PB&J sandwich...cake?

So this is how I imagine it goes:
You: But we already know how to make PB&J sandwiches!
Me: Well, ohohoho...this isn't a sandwich, silly. It's a cake! Ohohoho...

My sister got me this awesome sandwich-shaped cake pan for Christmas, and I am obsessed. There's something so captivating and amusing about food looking and tasting like other food. Like this incredibly realistic Asparagus Cake by one of my favorite bloggers, Rosie of Sweetapolita. It might not sound like an appealing combination, but that's where the fun lies. I love that element of surprise and unpredictability. It's the sweetest kind of deception.

"School lunch"...but better...because it's cake.

I originally wanted to make a fluff cake-wich, but I settled on a classic PB & J, using some homemade apple jam I made a couple months ago. (Fun fact: Fluff was invented in Somerville, MA, and every year the city holds a Fluff Fest. I feel obligated to go now.)

I used a vegan vanilla cake recipe, and the cake barely rose during baking. However, the color and texture made for a convincing "bread" look, which was fun. Next time, I'll try another recipe, though.

You can't really see the filling, but it's there.

Look out for more cake-wiches! :) And definitely comment below if you have any ideas or cake-wich requests!

bread wreath! happy holidays!

It's hard to believe that Christmas in Boston this year is as snow-less as Christmas in Los Angeles. There is truly, honestly not even a single, pathetic patch of snow on the ground. Instead, it's been downcast and rainy out for quite a while. Wump. So I decided I should bake something to inject some much-needed holiday spirit into the gray atmosphere. =)

For Christmas eve dinner, I made this Holiday Breakfast Wreath from Sara Kate Gillingham of the Kitchn. It's a soft bread with sweet and tart filling. I tried my best to emulate Sara's gorgeously braided wreath, but -ahem- it looks like I still have a long ways to go! I highly recommend checking out her recipe because the bread is delicate, fragrant and melts in your mouth. It feels and tastes phenomenal fresh out of the oven.

The original recipe includes a cranberry-almond filling and a citrus glaze. I didn't have the necessary ingredients, so I improvised a filling using flour, orange juice and chopped dates. If I make this again, I would add more filling, but I still think a glaze on top of a sweet filling would make it a tad too sweet.

potluck: french onion soup (no beef stock)

We hosted a potluck at our suite to celebrate the end of the semester and to send off a friend who will be studying abroad in Amsterdam. My friend Anna and I teamed up to make some hearty french onion soup. It was definitely in the stars for us because 1) we had a bag of onions leftover, and we needed to clear our fridge before winter break and 2) Anna received a slow cooker, and we were eager to try it out. So, on a cold winter day, what better way to put a slow cooker and a bag of onions to use than to make some hearty french onion soup!
While beef stock is usually an integral part of french onion soup, neither Anna nor I eat beef, so we substituted it with chicken and vegetable stock. We left out the cheese because we didn't have heat-safe bowls to broil the cheese with. Regardless - topped with a thick slice of toasted french bread, this soup is d-i-v-i-n-e.

Doranna's slow cooker french onion soup (no beef stock; cheese optional)
4 medium yellow onions, sliced French-style
3 cups chicken stock
3 cups vegetable stock
2 Tbs all-purpose flour
3 Tbs butter/oil (we used 1 Tbs olive oil + 2 Tbs butter)
Ground pepper, thyme, to taste

Optional: gruyere cheese, grated
French bread, to serve with soup

1. Slice the onions into strips.
2. In a pan, heat the oil and the butter until it melts together.
3. Add the onions to the pan and cook on Med-High until golden brown and caramelized (~45 minutes). If there are brown caramelized bits stuck to the bottom of the pan, pour in a few splashes of chicken or vegetable stock to deglaze it.
4. In a slow cooker, pour in the chicken and veggie stock. Add flour, ground pepper and thyme to the stock, and mix until the flour has dissolved. Add in the caramelized onions, making sure to scrape all the caramelized bits off the pan and into the slow cooker.
5. Turn the slow cooker on HIGH, and let the soup cook for 2-3 hours, until the soup is bubbling, the onions have broken down, and everything has melded together.
6. Optional: Divide the soup into individual heat-safe bowls. Add a slice of french bread and a handful of grated gruyere cheese on top of the soup. Broil in the oven for 3-5 minutes, or until cheese and bread are golden brown.
7. Alternatively, you can do it like we did, and simply serve it with a slice of french bread.

chewy gingerbread cookies (final week baking frenzy continued)

Eating our people

Last year, I made gingerbread cookies that were dark and molasses-y and snapped with every bite. This year, I wanted a cookie that was chewier - as in, they weren't meant to build houses with. That's when I saw a recipe for Super soft gingerbread cookies by Emily from Layers of Happiness, which she describes as "Tender and slightly chewy...Packed with ginger, cinnamon and molasses flavor...Seriously addictive." Gee, it's like she read my mind.

These are indeed soft and chewy, spicy and absolutely scrumptious. I toned down the spices from the original recipe, and I've included my changes below. Even then, the cookies still tasted like Christmas, and I'll be making them again for sure. (Shhh...My father even said they were better than the gingerbread cookies the lady from his office makes!)

chewy gingerbread people (slightly altered from Layers of Happiness)
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
6 Tbs unsalted butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup molasses
1 tsp vanilla

Yields ~20 gingerbread men, with leftover scraps to get creative with

gingerbread [vegan]

Today, I walked out of my last final exam of the semester. No matter how many times I've done that before, I'm never prepared for how surreal it feels to suddenly be free from academic obligations. When you're caught up in the tornado that is finals week, losing sleep over papers and cramming biology vocab and physics equations into your brain, it's so easy to lose track of time and forget what's happening outside the college bubble.

If there's anything alerting me to the approaching holidays, it's the return of pumpkin spice and gingerbread items at the campus coffee shop. Nothing sets me in the mood for wrapping presents, stringing lights and anticipating snow more than the scent of warm spices does.

gingerbread [vegan]
1 1/4 cup all-purp flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup oil (I used corn oil)
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup fancy molasses
2 tbs apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup + 2 Tbs brown granulated sugar

Yields 1 loaf

1. In a bowl, mix the flours, baking soda, salt and ginger/nutmeg/cinnamon.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the oil, warm water, molasses, vinegar, vanilla and sugars.
3. Fold the wet and dry mixtures together until just combined.
4. Pour into greased baking pan, and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

This gingerbread was spicy and sweet and delicious, and what's even better is that it still retains a great flavor and texture even after being in the fridge for a few days.

My friend Joy enjoying a slice of vegan gingerbread. Teehee.

double chocolate cookies

Let's be honest - you could stop right here...

We made these cookies for a potluck in our dorm, and they were uber chocolate-y and very delicious. Somehow, these taste even better during finals week. The only thing better than chocolate is more chocolate, right?

double chocolate cookies (adapted from Very Best Baking)
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick butter, softened at room temperature
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Yields 2 dozen cookies

1. In a bowl, cream together butter and sugar. After the butter and sugar are mixed, add in the egg and vanilla, and mix until lighter colored.


2. In another bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips.
3. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry. If you are not baking the cookies immediately, cover and refrigerate the batter.
4. When you are ready to bake the cookies, scoop ~1 Tbs of cookie dough for each cookie onto a greased cookie sheet, keeping them about 1 inch apart. Gently flatten each cookie dough scoop with the back of a spoon or a fork.
5. Bake at 380 F for 12-15 minutes.*
*The recipe does say to bake the cookies at 375 F for 8 minutes, but our cookies were still raw.

These cookies disappeared fast.