red velvet waffles...and stuff

So, I'm like tired.

Actually, more like EXHAUSTED.

The past two weeks have kicked my butt and I feel like I could seriously sleep for months.

Months!

I'm too tired to spell out why I'm so tired, but I should let you know some, so here is my best stab at it:

I turned 25 (woot!) on September 26 and that whole week was a pure celebration of my life from my friends and family. It was fantastic!  A lot of cake, a lot of dancing, a lot of dinners, a lot of stuff. I loved every second of it--sleepless nights and all. Yet, by the end of the week I was done.

Also, I made my own birthday cake again this year. It was a dark chocolate cake with raspberry mousse filling and white chocolate cream cheese icing. Very different from last year's and just as delicious

Totally sliced into it before letting people add candles and sing to me...

After my birthday week, I then had a huge conference at work that basically had me working 12 hour days for about a week while always having to be "on".

You know--smiling, schmoozing, acting like you're not about to fall dead of exhaustion. That kind of thing.

I haven't been home for a full 24 hours yet and the thought of having to go to work tomorrow because I chose to take Veteran's Day as a holiday instead of Columbus Day, which is tomorrow, makes me want to cry.

Tear.

Anyways, these red velvet waffles were a request from my friend Joei of Urban Geek and I  figured I should give it a shot. I tried making them last week, but the recipe I used involved yeast and I simply did not like them. I tried a different recipe today and they are delicious! Tastes like cake.

I'm glad I had these today, they seriously made me so happy.   :)

SN: I need to stop eating my feelings.

I never had red velvet waffles or pancakes before, but I figured adding in cocoa powder, buttermilk, and some sort of cream cheese glaze makes them red velvet, right? Right.

That's what I did.

Anyways, so that's my story for the past two weeks. I  haven't even been able to blog surf properly or catch up on my celebrity gossip. I'll do that tomorrow. If I can keep my eyes open.

For now, I hop back into bed and sleep the rest of my one-day weekend away. Feel sorry for me today, will you?

  

Red Velvet Waffles

• 2 cups flour ( I used AP, but I'm thinking that Cake Flour would be even better)
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2cups buttermilk or regular milk
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1 tsp pure vanilla
• 3 tbsp red  food coloring (I used gel coloring)

1. Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt and whisk thoroughly

2. In another bowl beat egg yolks slightly. Stir in buttermilk and oil. Stir in red food coloring.

3. Add egg yolk mixture all at once to the dry mixture and stir thoroughly.

4. In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.

5. Fold egg whites into flour and egg yolk mixture.

6. Spoon waffle batter into your waffle iron and let cook.

7. Serve with cream cheese glaze.

Cream Cheese Glaze

• 4 oz. softened cream cheese
• About a 1/2 cup or more powdered sugar
• About a tsp. vanilla
• Enough  milk to make the consistency of the glaze thick but pourable

1. Beat cream cheese until soft and then add in powdered sugar to desired sweetness. Add in milk a little at a time until desired consistency is reached. Add vanilla, mix, then serve with hot waffles.

red velvet s'mores brownies (kinda...)

These were the little s'mores brownies that could.

I really, really, REALLY wanted to make these the right way , but things just kept happening.

First, I completely forgot that I was out of flour. I wanted to make the brownies from scratch. By the time I realized that, it had started to rain because of Hurricane Irene and I didn't feel like venturing out.

Mind you it was a regular rainfall. I was just psyching myself out.

Besides, if I went out then I'd have to put on real pants and a brassiere and I simply was not in the mood.

I decided to make them anyways and use a brownie mix that I was POSITIVE that I had.

Wrong! I didn't have one. But, I did find a Red Velvet box cake mix. I decided I would turn them into brownies.

I went to go make the graham cracker base and of course I didn't have enough. As a result, Girl Scout Trefoil shortbread cookies served as a base as well.

Oh, and I wanted regular marshmallows on top but when I went into my cupboard, I only had minis.

Fine.

This meant that my traditional s'mores brownies that I was dying to make turned into something completely different: A shortbread/graham cracker crust with a red velvet brownie and mini 'mallows on top.

I was skeptical, but how bad could they be?

Answer: Not bad at all!! Delicious!

The cookie base was really good,  the red velvet brownies were De. Lish and the toasted marshmallows were perfect.

I would definitely make this dessert again--It was so good!

Perfect dessert to wait the hurricane out. I was really lucky in that respect too. My neighborhood didn't get too much damage from Irene. I feel really blessed.  :)

Red Velvet S'more Brownies
*Graham Cracker Shortbread Crust

• 1 cup each of shortbread cookies and graham cracker crumbs (or all graham crackers)
•  6 tablespoons melted butter

*Red Velvet Brownies

• 1 box of red velvet cake mix
• 1 egg
• 3/4 c. melted butter
• 1/2 c.  of water
• 1 c. mini chocolate chips

*Topping

• Mini Marshmallows

1. Mix up the melted butter and graham cracker crumbs and press into an 8x8 pan. Bake for about 15 minutes in a 325degree oven until golden brown.

2. While baking, mix up the brownies. Combine the egg, butter, and water and then add the cake mix and fold in the mini chocolate chips.

3. Bake the brownies in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes back out clean.

4. When the brownies are baked, spread desired amount of marshmallows on top and stick under the broiler for 2-3 minutes until they're golden brown. Let cool, cut and enjoy!

Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake w/ Chocolate Ganache

You ever do something so great that you seriously have to step back and be like, "Yea, I'm pretty freaking awesome."

Well, that's how I felt after I made this delicious cheesecake/cake, but this blog post is not about that.

While I want to tell you how EVERYBODY who ate it had nothing but rave reviews to say about it, I won't because this fabulous cake that you-must-make-as-soon-as-possible was not the star of the event I made it for.

The star of the night was my older brother Che who was graduating with his graduate degrees in business from Johns Hopkins this past Tuesday.

The Graduate at dinner!

Now, back to that issue of doing something so great that you need to step back and admire yourself.

Che is not like that at all.

He doesn't ever mention his many accomplishments, rarely wants to be celebrated on his birthdays and generally has a low key kind of swag.

I usually allow him to be nonchalant about certain things, but I was NOT letting him be blasé about this.

This was an accomplishment!

This used to be my favorite picture of Che and I...

Our family didn't even know he was hustling double time to get both his Masters in Marketing Science as well as his Masters in Business Administration in 2 years.

We showed up and saw in the program that his name was printed under both degrees and our jaws dropped.


He is so cool! I love that guy! 

I can't tell you how proud we are of him and I cannot wait to see his success play out in the business sector because he seriously has such a knack for it. :)

...but now this one definitely is

I made this red velvet cheesecake/cake becuase I thought it was a special enough dessert to make for such an important day, and let me tell you it did not dissapoint.

All  of the flavors went together perfectly and the added layer of chocolate ganache made the cake even that much more decadent.

Make it for the next special event or person in your life and they will love you for it.  :)

Dee. Lish. No, like for real.

Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake

Cheesecake Filling: From Cheesecake Factory Secret Recipe

4 8-ounce pkgs. cream cheese

1 ¼ cups granulated sugar

½ cup sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

5 eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Place a large pan or oven-safe skillet (that the cheesecake pan will fit inside) filled with about ½-inch of water into the oven while it preheats. This will be your water bath.

Use an electric mixer to combine the cream cheese with sugar, sour cream, and vanilla. Blend mixture for a couple of minutes or until the ingredients are smooth and creamy. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl and then add them to the cream cheese mixture. Blend the mixture just enough to integrate the eggs.

Carefully place the cheesecake into the preheated water bath. Bake for 12 minutes at 475 degrees, then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until the top of the cheesecake turns a light brown or tan color. Remove the cheesecake from the oven to cool. Cover and chill the cheesecake in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Red Velvet Cake recipe: From Cakeman Raven

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring (1 ounce)
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 2 - 8 inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper and flour.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder.

In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.

Using a mixer, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smooth batter is formed.

Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Place the pans in the oven evenly spaced apart.

Bake, rotating the pans halfway through the cooking, until the cake pulls away from the side of the pans, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes.


Cream Cheese Frosting:

Ingredients:
1 pound cream cheese, softened
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 oz white chocolate chips melted (optional, I just always add white chocolate becuase I like the flavor)

In a mixer, mix the cream cheese, sugar, and butter until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Add the vanilla and mix briefly until fluffy. If you choose to, add in 1 oz or so of white chocolate chips.

Chocolate Ganache:

In a medium saucepan melt 1/2 cup of heavy cream with about 8 oz. of semisweet chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly until it glossy and melted. Let it sit for about 15 minutes, stir it again and then pour over the cake letting it drip naturally. I added a really tiny bit of corn syrup in it to make it glossier. 

Assembly:
Place the first layer of red velvet cake on the bottom of the cake plate. Add frosting to use as glue and then place the frozen cheesecake on top. Put more frosting on top of that followed by the last layer of red velvet cake.

Ice the cake. (I did a crumb coat first, placed the cake in the fridge to harden a little, and then iced it fully)

Pour the ganache on top  and thenstick it in the fridge until ready about 30 minutes before you're ready to serve. (I actually let this sit in the car for about 2 hours during the ceremony and it was fine!)

Linked To:
Sweet as Sugar Cookies
Mangoes and Chutney
Something Swanky
Well Seasoned Life
Cupcake Apothecary

Red Velvet Rice Krispie Treats

It all started when I made Jessica's Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treats this past Thursday.

As I was mixing the ingredients and letting them set so I could bring them in for my co-worker's birthday the next day, I began to think of the many different flavor combination's that I could make when adding cake mix to rice krispy treats.

Chocolate?--eh.

Lemon?--no.

Carrot?--maybe.

Red Velvet? --Yes!

I LOVE red velvet desserts. I loved them before they were cool.

As a 7th and 8th grader my friend Njeri would make red velvet cake for fun, and since we were 12 year old kids with nothing to do and no one willing to take us ANYWHERE, we'd just sit at her house eating cake and other fattening foods. 

It was kind of irresponsible.

I was a really chubby kid and had no business doing that. Like, at all. Yeesh...Wanna see little chubby Jihane? Look  below.

Sigh.

Yea, NO BUSINESS!

My mom, bless her heart, put me in dance class to get some exercise, but I'd go to dance classes and move my body, then go to my friends' houses and eat a ton of cake. 

Counter productive...

LOL! As embarrassing as it is I do love that picture though. It's so funny! Horrible, LOL!

Anyways, back to the Krispy Treats.

I figured that they should have a hint of chocolate flavoring and cream cheese mixed in somehow so I added red velvet cake mix and mini chocolate chips to the batter, and then made a thin icing of white chocolate and cream cheese to spread on top.

These were SO EASY to make and they're good!

I liked them a lot and so did my maintenance man who ate about 3 of them while he TRIED to fix my AC unit. Still not working by the way--next time, treats AFTER he completes the task.

They do taste Red Velvet-y especially with the cream cheese icing on top.

As you know already, a recipe developer I am not. So, if anyone decides to make these and could think of improvements, let me know!   :)

Recipe

• 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
  
• 1 10oz bag of mini  marshmallows
  
• 1/2 cup of Red Velvet cake mix sifted to remove lumps
  
• 4-6 cups of rice krispies cereal. (I like my treats sticky, so I veer towards 4-5 cups)
  
• 4 oz of cream cheese softened
  
• 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips (more or less depending on how much chocolate flavor you want) plus more for the top of the treats
  
• 2-3 oz of white chocolate (I used Wilton's vanilla candy melts because they were closer to reach than the white chocolate in my cupboard and they worked out.)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon of heavy cream

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan under medium heat and then add in the marshmallows until they are melted. Add the cake mix and stir until everything is incorporated. Add in the cereal and keep stirring. Don't let it burn and if you need to, remove the pan from the heat.

2. After everything is mixed, throw in desired amount of mini chocolate chips, mix and then  transfer it to an 8x8 square pan that has been buttered  or sprayed or lined with wax paper.

3. Let the mixture cool and get started on the icing.

4. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave or on top of a double boiler. When melted, mix in the cream cheese until the mixture is smooth. **I like more of a cream cheese taste so if needed, add in more cream cheese until you reach desired flavor.**

5. Add the heavy cream to thin out the mixture,or if it is thin enough omit it all together.

6. Spread the mixture onto the cooled krispy treats and then sprinkle more mini chocolate chips on top. Stick the pan back in the fridge for about 30 minutes to set the icing.

7. Slice and enjoy!