Now Bring us some Figgy Pudding

Have you ever wondered what exactly figgy pudding is and how it tastes? Well, I did. So, I located a recipe on the Food Network’s website and decided to test it out for myself. The recipe I followed is below, however I made a few modifications which I have noted at the end.

Pudding Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups chopped dried pitted dates
• ½ cup chopped dried figs
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 7 tablespoons of softened butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 ½ cups self-rising flour
• 2 ½ ounces of grated dark chocolate*
• Pam/butter for coating ramekins** 

Sauce Ingredients

• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 14 tablespoons of butter***
• Fresh figs for garnish (optional)
• Ice cream or whipped cream for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Add the dates, dried figs and water to a medium saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the baking soda. Let cool for about 5 minutes, then add to a blender and puree.
3. Using a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add the eggs and beat well. Fold in the flour, the pureed date mixture and the chocolate.
4. Put the mixture into 4 buttered, 1-cup individual ramekins, filling halfway or slightly under. Put in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
5. Prepare the sauce by stirring the sugar, cream and butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Simmer until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the butter and stir until incorporated.
6. Remove the ramekins from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes. May be served in the ramekin or unmolded onto a small serving plate. With paring knife cut a cross in the top of the puddings for the sauce.
7. Pour the sauce into the cross in the center of each pudding, then pour more sauce over the puddings and it allow to soak in slightly. Top with fresh figs and vanilla ice cream or heavily whipped cream. Serve warm.

*This is way too little chocolate. I strongly recommend adding a LOT more chocolate shavings or perhaps a cup of coco powder

**Instead of using individual ramekins, I used a baking pan. Therefore, it took approximately 30 – 35 minutes to bake fully as opposed to the 20 – 25 recommended above.

***14 tablespoons of butter is insane! 7 tablespoons are sufficient.

As far as the taste is concerned, in my opinion it was very similar to a date and nut bread or even banana bread, which is strange because there are no bananas in this recipe. I much prefer chocolaty decadent treats, but this was very good as it was a nice change of pace and now I finally know what figgy pudding is and how it is made.

Alyssa

Happy Belated Birthday S u g a r E y e l i n e r

On October 31^st S u g a r E y e l i n e r celebrated its first birthday!  We have thoroughly enjoyed blogging over the past year and we look forward to the next year!  To celebrate the occasion we baked Pillsbury brownie cake pops.  Enjoy the pictures and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for following our blog!

Alyssa and Alexa

Pumpkin Magic Bars

This weekend was the first time all year that I could feel fall in the year. Therefore I decided to light my cinnamon sugar candle and bake a fall treat. The fall treat I selected was Pumpkin Magic Bars.

Ingredients:
• 14 whole graham crackers, crushed)
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 11/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1 cup salted almonds, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Use foil to line the lip of the 8”x8” pan
2. Combine graham crackers and butter and stir until well blended. Press mixture onto the bottom of 8”x8” pan
3. Combine sweetened condensed milk, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and stir until well combined. Pour mixture over graham cracker crust.
4. on chocolate chips, followed by the almonds and then finish by sprinkling coconut on top.
5. Place assembled pan in the oven and bake for about 25-35 minutes. Let cool in pan completely and then transfer finished pan to the refrigerator to chill before cutting.


Alyssa

Taking a cue from another blogger

Not only do I love writing blog posts, but I love reading them as well.  One of my favorite blogs is Cupcakes and Cashmere, written by Emily Schuman.  A few weeks ago Emily blogged about a breakfast she concocted – Baked French Toast.  Everything about it sounded amazing – sugar, cinnamon, vanilla etc.  I immediately decided that I had to make it.  I followed the recipe almost exactly (I used 7 eggs instead of 8) and it came out delicious!  I highly recommend it for a nice lazy weekend morning meal! 

Note – a 9”x13” baking pan is HUGE.  You could easily feed 5 people with this recipe.

Alyssa

Easy No Bake Lemonade Pie

Last night I was in an ambitious and creative mood.  So, what did I decide to do?  Bake!  Well, sort of.  I followed the recipe below for no bake lemonade pie and it could not have been easier:

Ingredients:

• One premade pie crust
• One 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• One 12 ounce container whipped topping
• One 6 fluid-ounce can frozen lemonade concentrate (unthawed or thawed, it doesn't matter)
• 1 teaspoon candied lemon peel or fresh fruit (optional, this is for garnish)

Directions:
In a large bowl combine the sweetened condensed milk and whipped topping. Fold the two together gently until combined.  Be very careful to not over fold - the consistency should be light and fluffy not liquidy.  Next, add the lemonade concentrate and continue to gently fold.  Again, avoid letting the mixture get too liquidy. Pour the filling into the pie crust and place in the freezer to chill overnight.

 

After a minimum of 8  hours, remove the pie and sprinkle with garnish or add fresh fruit on top (optional) and enjoy!

Alyssa

Pink Lemonade Pound Cake

In lieu of traditional Super Bowl foods like wings, chili and subs, I opted to make something a little more feminine with a Valentine’s Day feel. I decided to make a Pink Lemonade Pound cake. In order to do so, I followed the recipe below. This was the first time I made this recipe and I was expecting a bright pink cake to pop out of the oven, but I was wrong. At first, I was a little disappointed because I thought the cake was burnt. However, when I cut into it, it was pink and fluffy – perfection. The cake was delicious, however next time I make this I will definitely cook it less than 50 minutes, perhaps more like 40. Hopefully that will do the trick!

Ingredients:
1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix
1 (3 ounce) package instant lemon pudding mix
4 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cup pink lemonade concentrate
4 drops pink or red food color
½ cup white sugar

Cake Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour one 10-inch tube pan or bundt pan.

Combine the cake mix, lemon pudding mix, eggs, vegetable oil, 1/2 cup lemon concentrate and the milk. Mix until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes to 1 hour (I suggest more like 40 minutes).

Remove from oven and prick cake all over with a fork.  Pour lemonade glaze over top of warm cake.

Glaze Directions:
Combine the remaining thawed frozen lemonade and the white sugar. Mix thoroughly and pour over still warm cake.


Alyssa

The Rise and Fall of the Cupcake

For the past few years it seemed as if everywhere I looked there were cupcakes – cupcake stores, cupcake trucks, cupcake fundraisers and cupcake wedding cakes – CUPCAKE OVERLOAD!  As much as I love cupcakes, I am excited to report that two other sweet treats are starting to rise in popularity, thus giving cupcakes a run for their money – French Macaroons and Cake Pops.  Pictured above are pistachio and raspberry French macaroons from Financier.  These treats were a perfect gift from roommate. Not only are they delicious, but they are Christmas colors and packaged beautifully.  Also pictured above is a cake pop from Starbucks.  This particular one is chocolate cake covered with a hard layer of white chocolate and peppermint sprinklings.  Yum!

Alyssa 

A Christmassy Twist on Classic Brownies

In a few short hours one of my very best friends and her fiancé will be visiting NYC from Baltimore for the weekend.  We have all kinds of fun things planned, including going to see Memphis, Rockefeller Center, pizza and beer.  Since they are staying at a hotel, I wanted to make sure they have something to snack on.  Therefore, last night I baked a box of Duncan Hines’ Chewy Fudgy Brownies.  In effort to make them more Christmassy, I added crushed up candy canes to the top.  After baking for 25 minutes I took the pan out of the oven and sprinkled the pieces on top.  Then, I baked for an additional 5 minutes.  After cooling, I divided the brownies into two batches and placed them in holiday tins – one for my guests and one for me and Mike.  I’m looking forward to the fun and delicious weekend ahead!

Alyssa

Fall Treat - Raspberry Chocolate Pudding "Cake"

With Thanksgiving only a few days away, I decided to try baking a sweet alternative to pumpkin pie. I followed the recipe below to produce a delectable combination of chocolate and raspberries.

Serves 6

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 12 oz package of frozen re raspberries
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons of softened butter
• 1 and 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ cup milk

Directions:
1. Thaw raspberries and preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a bowl, combine flour, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder and baking powder. Then, set aside (1st picture above).
3. In a separate bowl, combine butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer until well combined (2nd picture above).
4. Combine bowls and add milk. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
5. Spread batter in a greased 2 quart square baking dish. Spoon raspberries along with raspberry syrup that has accumulated on the bottom of the bag on top.
6. Combine remaining brown sugar (1/2 cup) and cocoa powder (2 tablespoons), then sprinkle evenly over the top of the batter (3rd picture above).
7. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake portion comes out clean (4th picture above).

In my opinion, this recipe is suitable for 3 servings, not 6, as the serving size above says. I would suggest doubling the cake ingredients (everything but the amount of frozen raspberries). Or, doubling the amount or raspberries to create more of a liquidy treat and then spoon it over an angle food cake. Of course, serving with ice cream or whipped cream will only enhance it!

Alyssa