Desserts Archives - Poppytalk

Strawberry Bannock Shortcake

Jan Halvarson — Tue, 14 Feb 2023 02:52:58 +0000

We published this recipe on the old blog a few years back and thought it would be perfect for a little St. Valentine’s Day brunch-style dessert. It’s adapted from a Canadian Living recipe —a twist on strawberry shortcake, the bannock (a traditional Canadian Indigenous bread) is sweetened with a little bit of vanilla and sugar. Best eaten when the bannock is fresh.

Strawberry Bannock Shortcake
(Adapted from Canadian Living – July/15)
For the Bannock—
2 cups flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup water
vegetable oil for frying

For the Strawberries—
3 – 4 cups of strawberries (hulled and quartered)
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup of whipping cream (with 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp vanilla)

Method—
Mix the strawberries with the sugar and set aside. For the bannock, add all the dry ingredients together and mix well. Create a well and add the milk, vanilla and water. Mix together just until soft and slightly sticky dough forms. Add more flour if necessary, 1 tbsp at a time to reach desired consistency. Gather into a ball and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out to about a ¼ inch thick and then cut into round shapes using either a large cookie cutter, lid or cup. Heat up the oil in a cast iron skillet, gently place the dough rounds (3 or 4 at a time) into the oil, turning once until puffed and golden, then turn them over to cook the other side. Bannock is cooked when tip of knife inserted in centres comes clean (about 6 minutes). Remove biscuits with a slotted spoon and place onto paper towels to drain. Let cool.

Whip up the cream, adding the sugar and vanilla at then end. To build, halve each biscuit and alternate whipping cream, strawberries, followed by another bannock biscuit, to desired height. We used 2½ halves. Top with more whipping cream and strawberries. Yum!

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Sweet ’n’ Salty Peanut Butter-Filled Cookies

Jan Halvarson — Wed, 09 Nov 2022 14:00:00 +0000

You’ll want to gift these cookies, they’re that good!

These cookies are super-fun to make and seriously delicious. I came across this recipe recently and added them to my must-have holiday baking list.

A combination of sweet and salty, these chocolate-based cookies are rolled in chopped peanuts and then topped with a mouth-watering, peanut butter and Philadelphia cream cheese filling.

You can also make the dough ahead of time since they need refridgerating prior to baking anyway. I also love that 3 of these cookies can fit nicely into a small box I made (blog post on how-to coming soon) perfect for gifting.

Check out the recipe below.

Sweet ‘n’ Salty Peanut Butter-Filled Cookies

This recipe makes approximately 65 small cookies which can be frozen until ready to eat.

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup butter
4 oz. (1/2 of 225-g pkg.) Baker’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate
1-3/4 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2-1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups dry roasted salted peanuts, finely chopped
1/2 cup Kraft Smooth Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Philadelphia Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Tip: You can make your own Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting, by mixing a 1/2 cup Philadelphia Cream Cheese with 3 tbsp icing sugar.

HOW TO MAKE:

Microwave butter and chocolate in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended.

Add granulated sugar; mix well. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour; mix well.

Refrigerate 1 hour.

Heat oven to 350ºF. Shape dough into 64 (1-inch) balls; roll in chopped peanuts until coated.

Place 2 inches apart, on baking sheets sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake 8 to 10 min. or just until centres of cookies are set. (Do not overbake). Cool on baking sheet 2 min. With handle of wooden spoon, press indentation into centre of each cookie. Remove to wire racks. Cool completely.

Mix peanut butter and frosting in medium bowl until blended. Spoon or pipe into indentations in cookies, adding . tsp. peanut butter mixture to each.

This post is in partnership with Kraft Heinz. Stay tuned for a post on how to make these adorable little cookie boxes and toppers made out of coffee filters coming out tomorrow, along with a collection of delicious recipes and festive-inspired tablescape ideas.

Pssst! There’s also a contest! WIN $50 to buy all your brunching ingredients. Visit addjoy.ca for more details!

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Fat Burning Cacao Fudge Hearts

Jan Halvarson — Wed, 14 Feb 2018 03:59:00 +0000

Staying true to our healthy way of eating, I’ve been seeking new recipes that can still fulfill the sweet tooth, and at the same time burn fat as much as possible, especially at Valentines. This treat I’ve been making quite a bit this past year, usually in bar form, but for Valentines I wanted to make something special and so created a heart version. These fat burning treats are perfect for anyone seeking a little sweet, with healthy fats and uses cacao to feed that chocolate craving, perfect for your low carb lover. Hope you like it as much as we do.

Fat Burning Cacao Fudge Hearts
Makes approximately 30 small hearts

3/4 cup pumpkin seeds (preferably sprouted)
1/2 cup walnuts
3 dates (pitted)
1/4 cup shredded coconut
3/4 cup cacao
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/4 tsp himalayan pink salt
Sprinkles (like pink sprinkles, gold flakes or coconut flakes).

Crush/mix (using a food processor or blender) together the pumpkin seeds, walnuts, dates and coconut. Set aside. Mix the cacao, maple syrup, coconut oil and salt. Pour into the mixed nut mixture until well blended. Place in a 8×8 lined baking pan (I use parchment paper, but you can also use saran wrap. Spread out through to all edges. Cover with saran wrap, and smooth out to create an even set. Refridgerate at least a couple of hours. To create the hearts, I used heart foils, but you could also use cookie cutters. Pull out the fudge from the refrigerator and remove from pan, keeping the parchment paper in tact, but remove the top saran wrap layer. Using the heart foils, press through till the hearts reach out to the bottom. Or if using a cookie cutter, press out each heart. You might need to put the fudge back into the refrigerator between cutting out hearts (depending on how long it takes you) to keep the fudge cool. Once each heart is pressed out, sprinkle with your favourite topping, like sprinkles, gold flakes or coconut flakes. Keep in refrigerator or freeze. Will keep up to three weeks! These need to keep cool, or they will soften up too much, so make sure to keep in the refrigerator.

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Lemon Poppy Seed Cake + Icing How-to

Jan Halvarson — Tue, 29 Aug 2017 08:52:00 +0000

Ever come across a recipe that is so simple, and even though it’s not from scratch, you know it’s a keeper. Especially for when you need something quick, but also need it to be a bit extra special. This lemon poppy seed cake is that type of recipe. I had never baked a box cake mixed with pudding before, but the addition of the vanilla pudding in this recipe, plus the poppy seeds makes for a really special treat.

Lemon Poppy Seed Lemon Cake + Icing Video

This recipe is adapted from the back of Watkins’ Pure Lemon Extract box. It’s true. Such a good recipe! The original cake asks for lemon zest, which is nice, and maybe good for a casual loaf cake, but I like to leave it out for fancier cakes. Yields 2 – 9 inch cakes. As an option, for this cake I add one more layer, stealing a layer from our Lemon Wedge Cake recipe from last week.

1 box of super moist white cake mix (18.25 oz. or 517 g)
1 package of instant vanilla pudding (3.4 oz. or 96 g)
1 cup water
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
3 eggs
1//4 cup poppyseeds
1 tablespoon (15 ml) pure lemon extract
(Optional) plus one layer of Lemon Wedge Cake (see recipe here).

Mix all of the ingredients (see, so simple) in a large bowl for two minutes or until blended. Pour into greased and floured cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pans for about 20 minutes before removing them. Set Aside.

(Check out the Swiss meringue buttercream recipe below).

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Lemon Wedge Cake + Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Jan Halvarson — Tue, 22 Aug 2017 08:31:00 +0000

This post is in partnership with Watkins, a 149-year-old manufacturer of gourmet, home care, personal care and health care products that are made naturally in the USA.

We come from a family of cake lovers and one of our all time favourites is this lemon cake, especially when iced with a smooth and fluffy vanilla buttercream. For the cake recipe we used Watkins Pure Lemon Extract which we have come to trust for its’ authentic flavour and the buttercream we use their Pure Vanilla Extract (a staple in our pantry). This recipe uses half a cake recipe (one 9″ round cake pan) for one wedge or feel free to make two cakes (or one full cake recipe)! The perfect size for 4 to 5 people. We hope you love it as much as we do!

Lemon Wedge Cake + Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Ingredients
1 cup white sugar
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1-3/4 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp lemon extract
yellow food colouring

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour two 9″ round cake pans and line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar in a a mixing bowl, add eggs (one at a time) and mix until smooth. Sift together the flour and baking powder and slowly add into the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in the milk until batter is smooth. Add the lemon extract.

Separate the batter into 3 different measuring cups. One approximately 3/4, another 1 cup and the last 2-1/2 cups. Add yellow food colouring (approximately 4-6 drops) to the 1 cup mixture, and add 2-3 drops to the 2-1/2 cup mixture. Leave the 3/4 cup mix white. Pour the batter starting with the darker yellow (to create the look of the lemon peel), into the cake pan. Then pour 1/2 of the white (for the rind) and then followed by the lighter yellow (see image or video below for how it should look). Pour the remaining white batter into an icing bag with a small round tip. Carefully draw the outline of the lemon sections with the batter. Make dots to represent the seeds. Straighten with a wooden skewer any lines that possibly appear crooked. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until done. Let cool.

While the cake is baking, make the icing!

Swiss Meringue Icing
To make this icing, you’ll need something that resembles a bain marie. A pot on the bottom to bring the water to a boil and a bowl that will easily sit atop of the pot, and something you’re still able to grab.

Ingredients
5 egg whites
1 cup (and 2 tablespoons) of white sugar
a pinch of salt
2 tsp. to 1 tablespoon vanilla (to taste)
1 pound (4 sticks) room temperature unsalted butter (cut into 1 tablespoon size pieces).

How to
Start the water to boil in the pot. Once it comes to a boil, turn down to simmer. In the bowl, add the 5 egg whites, the sugar and the salt. With the bowl placed atop of the pot, start to beat the egg whites, dissolving all of the sugar as you go. This takes approximately 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Continue to beat until peaks start to form in the egg whites and when the bowl is cool to touch. This takes approximately 7 – 10 minutes.

Slowly start to add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, until it is well incorporated. Continue mixing until all the butter has been added. Add the vanilla at the end. Mix well. Separate the icing into 2 different bowls. Add yellow to one bowl and leave the other white. Then transfer the icing into icing bags – using a round tip.

To Make the Cake

Cut the cake in half and ice on one side of the cake. Place the other half on top like a sandwich, and then face the cake so it stands like a lemon wedge. Using the white icing outline the rind and seeds of the lemon (as it appears on the cake) by creating small dots. Then with the yellow icing fill in the rest covering the entire cake. To cut, follow the white lines, cutting each piece to look like a wedge. Enjoy!

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Gluten Free Chocolate Velvet Cupcakes

Jan Halvarson — Thu, 04 May 2017 03:56:00 +0000

As a family we’ve been leaning towards a more whole foods diet recently, so we were thrilled to come across a new cookbook, ‘It All Begins With Food’, From Baby’s First Foods to Wholesome Family Meals: Over 120 Delicious Recipes for Clean Eating and Healthy Living by Leah Garrad-Cole (founder of Love Child Organics). ‘It all begins with food’ has been the Love Child Organics motto, a philosophy that was born of the desire to provide delicious and nutritious foods for babies and children. And like all parents who are concerned about what foods their children are eating, we were thrilled to check this out.

There’s a great section on baby foods as well as many recipes for the entire family; from superhero breakfasts like roasted Sweet Potato and Blueberry Muffins to Bacon and Apple-Loaded Spelt Pancakes to desserts like Lemon Coconut Macaroon Nests and Gluten Free Chocolate Velvet Cupcakes with Fluffy Coconut Cream Frosting. The book is also beautifully photographed by our friend, Interior and Food photographer, Janis Nicolay.

Today we’re thrilled to share the Chocolate Velvet Cupcakes recipe —perfect for the gluten intolerant or anyone who loves chocolate! And as a bonus, a Fluffy Coconut Cream Frosting which is both dairy-free and sugar-free and may very well change your life! Check out the recipes below.

Gluten Free Chocolate Velvet Cupcakes

Perfect for a birthday party or for Valentine’s Day, these moist and light gluten-free cupcakes taste so much like traditional chocolate cupcakes made with white wheat flour that no one will notice the difference. And with a healthy helping of beets and quinoa in these cupcakes, you could make the case that they are nutritious enough to serve for breakfast! You will need a food processor to make this recipe.

MAKES: 12 CUPCAKES PREP TIME: 45 MINUTES
COOK TIME: 28–30 MINUTES

3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
3/4 cup peeled, small-dice beets 3 large eggs
1-1/4 cups coconut sugar
1/2 cup virgin coconut oil, melted 1 1/2 tsp ground chia seeds
1 tsp pure vanilla extract 1/4 tsp pure almond extract 2/3 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 recipe Fluffy Coconut Cream Frosting (recipe below) or check out the book for a reduced sugar buttery Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the cups of a muffin pan with paper liners.
2. Put the quinoa and the beets into a medium-size lidded pot. Pour 1 3/4 cups of water over the beets and quinoa. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low for 17 minutes. This is longer than one would normally cook quinoa, but we want it to be extra-soft so it purees to a completely smooth texture. Drain any excess water, then spread the quinoa and beets out on a large plate so that they cool quickly.
3. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, blend the eggs, coconut sugar, coconut oil, chia, vanilla, and almond extract.
4. Once the beets and quinoa are warm but not hot, add them to the mixture and puree very well, until completely smooth.
5. Add the brown rice flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and blend again, for 2–3 minutes until very well blended. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides, then blend again until you’re sure the dry ingredients are very well mixed in. Because there is no gluten in the batter, don’t worry about overmixing. The batter will be thicker than traditional cupcake batter.
6. Spoon the batter into the cupcake papers, filling them almost to the top and smoothing out the surface as best you can.
7. Bake for 28–30 minutes in the middle of the oven. When they’re done, the cupcakes will feel firm and bounce back if you press on the tops with your finger.
8. Once cool enough to handle, take the cupcakes out of the pan and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting with Reduced-Sugar Buttery Cream Cheese Frosting (or Fluffy Coconut Cream Frosting, if you prefer). Freeze in an airtight container for up to 1 month, frosted or unfrosted. I like to make them ahead, freeze them, then thaw and frost them as needed.

Fluffy Coconut Cream Frosting

This dairy-free, refined sugar-free frosting may just change your life. It is unbelievably simple to whip up and is ideal if you are concerned about allergies or trying to avoid sugar. You won’t believe how delicious it is! Use this recipe for frosting a baby’s First Birthday Smash Cake (page 227 in the recipe book) or topping practically any dessert either as “frosting” or as a dairy-free whipped cream topping. (Note that you have to chill the coconut milk the day before you plan to make this).

MAKES APPROXIMATELY 1 CUP
PREP TIME: 5 MINUTES

1 (13.5 oz) can full-fat coconut milk (from a BPA-free can)
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of ground cinnamon (optional)

I find that for whatever reason, some brands of coconut milk don’t separate well. Try a few different brands and find one that seems reliable.

1. The day before you plan to make this, place the can of coconut milk in the refrigerator.

2. Fifteen minutes before beginning, place the bowl and beaters you will be using in the freezer to chill. A stand mixer or a large bowl and a hand-held mixer will both work just fine.

3. Using a spoon, scoop out the firm coconut cream, which will be at the top of the can and separated from the coconut water at the bottom. Put the cream in the chilled bowl and discard the water (or save it for another use).

4. Beat the coconut cream on high until light and fluffy.

5. Add the maple syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon and beat for another minute or so. I find that natural food coloring made from beets works beautifully here if I am looking for a pink icing (See pages 250-251 of the book and for the pink, below).

Natural Food Coloring —Red/Pink
Chop a quarter of a beet into very small pieces. Put the beet in a small pot and just cover it with water. Simmer gently for approximately 3 minutes. Pour the beet and water into a fine sieve or some sheets of cheesecloth with a bowl underneath and press out as much moisture as possible into the bowl. Presto—red food coloring. Add to the icing 1/4 teaspoon at a time until you get the hue and consistency you need.

It All Begins With Food
From Baby’s First Foods to Wholesome Family Meals: Over 120 Delicious Recipes for Clean Eating and Healthy Living
By Leah Garrad-Cole
Available through Random House (penguinrandomhouse.ca)

About the Author
Leah Garrad-Cole is the founder of the highly successful Love Child Organics brand of baby and children’s foods. An entrepreneur, mother, and formal special education teacher, Leah currently resides in Whistler, BC with her husband and two young children.

lovechildorganics.com
facebook.com/LoveChildOrganics
twitter.com/lc_organics
instagram.com/lovechildorganics

About the Photographer
Janis Nicolay is a shelter, lifestyle and food photographer, shooting for over ten years. Her work has been published in national and international magazines, including House & Home, Style at Home, Travel & Leisure and Vogue Living Australia. She lives in Vancouver with her husband, Robert.

janisnicolay.com
twitter.com/PineconeCamp
instagram.com/pineconecamp

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Blueberry Donuts With Lemon Glaze

Jan Halvarson — Fri, 03 Jun 2016 17:06:00 +0000

It’s Friday and it’s National Donut Day, so could there be a better day to be filled with joy? We’re celebrating with a favorite old recipe of ours (that we featured in our last summer’s online magazine) but never posted on the blog. A cake-style donut that you bake (in a donut cake pan) flavoured with fresh blueberries and a zesty lemony glaze. Happy Friday and National Donut Day!

Blueberry Donuts With Lemon Glaze

For the Donuts
2 cups gluten free or reg. flour
2 teaspoons baking powder + 3/4 teaspoon salt)
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted softened butter
1 cup coconut or reg. sugar
2 large eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup milk
2-1/4 cups fresh blueberries

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease donut cake pan with butter. In a bowl beat the butter and sugar until mixed thoroughly. Add eggs, beat well. Add in the vanilla and almond extract. Slowly add the flour mixture and milk (alternating) to the butter/sugar mixture, mix well using a mixer. Pour in blueberries and fold in using a spatula. Scoop the batter into the donut cake pans, making sure not to fill to much (about halfway). Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until browned and cake tester comes out clean. Cool and remove.

For the Glaze
1-1/2 icing sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
juice of 1 medium lemon
zest of one lemon

Mix together the icing sugar, cream and lemon juice using a mixer until smooth and a runny consistency, like a glaze. Sprinkle with lemon zest to garnish.

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