Soup Bread Bowls

When I think of bread bowls, I always have images of Boston and San Francisco. I think of a hearty chowder in Boston or the wonderful sourdough bread in San Francisco. My husband told me that he thinks of Maine since he notices it at the local restaurants. When my oldest daughter came home to visit, her boyfriend asked for some lobster chowder. I figured I would make it in bread bowls. My youngest son thought this was the most awesomest thing ever. He could eat his soup and then the bowl. He loved it. 

Bread Bowls
5 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup dry milk
1 (1/4 oz.) package of instant yeast
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup warm water

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine 3 cups all purpose flour with the white whole wheat flour, dry milk, yeast, salt, vegetable oil, and the warm water.
2. Add 1/2 cup of all purpose flour until the dough is no longer too sticky.
3. Knead the dough for 8 minutes until the dough is smooth.
4. Allow the dough to rise for 45 minutes.
5. Divide the dough into 5 balls.
6. Place the dough onto a parchment lines baking sheet.
7. Cover the dough with greased plastic wrap.
8. Place in the refrigerator overnight.
9. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 2 hours.
10. Uncover and allow to sit for 30 minutes.
11. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
12. Gently make several slashes on top of the bread.
13. Bake the bread for 22 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow on the bottom if tapped.
14. Allow the bread to cool before hollowing out the center for the soup. 

Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour. 

One year ago....................................I made NY Style Cheesecake.
Two years ago..................................I made Stove Top Mac-n-Cheese.

Did you already know........................
-In 1630, Boston was founded by the English Puritans. 
-In 1636, Harvard University was founded.
-In 1716, the first lighthouse was built in Boston.

Brazilian Banana Cake

My husband decided he was going to eat healthier this year. This means we have tons and tons of bananas. Yes, he should be eating them. So when I was looking for another recipe to celebrate the Olympics, I decided to go with Brazil. Brazil will be hosting the summer Olympics in two years. It was a great way to use some of these bananas up. This dessert taste a lot like banana bread. My children even ask me for a piece of the banana bread instead of cake. It is top with bananas and cinnamon sugar. When I removed this cake from the oven, the top was puffed up which went back down once cooled. I made two individual serving cakes to test the recipe before cooking the larger one. I didn't have to change anything. It was a big hit in this house. Now, what to do with the rest of the bananas I have?

Brazilian Banana Cake
3 Tbsp butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 egg yolks
3 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 cup milk
4 very ripe bananas, smashed
3 egg whites

Topping:
2 bananas, sliced
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Grease a 9x13 baking pan.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugar.
4. Mix in the egg yolks.
5. Add the flour with the baking powder.
6. Add the milk and mix until incorporated.
7. Add the smashed ripe bananas to the batter.
8. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until a soft peak form. 
9. Fold in the egg whites into the batter.
10. Evenly spread the batter in the greased baking pan.
11. On top of the batter, spread the sliced bananas in a single layer.
12. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and the ground cinnamon.
13. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the sliced bananas.
14. Bake the cake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes. 

One year ago......................I made No Knead Bread.
Two years ago....................I made Blackened Chicken.

Did you already know........
-The 2016 Summer Olympics will be held at Rio de Janeiro.
-Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city of Brazil.
-Rio de Janeiro means River of January in Portuguese.

Vatrushka

I have seen this cheese bread shown often during the Olympics. I figured I would have to make it since I love cheese. I actually thought it would be similar to our cheese bread. No, it is not like our gooey Italian cheese bread. My husband was very surprised and said it's sweet. It is actually sweet like a danish but not as sweet as the danishes found in the store. I've seen recipes that call for yeast but I decided to go with this version. Some recipes have raisins in them. Others have the bread topped with sprinkles and powdered sugar. It would be an easy addition to serve at a meal.

Vatrushka Russian Cheese Bread
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vinegar

1 egg yolk whisked for the top

Cheese filling:
1/3 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp sour cream
1 egg
pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2.  In a large bowl, combine the milk, vegetable oil, sugar, and egg.
3. Add the flour and salt. Mix to combine.
4. In a small cup, combine the baking soda and vinegar.
5. Immediately add the baking soda mixture to the flour mixture. Mix until a form of dough forms.
6. Divide the dough into 8 balls.
7. Place the balls of dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
8. With the bottom of a floured cup, press the cup into the ball of dough to form a well. 
9. Lightly brush the edges of the dough with the egg yolk.
10. In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, sugar, sour cream, egg, and salt. Mix to incorporate. 
11. Add the cheese mixture into the center of the dough. Do not overfill.
12. Bake the dough for about 18 minutes or until golden brown.

Recipe adapted from hep-i-book'a.

One year ago................................I made Macerated Strawberries.
Two years ago..............................I made Mexican Chocolate Cake.

Did you already know.................
-Vatrushka often have raisins and other dried fruit in them.
-Vatrushka is popular in Eastern Europe.
-Vatrushka derives it's name from 'vatra' which means fire.

Blini Pancakes

As a kid, I would make pancakes all the time. I guess I still make pancakes often. I have made English pancakes and German pancakes so why not Russian pancakes. Russian pancakes uses yeast and buckwheat flour. This version had pepper added. My husband and son loved them. My daughter wanted her typical sweet pancakes so she wasn't happy. I liked them but I would pick a sweeter pancake for breakfast. However, I would make these again but at suppertime. 

Blini Russian pancakes
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 (1/4 oz.) package of yeast
1 cup warm milk
1 egg yolk
1 egg white
oil for the pan

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the buckwheat flour, all purpose flour, pepper, and salt.
2. In a small bowl, combine the warm milk with the yeast. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
3. Add the egg yolk to the flour mixture and slowly whisk in the yeast mixture to form a smooth batter.
4. Cover the batter and allow to rest for one hour.
5. In a small bowl, whisk the egg white until soft peaks form.
6. Fold the egg white into the batter.
7. Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
8. Lightly grease the pan.
9. Add about 1/4 cup of batter to the skillet. 
10. Once small bubbles form on top then flip the blini over to allow the other side to cook.
11. Continuing cooking the remaining batter in 1/4 cup increments until all the batter has been cooked. Oil the skillet when needed.
12. Serve warm.

Recipe adapted from The Cook's Guide to Bread Cookbook.

One year ago...................................I made Pie Crust.
Two years ago.................................I made Ham, Cheese, and Egg Panini.

Did you already know.....................
-Some popular toppings are caviar, sour cream, chopped hard boiled eggs, or salmon.
-A single blini is called a blin.
-Blini are not the same as the unleavened blintz.

Spartak Cake

Do you have any plans for today? Do you go out or stay in? Do you ask anyone to be your Valentine whether it is your spouse, special someone, friend, niece, yourself? Can you tell I really like Valentine's Day? It is a nice way for me to express to the people you love. For me, it is my family. I don't just buy my husband a gift but also the kids too. I even make my family a nice dinner. It is always Chicken Parmesan with Fettuccine Alfredo. If I'm going to change anything, it will be the dessert. Maybe this dessert? To make this cake, I used two different sources since I wanted to make two different types of layers. It is a pretty cake. 

Spartak Cake
White layer:
1 egg
1 cup sugar
4 Tbsp butter, softened
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp baking soda
3 cups flour

Directions:

1. In a heatproof medium bowl, beat together the egg and sugar. 
2. Add the butter, milk, and baking soda. Mix until smooth.
3. Place the bowl on top of a pot with boiling water to make a double boiler.
4. Heat the mixture for 10 minutes. Stir continuously.
5. Remove the bowl from the heat and immediately add the flour. Mix well.
6. Set aside and allow to cool for 20 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
8. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about a 1 inch thickness.
9. Line a base of a springform pan with parchment paper.
10. Place the dough over the base of a springform pan.  
11. Cut around the excess dough from around the springform base.
12. Bake the dough for about 5 minutes or until the dough is golden brown. 
13. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for several minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.  
    
14. Repeat rolling out the rest of the dough steps 8 through 12.
15. Any remaining scraps bake since it is needed for the sides of the cake.
16. Allow the cake rounds to cool completely.

Chocolate layer:
3/4 cups butter1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp vinegar
2 cups flour
1 egg

Directions:

1. In a sauce pan, melt the butter, milk, and cocoa powder over low heat while stirring.
2. Once the mixture is smooth, stir in the sugar and then remove from heat.
3. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
4. In a small bowl, combine the baking soda with the vinegar.
5. Stir the baking soda mixture into the cooled slightly butter mixture. 
6. Add one cup of flour to the butter mixture. Stir until incorporated.
7. Add one egg and stir. 
8. Stir in another cup of flour. Mix well. The batter should become a soft dough.
9. Form a ball with the dough and wrap with plastic wrap. Press down onto the dough to disk. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
10. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about a 1 inch thickness.
11. Line a base of a springform pan with parchment paper. 
12. Place the dough over the base of a springform pan.  
13. Cut around the excess dough from around the springform base.
14. Bake the dough for about 4 minutes or until the dough is baked through.
15. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for several minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. 
16. Repeat rolling out the rest of the dough steps 8 through 12.
17. Any remaining scraps bake since it is needed for the sides of the cake.
18. Allow the cake rounds to cool completely.

Frosting: 
12 oz. unsalted butter, softened
1 can sweetened condensed milk
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
pinch of salt 

2 cups whip cream

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk the butter and condensed milk until incorporated.
2. Add the cream cheese and salt. Mix until incorporated.
3. Fold in the whip cream.

Cake Assembly:

1. Frost one completely cooled white cake layer with the frosting.
2. Place onto cake stand/plate.
3. Frost a chocolate cake layer with frosting and place on top of the white cake layer.
4. Repeat frosting a white cake layer and place on top of the chocolate layer.
5. Continue frosting the layers and alternating between the white layer and the chocolate layer until there is four layers left.
6. With the remaining frosting, completely cover the top and the sides with the frosting. 
7. With the remaining cake layers, crush into crumbs.
8. Cover the sides of the cake with the cake crumbs.
9. Refrigerate the cake for 10 hours before serving.

The white layer and frosting is adapted from Natasha's kitchen. The chocolate layer is adapted from Grab and Go Recipes.

One year ago...............................I made Vanilla Cupcakes.
Two years ago.............................I made Heart Pie Pops.

Did you already know...................
-Я люблю́ тебя́ means I love you in Russian.
-To say I love you in Russian is pronounced "lyoo-BEET".
-Check out USAToday for pickup lines said in Russian. 

Happy Valentine's Day!