bake – Mae Bakes

Chocolate Mousse

August 27, 2021January 6, 2022 maebakesatx

I love chocolate. I love chocolate mousse. And of course I love trying new recipes. For this week’s bake I wanted to try something decadent that was also new to me. I’ve never made a real French mousse before and during my baking research decided I needed to try it out. This recipe is creamy and airy. Heavy on the chocolate flavor but light on texture. It’s a refined yet fun dessert that both kids and adults can enjoy. Below is my take on a French mousse that’s easy to make, yet hard to forget. Profiter!

Ingredients for Mousse

3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
6 ounces of semisweet chocolate, best quality
3 large eggs, yolks and whites separated
1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 cup of heavy cream, cold
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Ingredients for Whipped Cream (for serving)

1/2 cup of heavy cream, cold
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
2 teaspoons of sugar
Chocolate shavings

Directions for Mousse

Place the butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl.
Break the chocolate into small pieces directly into the bowl. Microwave it in 20-second intervals, stirring between each bout of heat, until the chocolate is about 75% melted.
Stir, allowing the residual heat in the bowl to melt the chocolate completely.
Let the mixture cool for a few minutes, then whisk in the egg yolks one at a time, mixing until smooth after each addition. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or electric hand mixer, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until foamy.
Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form (the peaks should be just starting to hold and will melt back into themselves after a second).
Gradually beat in 1/4 cup of the sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form (the peaks will stand straight up when the beaters are lifted from the mixture).
Using a large rubber spatula, fold the egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture until uniform. Set aside.
In another bowl, beat the heavy cream on medium-high speed until it begins to thicken up.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and the vanilla and continue beating until the cream holds medium peaks (when you lift the beaters or whisk out of the bowl, the peaks will slightly droop down, but they won’t lose their shape entirely).
Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Be sure it is fully incorporated but don’t mix any more than necessary.
Divide the mousse between 6 individual glasses, cover, and chill until set, at least 4 hours.

Directions for Whipped Cream (make up to a few hours before serving)

Add the heavy cream and vanilla into cold bowl.
Beat for 2 minutes until thick.
Add the powdered sugar.
Beat until fluffy peaks form (about 5 minutes).
Top with chocolate shavings and serve.

Servings: 6
Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Total Time: 30 Minutes, plus at least 4 hours to chill

Tips, Tricks, and Don’ts That I Did

This recipe requires a ton of whipping. If you don’t have a stand mixer, a hand mixer will work just fine. Manual mixing the whipped cream is not recommended.
If you’re thinking of getting a Kitchen-aid Mixer, but haven’t pulled the trigger. Do it! This recipe will thank you. I bought mine a few years ago at Target and LOVE it more and more with every use. https://www.target.com/p/kitchenaid-professional-5qt-stand-mixer-kv25g0x/-/A-15840495?preselect=15764683#lnk=sametab
The chocolate will look a little odd when you first start mixing the eggs. Don’t panic! Once you fold in the cream it will look and taste amazing.
Don’t overmix your whipped cream. It only takes a few minutes to whip up the most light and airy whipped cream. Don’t set it and forget it!
The mousse can be eaten after setting for 4 hours, but it’s best to let it set overnight before enjoying.
If you liked this recipe, check out my recipe for a simple chocolate mousse pie. https://eats8.food.blog/new-year-new-mousse/
As always, don’t forget to enjoy!

cakes, Favorite Bakes

Mint Chiffon Cake

May 20, 2021 maebakesatx

Confession… I haven’t baked since Christmas except for three birthday cakes for three very special people. I spent several months during the holidays focused on baking holiday treats and I needed some time to reset and refocus on healthy eating. I love baking so much, and I’m good at it, like really good, but I’m also an avid gym goer and very conscious about the amount of sugar and gluten I put in my body. Those two things don’t exactly mesh (real talk “healthy baking” is never as good as sugary floury baking) so I took a small break from the baking world.

During my brief baking hiatus, I didn’t realize how much I missed baking until my cousin’s husband reached out and asked me to bake a very special treat for my cousin’s 40th birthday bash. Her favorite flavor is mint. He sent me an idea for a vanilla mint chiffon cake, and I ran with it. I wanted this cake to be perfect for my cousin, Haley (also the 20+ people I had never met before, no pressure!). So I baked this cake, tweaked this cake, and ate this cake at least 3 or 4 different times before my taste tester and I crowned the recipe below the winner. Baking this cake not only relit my baking fire, but it created the most delicious, light, spongy, and minty chiffon cake you’ll ever bake and eat! Below you’ll find the recipe along with my tips, tricks, and don’ts that I did. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Chiffon Cake

2 bunches (or 1 packet) fresh mint, leaves picked
¾ cup whole milk
2 ¼ cups plain flour
1 ½ cups extra fine granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
8 large egg whites
7 large egg yolks
1/3 cup grapeseed oil
2 tablespoons vanilla bean paste

Icing

2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 bunch (or 1/2 packet) fresh mint, leaves picked (use the other half of the mint packet for cake decoration)

Directions for Cake

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Combine fresh mint leaves and milk together in a saucepan and heat slowly until simmering. Turn off the heat and leave to cool completely to room temperature. Once cool, strain out the mint leaves ensuring you squeeze the leaves to release all the flavor.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, half the sugar, baking powder and salt. In another medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, oil, mint flavored milk, and vanilla bean paste until smooth. Slowly stir in the flour mixture until smooth, the batter will be thick. Set aside.
In a large bowl, or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. Continue whisking and slowly stream in the remaining sugar until stiff shiny peaks form. Stir one third of the egg whites briskly into the egg yolk-flour mixture. Then gently fold through the remaining egg whites. The mixture should be light and foamy.
Scrape into a large, un-greased tube pan. Bake on the lowest oven rack for 60 minutes, or until springing back when lightly pressed. Check the cake at 30 minutes and if the top is browning or cracking, oil a piece of foil and cover the top of the cake.
Remove cake from oven and turn the pan upside down immediately (the cake should stick to the pan) and leave to cool completely – this helps the cake keep it’s shape. When the cake is completely cool, run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it, and turn it out.

Directions – Icing

Combine fresh mint leaves and heavy cream together in a saucepan and heat slowly until simmering. Turn off the heat and leave to cool completely to room temperature. Once cool, strain out the mint leaves ensuring you squeeze the leaves to release all the flavor.
Whisk together powdered sugar and infused heavy cream to form medium or thick icing. Pour over the top, letting it drip down the sides. Decorate with mint leaves and edible flowers.

Tips and Tricks and Don’ts That I Did

Don’t use skim milk with this recipe. WHOLE milk is necessary to infuse the mint. I used skim milk the first time, and the cake had zero mint flavor. ZERO.
Make sure you slowly bring the milk to a simmer. Don’t burn your milk or heat it too fast. The mint needs to simmer for it to soak up that minty flavor. You’ll know it’s done when the milk has a light green tint to it.
Don’t skimp on squeezing the mint. Most of the flavor in the mint is still there after steeping in the milk. Squeeze Squeeze Squeeze until there is not one drop of liquid left in those leaves.
Sift all your dry ingredients. This will prevent clumps in your batter and icing.
Folding egg whites is a lot harder than it sounds, but they must be incorporated slowly and carefully into the batter. If you’re too fast, you won’t get the light airy batter that makes it the chiffon.
Don’t forget to check your cake halfway through the bake. If the top is browning add a piece of foil over the top.
Don’t spray your cake pan. It will stick, but that’s part of this bake. It easily comes out when a knife slides around the edge.
Be sure to let your cake cool completely before trying to remove it from the pan. I didn’t give the first couple of cakes time to cool, and they were a pain to remove from the pan. The last few I let sit on the counter for an hour or longer and they came right out.
Icing… I tried it in what felt like a million different ways. I tried lemon icing (although delicious the lemon completely stole the show from the mint). I tried super thin, medium, and thick. The mint icing was the winner, and I went with a thicker icing for the party. Both the medium and thick icing worked great (add more sugar for a thicker icing and more cream for a thinner one), but make sure you go with mint or even a plain would be tasty.
Dripping icing is tricky. I’ve found the best way is to pour it all on top and drag it down a little with a butter knife where you want the drips. I used a tiny mixing bowl with a spout, but a measuring cup would work just as well.
Last but not least a little tip for myself. Keep baking. You love it. Don’t worry about the sugar and the gluten, that’s part of the fun. Cut a sliver to taste and share with hungry friends, family, and neighbors, but don’t ever stop baking. You enjoy it, baking is your creative outlet, it’s one of your happy places, it’s even at times therapeutic, and did I mention how good you are at it? If any of you bakers or bloggers or readers and eaters have tips on what to do with extra bakes, send them my way.
As always… don’t forget to enjoy!

Savory Bakes

Spanakopita

December 6, 2020 maebakesatx

Spanakopita! A few months ago I visited a couple of different Greek restaurants where I had my first taste of the delicious flaky spinach and cheese pies called spanakopita. I love cheese and spinach so I had to learn how to make this at home. As always I researched my bake and put together what I think is the easiest and tastiest recipe. Don’t forget to keep reading to my tips, tricks, and a few don’ts that I did.

Ingredients

5 sheets of filo cut into 3 strip
1 package of frozen spinach squeezed and drained
4 ounces of feta cheese
1 tablespoon of flour
1/2 yellow onion chopped
2 tablespoons of fresh dill
2 eggs lightly beaten
3/4 melted butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat oil in skillet on medium heat.

Slowly stir in onions and cook until softened.

Mix in flour, spinach and dill. Cook for 10 minutes until liquid is absorbed.

Remove from heat and let cool.

Mix in feta and eggs.

Lay filo flat and brush strips with melted butter.

Add 1 tsp of mixture onto fillo strip and fold into triangles.

Place filo triangle onto baking sheet and brush top with butter.

Repeat the above 3 steps steps for the remaining filo strips.

Bake triangles for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Tips and Tricks and a Few Don’ts that I did

Be sure to cut a few extra strips of Filo. This type of dough is SUPER fragile. Be prepared to lose a few strips along the way.

After defrosting, draining, and squeezing your spinach it may seem like you won’t have enough for the bake. Don’t worry, that tiny ball of leafy goodness is plenty for this recipe.

Don’t forget to let your spinach and onion mixture cool before adding the eggs or you’ll risk getting an egg scramble.

I added the onion and dill for a little extra flavor in my pies, but you can leave them out or add more if you’d like.

Use damp paper towels to keep your filo moist in between folds.

Fold your filo strips like paper footballs. They won’t all be perfect and that’s okay. Keep folding and you’ll end up with the deliciousness in the picture below.

As always, don’t forget to ENJOY!

Favorite Bakes, Tarts

Easy Lemon Vanilla Tart

January 24, 2020 maebakesatx

This week it’s pastry week at Mae Bakes! I’ve watched a billion shows about making tarts and thought why not give it a whirl? I’m still on a lemon kick from jam week (I’m always on a lemon kick, my love for lemons runs deep) so I decided my first ever tart would be a lemon tart. Just to prepare you pastry is not easy, but it sure is rewarding when you get it right. Check out the recipe below and keep reading to my donts that I did to find out why the biggest mistake I made baking this week had nothing to do with the recipe.

Ingredients for Tart Pastry

1 1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup cold butter cut into chunks

2 egg yolks lightly beaten

1 tablespoon ice water

Directions for Tart Pastry

In medium bowl stir together flour and sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until pieces are pea size.

In a small bowl stir together eggs yolks and cold water.

Gradually stir in egg mixture to flour mixture.

Using fingers gently knead dough just until a ball forms.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 45 minutes or until dough is easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

On a lightly floured surface use your hands to slightly flatten pastry.

Roll pastry from center to edges into a circle about 11 inches in diameter.

Wrap pastry around rolling pin.

Unroll onto 9 inch tart pan that has a removable bottom.

Ease pastry onto pan without stretching it.

Press pastry into flattened sides of pan and trim edges.

Line pastry with double thickness foil and bake for 8 minutes.

Remove foil and bake for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool on wire rack.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Tart Filling Ingredients

2 lemons

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon flour

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

Tart Filling Instructions

Finely shred 4 teaspoons of lemon peel and set aside.

Squeeze lemons for 6 tablespoons of juice and set aside.

In a medium bowl combine sugar and flour.

Add eggs and beat with electric mixer on high speed about 4 minutes or until light in color and slightly thickened.

Stir in 4 teaspoons of lemon peel.

Add lemon juice and vanilla.

Pour into baked tart shell.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until filing is set and lightly browned.

Cool on wire rack.

Serve and Enjoy!

Tips and Tricks and a few Don’ts that I did

Go slow when adding the egg yolk mixture to your flour. The first time I made this tart I dumped it in all at once and it affected the flakiness of my crust.

Invest in a pastry blender. When I first heard about pastry blenders I thought they were actual blenders, as in something you plug into an outlet. They are not another kitchen appliance, but they are wonderful little hand tools that help you mix cold butter into flour in the best way. I still used my fingers at the end, but using one of these will help keep your butter cold in a way that warm hands obviously can’t. I’ve included a link to the one I have below. https://www.amazon.com/Spring-Chef-Professional-Stainless-Black-Medium/dp/B01CX1RIMQ/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=Pastry+blender&qid=1579753632&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=

Don’t stress if your edges are a tad darker than the rest of your tart pastry. I researched for several hours, watched too many videos and read a whole bunch of tips about how to prevent burnt edges. About 98% of everything I read said to make a “shield” for your edges out of tin foil. I ended up tripling up the shields and my edges were still dark. Don’t let the color fool you, dark does not mean burnt. It still tasted amazing.

Do follow the time listed in the recipe and don’t over bake your tart. The instructions say until set. I missed that step and kept baking about 10 minutes longer than I was supposed to because I thought it wasn’t done. Even though my first one tasted fine, the second was AMAZING. Don’t forget, it’s not a cake it’s a tart, two very different textures.

And finally, one of the most important lessons I’ve learned so far on this adventure. Don’t take your bad day out on your bake (I like to refer to it as rage bake). I made the first tart when I was having an off day. Although I was doing something I loved to feel better I still rushed my bake and didn’t give it the attention I normally would have. The crust was not perfect, the texture wasn’t great and the taste was just okay. The second time I made it I took my time, put way more care into what I was doing and ended up enjoying the tart and the experience way more. The second tart was off the charts in every way (it’s been said it was my best bake yet). The crust was golden, the texture was beautiful and the taste was delicious. It may sound a little cheesy but I definitely think it had everything to do with how I felt while baking. I turned the first tart into a learning experience (mainly learning not to rage bake), but like I’ve said before, the more you bake the better you get. I’ve included a picture below to show you the differences in the two bakes.

The first one is the rage bake and the second is the calm and collected bake.

Don’t forget to ENJOY (the bake AND the experience)

Favorite Bakes, pies

Simple Mousse Recipe

December 30, 2019January 6, 2022 maebakesatx

For Christmas this year I gifted myself a new mixer and thought making a mousse would be a perfect way to test it out. So for my first bake and blog of the New Year I made one of my favorites, a Chocolate Mousse Pie.

This was the first time I did a blind bake with my crust too so I wanted to make sure I got the crust perfectly flaky and absolutely did not want a soggy bottom. This meant I needed to do my research and lots of it. I spent a few hours online reading various recipes and reviews about the perfect way to blind bake a pie crust. There is a ton of information out there about the best options, from pie weights to uncooked rice and beans and more in between. Ultimately I decided to go with sugar because I had sugar on hand and it had great reviews from fellow bakers.

Below is the recipe for the chocolate mousse, the crust, the blind bake and how to put it all together for a delicious light and fluffy New Year Treat. I’ve also included my tips and tricks and don’ts that I did at the end.

Ingredients for Single Pie Crust

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup butter

1 and 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar

4 tablespoons 2% milk

Directions for Pie Crust

In a small bowl combine the flour and salt.

Cut in butter with fork until the mixture is crumbly.

Sprinkle mixture with vinegar.

Gradually add milk tossing with a fork until a ball is formed.

Cover with foil and refrigerate for 30 minutes until easy to handle.

Blind Baking Your Crust

Once the dough is chilled, roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface to fit 9 inch pie plate.

Crimp edges a little taller than the pie plate so there is less room to shrink.

Line crust with heavy duty aluminum foil.

Freeze crust for at least an hour.

Once the crust has had time to freeze, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Fill pie to the top with granulated sugar.

Bake for 60-75 minutes.

Remove pie crust from oven.

Remove sugar and store sugar for later use.

Let crust cool and prepare mousse.

Ingredients for Mousse

4 cups heavy cream

6 tablespoons of sugar

12 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions for Mousse

With stand mixer beat 3 cups of heavy cream and sugar to stiff peaks (about 6-8 minutes) refrigerate until ready to use.

In a medium saucepan combine 1 cup of heavy cream, chocolate chips and vanilla.

Place over medium heat, stirring constantly to avoid burning the chocolate.

Once the chocolate has melted (about 2-3 minutes) remove from heat and let cool.

When chocolate has cooled, gently fold it into 2 thirds of the whipped cream until completely incorporated

Putting It All Together

Pour mousse into prepared crust.

Refrigerate for 8 hours or freeze for 4

Top with remaining whipped cream and serve.

Tips and Tricks and a Few Don’ts That I did

Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty when making the crust. I found that in order to cut in the butter to the flour my hands worked better than the fork.

That being said be careful not to handle the dough too much. Overworking the dough will cause it to become tough and not tender and flaky. The key to a good pie crust is cold butter.

One mousse recipe I tried said to add salt to the semi sweet chocolate. Whatever you do, DO NOT add salt to semi sweet chocolate. That type of chocolate has a saltiness to it already and adding more salt made it inedible. It was AWFUL. I ended up throwing out the entire thing and starting over minus the salt. It turned much much better.

I’ve given this tip before, but it’s worth repeating. Do not stop stirring your chocolate. It melts and burns really fast. I use a rubber spatula to stir and scrape the bottom of the pan. It works great and so far I haven’t burned a batch of chocolate. **knock on wood**

A stand mixer is awesome to achieve quick peaks, but it isn’t necessary. I’ve made whipped cream with a hand mixer and it turned out just as great.

Freeze or refrigerate your pie, but make sure it’s served cold. I froze mine to share later this week. If you freeze it just be sure to take it out of the freezer at least 30 minutes prior to serving so the crust has time to thaw a little.

Enjoy and Have a Very Happy New Year!!!

Kids Bakes

Fudge Brownies

December 15, 2019January 6, 2022 maebakesatx

When the temperature dips below 65 degrees in Texas it’s basically 30 below zero and when it’s that cold it’s hard to come up with indoor after school activities for the kids. For my next bake I decided to attempt the perfect brownie with the kids help to keep them occupied for at least a few minutes. Below is the recipe with my don’ts that I did and a few tips I picked up along the way.

Ingredients For Brownies

1/2 cup of butter melted

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 cup white sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Ingredients for Chocolate Whipped Cream

3 tablespoons of melted butter

1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions for Brownies

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 inch brownie pan

In medium bowl beat eggs on low setting until eggs are light yellow (about 5 minutes)

Add melted butter, sugar and vanilla. Continue to mix until well combined

Add cocoa, flour, salt and baking powder. Mix until combined (about 2 minutes)

Spread into prepared pan

Sprinkle with chocolate chips

Bake for 25 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean)

Directions for Chocolate Whipped Cream

Blend all ingredients with mixer on medium setting until mixture has a mousse like consistency

Top warm brownie with whipped cream

Don’ts that I did and a few tips and tricks

Don’t be afraid to beat your eggs. The perfect brownie starts with eggs that have been well beaten.
If you’re an edge person or a middle gooey person these brownies have something for everyone. Don’t over bake your brownies to get that perfect edge. It will happen if you follow the instructions. Trust me, there’s nothing worse than a hard overcooked brownie.
The brownies are amazing with or without the whipped cream. I preferred them without, but the kids liked them with. Feel free to skip that step and maybe add a little vanilla ice cream instead. YUM!
Cut the brownies when they are warm, but don’t be discouraged if your cuts aren’t perfect. Brownies are surprisingly hard to cut. It helps to wipe your knife in between each cut, but isn’t necessary.
Store brownies in tupperware and heat them up for about 10 seconds in the microwave if you enjoy them later. They are also delicious at room temperature.
ENJOY!

Kids Bakes

Quick and Easy Fried Doughnuts!

December 8, 2019January 6, 2022 maebakesatx

For my next bake I decided to make my kids most favorite breakfast dessert… DOUGHNUTS!

My first thought when I decided to make doughnuts was to make easy baked cake doughnuts. There are TONS of recipes out there and they all seem pretty simple, but I decided if I was going to learn how to make doughnuts I would do it the conventional (fried) way. That makes this technically not a bake, but a fried.

The scariest part of this recipe was not the frying, it was the yeast and the proving. I’ve watched too many baking shows to know that proving can go really wrong really fast. The directions on the yeast packet even gave me a little anxiety. I felt completely out of my element, but I powered through and quickly figured out that making these doughnuts was not as hard as I thought it would be. Below is the recipe for Glazed Doughnuts and Chocolate Covered Doughnuts along with Powered Sugared Doughnut Holes. I’ve also included a few tips and tricks and my don’ts that I did.

The Ingredients for Doughnuts

1 cup whole milk

1/4 cup + 1 teaspoon of sugar

1 packet of active dry yeast

4 cups of flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

6 teaspoons of melted butter

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Vegetable oil for Frying

Glaze

1/4 cup whole milk

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Frosting

2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

1 cup heavy cream

Sprinkles (optional)

Directions

Grease a large bowl with cooking spray and set aside.

In a small microwavable bowl add 1 cup of milk and heat until warm (about 40 seconds). Add a teaspoon of sugar and stir until dissolved. Sprinkle yeast over the sugar milk mixture until frothy (about 10 minutes).

In a medium bowl whisk together flour and salt.

In a large bowl whisk together remaining sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla. Pour in yeast mixture. Stir until well combined. Next add the rest of the dry ingredients stirring with mixing spoon until a shaggy dough forms. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until elastic (about 5 minutes).

Form into a tight ball then place in oiled bowl and cover with a clean dish towel. Let dough rise in a warm spot in the kitchen until it doubles in size (about an hour).

Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Punch down dough then transfer to a slightly floured baking surface and roll into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Using a doughnut cutter to punch out doughnuts and doughnut holes. Re knead scraps and punch out more doughnuts and doughnut holes. Place onto baking sheet and let rise for another forty minutes.

Glaze

Whisk glaze ingredients until well combined.

Chocolate Frosting

Pour chocolate chips into bowl. Heat cream over medium heat for about 2 minutes until very warm. Pour cream over chocolate and let sit for about 1 minute. Whisk chocolate and cream together.

Frying the Doughnuts

Line large baking sheet with paper towels. In a large dutch oven heat 2 inches of vegetable oil to 350 degrees over medium heat. Cook doughnuts in batches until golden brown (about 1 minute on each side). Transfer doughnuts to paper towels to drain and cool slightly. Add doughnut holes to oil moving turning frequently to ensure each part of the doughnut hole is fried. Transfer to paper towels for draining.

Glazed Doughnuts

Dip doughnuts into glaze while still warm and place on cooling rack.

Chocolate Frosted Doughnuts

Dip doughnuts into frosting and add sprinkles (optional).

Doughnut Holes

Place doughnut holes into a bowl with a lid, add 1/2 cup of powered sugar and shake.

Tips, Tricks and a few Don’ts that I did

1. Invest $10 in a doughnut cutter. It’ll save you time and a headache. I’ve included the link to the one I purchased from Amazon below. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NK3GK2R/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

2. Don’t be afraid of the yeast. The instructions say to let yeast get frothy once it’s added to the milk. I was afraid my yeast wasn’t frothy enough the first round and ended up throwing out my first batch. I think I expected a frothy explosion and when that didn’t happen I assumed I did something wrong. My next batch of yeast did the same as the first and the doughnuts turned out great. The lesson is… Don’t throw out your yeast just because it’s not as frothy as you think it should be.

3. Proving is way more fun and rewarding than I ever thought it would be. This was the part that made me not want to make conventional fried doughnuts. I’ve watched so many shows where bakes have been under proved and over proved that I was almost too afraid to even attempt these. The truth is proving is still scary, but it’s not hard and the feeling you get when your dough has doubled in size is worth the fear. I will add that you should treat your dough like a baby. Check the temperature, carry it gently in its bowl, make sure it’s warm enough and it will do exactly what it’s supposed to do. Once you lift the towel and see the tiny ball of dough has grown into a much larger “ready to be rolled into 24 doughnuts sized dough” you’ll be glad you did.

4. Keep watching the oil temperature. My last few doughnuts cooked much faster than the first few because the oil got too hot. 350 degrees is the perfect temp for these so try and keep at that as best as you can.

5. The doughnuts are best enjoyed warm. If you’re eating them the day after take the time to pop them in the microwave for 10 seconds and they’ll taste just like they did when you first made them. Have Fun and Enjoy!

Breads, cakes, Favorite Bakes

Pumpkin (Cake) Bread

November 28, 2019January 6, 2022 maebakesatx

Have you ever had Pumpkin Bread? I was a newby until my son had his school Thanksgiving Lunch last week. The one thing about his school lunch that he could not stop talking about was the PUMPKIN CAKE! I later found out that it’s really called pumpkin bread. We’ll call it both because it’s sweet like a cake, but looks and cuts like a loaf of bread. When Clark (my oldest) asked if I could learn how to bake pumpkin cake for our Thanksgiving, I couldn’t say no. Despite the bar being set super high I think we knocked this one out of the park. Below is the recipe with a few tips.

Pumpkin Cake Bread with Brown Sugar Topping

Brown Sugar Topping– 1/4 cup melted butter, 1/2 all purpose flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Pumpkin Bread– 1 15oz can of pure pumpkin puree, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 2 large eggs, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 cup milk, 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, 1/2 teaspoon salt

Maple Syrup Glaze– 1/2 cup powder sugar, 1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Brown Sugar Topping Instructions-in a small bowl mix all ingredient, store in refrigerator while making pumpkin cake bread.

Pumpkin (Cake) Bread Instructions– Preheat oven to 325F and butter the sides of a 9×5 loaf pan. Line with parchment paper. In a medium sized bowl whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and pumpkin spice. Set aside. In a separate larger bowl using an electric mixer; mix together oil and pumpkin puree until combined. Mix in half of the dry ingredients and add the milk. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Pour in pan and spread evenly. Remove brown sugar topping, break up with a fork and sprinkle evenly over the top of the cake. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a toothpick in the middle comes out clean.

Maple Syrup Glaze– Mix together sugar and maple syrup. Pour glaze over loaf while the loaf is still hot. Let the bread cool for 20 minutes before serving. VIOLA! Pumpkin Cake Bread!

Tips, Tricks and a few Don’ts that I did– 1. Whatever you do, DO NOT forget to line the pan with parchment paper. I skipped it thinking it wouldn’t matter since I “buttered” my pan, but it’s a loaf… with a topping. Dumb Dumb move by me because the parchment is what helps get the loaf out of the pan. Otherwise you have to dump it… LITERALLY. I ended up making a giant mess, but learned a valuable lesson. 2. The brown sugar topping is probably the best part for the kids to help. My boys usually get bored with baking, but once I gave them some forks to break up the sugar and sprinkle on the loaf they were in HEAVEN. 3. Don’t be scared. It sounds really hard, but this is by far the easiest bake I’ve made. And maybe even the tastiest. 4. The bread will last for 10 days if stored in the fridge. Wrap it in foil or store in plastic containers and reheat for 10-20 seconds in the microwave. I promise it tastes freshly baked even out of the microwave. 5. ENJOY!

Introduction

Mae Bakes and… Blogs

November 25, 2019November 25, 2019 Meagan Clark

Hello! My name is Mae and I am not a baker, but I am becoming one. This blog is dedicated to my new passion in baking. Before I start diving into all things sweet here’s a little more about me.

I live in Austin Texas and work full time. I’m a mom of 2 boys ages 10 and 5. When I’m not working or chasing boys you’ll find me in the gym or outside enjoying Austin’s beautiful weather. I’m into reading, art, photography, trying new restaurants and recently BAKING.

I am by far not very experienced in the kitchen. I recently started baking as a way to spend my time with my oldest son. I find myself googling most of the directions or ingredients in recipes just to get a handle on what I’m doing. I’m constantly learning new things about baking and can get a little overwhelmed and stressed in the kitchen.

So why did I decide to keep baking and then also blog about it?

Because I baked a cake. Yep. It took one cake from scratch and I was hooked. Not only did the cake taste amazing, but I had an amazing time making it. I found out that I was actually a pretty decent baker and wanted to share my baking adventures. All of it. The good bakes and bad bakes. The perfect pies and over baked cakes and everything in between. I’ll also share all of my recipes including tips and tricks that I’ve learned along the way.

I hope you enjoy this blog and maybe some day enjoy one of my bakes. Until then, let’s bake! -Mae

Lifestyle

About

November 25, 2019 maebakesatx

Hello! My name is Mae and I am not a baker, but I am becoming one. This blog is dedicated to my new passion in baking. Before I start diving into all things sweet here’s a little more about me.

I live in Austin Texas and work full time. I’m a mom of 2 boys ages 12 and 7. When I’m not working or chasing boys you’ll find me in the gym or outside enjoying Austin’s beautiful weather. I’m into reading, art, photography, trying new restaurants and recently BAKING.

So why did I decide to keep baking and then also blog about it?

I hope you enjoy this blog and maybe some day enjoy one of my bakes. Until then, let’s bake! -Mae