Food Diary

A big mug of hot chocolate is always a welcome treat on a winter day. I have been known to serve hot chocolate when I’m entertaining, but even a decadent drink is not usually the star of the show when it comes to dessert. This Hot Chocolate Bundt Cake with Chocolate Fudge and Marshmallows is a cake inspired by classic hot chocolate, an easy to make dessert that is perfect for entertaining. The bundt cake is a classic chocolate cake recipe that is made with plenty of cocoa powder. The cocoa powder gives the cake a deep chocolate flavor without making it dense or brownie-like. Bittersweet cocoa is balanced out with both brown and white sugars, as well as with a generous splash of vanilla extract. The cake is delicious on its own if you are simply looking for a nice chocolate cake, but it becomes a showstopper once it is completely decorated. Since I love topping my hot chocolate with marshmallows, I knew that I wanted marshmallows to be on top of my finished cake. A regular frosting w...

The question is, how am I still working through Thanksgiving leftovers?  I’ve said goodbye to the last of the stuffing and gravy, the mashed potatoes I turned into waffles , the turkey is stocked, but this pound cake (made from my friend Nicole’s grandmother’s recipe) seems to do nothing but regenerate itself every time I take a slice.  I’ve taken to browning each slice in melted butter, topping it with whipped cream and jam and… leftover are divine, especially where more butter is involved. Continue reading Let It Be Sunday , 199! at Joy the Baker.

The most common use of ricotta in my kitchen is as part of a filling for lasagna or another pasta dish. But savory dishes aren’t the only way to showcase the mild, creamy cheese and I often use it in desserts, including my Cannoli Pie and Ricotta Cheesecake Brownies . These Cinnamon Ricotta Waffles are a brunch dish that makes great use of this versatile cheese. The ricotta, which is incorporated into the batter, gives the waffles a light, moist interior and sets them apart from other waffle recipes. The batter is easy to make and you can pull it together in the time it takes to heat up your waffle iron. Ricotta cheese is stirred right in with the rest of the ingredients, along with plenty of ground cinnamon and vanilla. The combination of cinnamon and ricotta reminds me of Italian desserts – which frequently feature that flavor combination – giving the finished waffles a familiar flavor, even if you haven’t had ricotta waffles before! The waffle batter is fairly thick, so I recomm...

I unlocked the wonderful mysteries of Babka for myself last year with these Babka Pull Apart Muffins which now makes every December around these parts BABKA SEASON.  I love a new tradition, especially one that involves chocolate and encourages coffee so in celebration of another December together, I’m back atcha with a MOUNTAIN of a Chocolate Babka Cake.   We’ll start with dreams of coffee cake.  Amplify those dreams by make a coffee cake that’s more closely related to a pound cake than anything.  Great!  Next, subtract the streusel filling and add in a chocolate-y rich spreadable chocolate filling that’s dark as midnight.  Factor in an hour of cozy oven time.  Consider a shower of powdered sugar while you brew up a cup of hot coffee and just like that you’re in my kitchen with me – and there’s cake thank goodness!   This recipe is brought to us in partnership with AeroPress because every good coffee cake obviously needs a perfect ...

Check out our favorite delicious and easy quinoa recipes, from enchiladas to quinoa salad recipes to vegan chili. You’re sure to find a favorite! In just a few years, quinoa has become a majorly popular food. When Alex and I first started A Couple Cooks eight years ago, quinoa was relatively new. This supergrain is now a staple in our weekly meals, and it’s super delicious too. Over the years we’ve created all sorts of quinoa recipes. So we thought we’d share our top 10 easy quinoa recipes with you! All these quinoa recipes have become family favorites in our house, and we hope they will in yours too! Quinoa (KEEN-wah) is one of the world’s most perfect foods (according to  some ) due to its high nutritional content. It’s actually a seed, not a grain, which makes it naturally gluten free. Compared to other vegetables, quinoa is high in protein, calcium, Vitamin B, and iron. Fun fact: apparently the Incas thought it was sacred, because eating it regularly appeared to provide...

During the holiday season, the freezers at Trader Joe’s are stocked with more treats than usual, giving you plenty of easy options for holiday entertaining. Trader Joe’s Triple Ginger Cake is a new dessert that is a festive option for a holiday party anytime during the Christmas season. The dessert consists of two layers of ginger cake that are topped with cream cheese frosting and gingersnap cookie crumbs. The cake comes frozen and needs to be defrosted before serving. It can be defrosted in just a couple of hours at room temperature, or more slowly in the refrigerator if you prefer to plan ahead a bit more. The cake is simply decorated and well-packed, with a cardboard ring supporting the cake inside its box to ensure that it keeps its shape. My cake came out looking just like the cake on the packaging. The cake exceeded my expectations and is very tasty. It had a dense, yet tender crumb and delivered a good amount of ginger flavor, accented perfectly by the small bits of candied...