd try out some sort of coconut cake.  Stacey's Coconut Cake Ingredients: 1 1/2c unbleached white flour, organic 1/2c brown rice flour, organic 2 tbs cornstarch 1 1/2c sugar, organic 1 tsp salt 2 tsp baking powder 3/4c coconut flakes 1 1/2c lite coconut milk 1/4c coconut oil 1/4c canola oil 2 eggs First I preheated the oven to 350F.  Then, I mixed the dry ingredients together. I melted the coconut oil, then added it to the canola, coconut milk, and eggs and whisked everything together with a fork.  I poured the wet ingredients into the dry and mixed everything up.  I didn't want too much cake for home, since it was just my boyfriend and I eating it, so I poured about 1.5-2" of batter into a 7x7" cake pan lined with parchment paper.  I poured the rest into another pan.  You can probably pour all of it into an 8x8" or a 9x9" cake ...

Typically when I'm dipping things in chocolate, I have a little bit of chocolate left over which I save for random projects.  This is one of those. I love coconut haystacks, but I often think they are too sweet and kind of ugly.  In this version, I was going for something more light and flaky... elegant, if you will. ;) These are guestimates since I was using ingredients that I just had around. 4-6oz chocolate couverture (mix of milk, dark) 1 to 1 1/2c coconut chips, unsweetened, organic ( NutsOnline.com's version is my favorite) First I toasted the coconut - you have to watch it in the toaster and be really careful when you do this.  Coconut is like tissue paper and burns REALLY fast. What you want is for it to be a nice golden brown and crunchy.  I usually put my toaster oven on 300F and do 5 minute increments, stirring it in between so that it browns evenly.  Somewhere around 10 minutes mine is done, but it might take longer depending on your tray size,...

If you love coconut and chocolate, you'll love these moist, chewy cookies.  I used to work with Jeff Ma at Protrade and Citizen Sports  and one day he asked me to make something with coconut in it, so he likes to say that he helped me come up with the recipe. :D  It was always his favorite cookie in my arsenal.  I also used to make these when I had my farmer's market stand in Millbrae. Stacey's Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients:   1c+2tbs sugar, organic 1 1/4c brown sugar, organic 1c butter, salted, organic (2 sticks) 1/2c coconut milk, organic (regular, aka not low-fat, is best) 2 eggs, organic 2 tsp vanilla bean paste 2c unbleached white flour, organic 1 1/2c whole wheat flour, organic (I always throw some whole wheat in to get some whole grains in, but you can use all unbleached white if you prefer) 2tbs cornstarch 1 1/4 tsp baking soda 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 1/2 tsp salt 1c shredded coconut, organic 2 1/2c Guittard semi-sweet chocolate chips ...